Events Calendar
Finger Joints and Small Box Hinges and Hardware
Saturday 29 April 2006, 08:00am - 09:30am
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Tommy Roland started off today's class on jewelry box details by speaking in a foreign language - he started speaking in thousandths. Then he proceeded to demonstrate the production of finger joints on mitered corners with 60 thousandths fingers - that's 0.060 inches. Since he had moved the saw from his shop to the van to the class he had to make two minor adjustments to dial it in and the result was a perfect fit.
Next, Tommy used a Dremel tool with a router base, edge guide and miniature end mill to mortise a test block for a brass hinge. Following the layout lines that he made with a marking knife looked simple enough and the hinge fit in the mortise perfectly. To drill the pilot holes for the brass screws he used a regular hand drill and a not so regular home-made miniature self centering bit that fit in the chamfered screw hole on the hinge. It looked so easy when he did it.
Back to the jewelry box, Tommy demonstrated his home-made attachment device for turning his drill press and Dremel tool into a miniature overhead router. Using a similar tiny end mill he was able to route grooves for inlays in the inside joints of the octagonal box. Then he described how a 1" home-made scraper was the perfect tool to smooth the inlay flush with the box's inside veneer.
For his last bit of magic he described the process of cutting cardboard templates for the velvet liner from the original box sides (done prior to glue-up). The self-adhesive velvet stuck on the cereal box cardboard was then just installed inside the box with no glue so it could be removed and replaced after years of use.
Tommy is a master of creating and enhancing tools for the job at hand. Apparently the only thing that gets in Tommy's way is time. And, it seems to me that he is making very good use of that as well.
Thanks Tommy for a fascinating and enlightening class.
Paul Proffitt - President
Next, Tommy used a Dremel tool with a router base, edge guide and miniature end mill to mortise a test block for a brass hinge. Following the layout lines that he made with a marking knife looked simple enough and the hinge fit in the mortise perfectly. To drill the pilot holes for the brass screws he used a regular hand drill and a not so regular home-made miniature self centering bit that fit in the chamfered screw hole on the hinge. It looked so easy when he did it.
Back to the jewelry box, Tommy demonstrated his home-made attachment device for turning his drill press and Dremel tool into a miniature overhead router. Using a similar tiny end mill he was able to route grooves for inlays in the inside joints of the octagonal box. Then he described how a 1" home-made scraper was the perfect tool to smooth the inlay flush with the box's inside veneer.
For his last bit of magic he described the process of cutting cardboard templates for the velvet liner from the original box sides (done prior to glue-up). The self-adhesive velvet stuck on the cereal box cardboard was then just installed inside the box with no glue so it could be removed and replaced after years of use.
Tommy is a master of creating and enhancing tools for the job at hand. Apparently the only thing that gets in Tommy's way is time. And, it seems to me that he is making very good use of that as well.
Thanks Tommy for a fascinating and enlightening class.
Paul Proffitt - President
Location Stone Mountain Power Tool Corporation / Kentec, Lilburn, GA