Lesson Objectives
- How to diagnose twisting and cupping
- How to flatten the lid
- How to thickness the lid
- How to fit the lid
Side note and spoiler: If your lid is particularly twisted/distorted and you cant be bothered to fix it. Simply cut the lid along the joins, re-plane the edges and glue it together, and hope for a better result!
Obviously this step is far easier of you have a tail vice on the workbench that allows you to clamp the timber in all sorts of orientations. The doe’s foot that I demonstrate in this video is a great alternative, although there is another piece of workshop equipment that can double up as a tail vice and easily be retrofitted to most workbenches.
It’s called a Veritas Wonder Dog and only requires a hole that is 3/4″ in diameter. This is 19mm for us metric folks. If you are working on a thinner workbench, a Wonder Pup is a better option.
Keep in mind that the height of these is not adjustable meaning they may sit proud of the lid while you work on it. You can get around this by sandwiching your component between two pieces of thinner material at either end, then clamp these.
They are incredibly versatile for all kinds of operations, from both hand tools to power tools. I used them extensively before making my Roubo Workbench and they got me out of a lot of sticky situations!
Supporting Material
Click the images below to see supporting material helping you with this part of the project.
This video teaches you how to create a cambered blade for your handplane. An indispensable addition when edge jointing.
There’s no point in having a razor sharp blade in your plane if it’s setup wrong. This lesson will get those wispy shavings flying!
Surely you just push it, right? Wrong. There is a lot that goes into the simple task of planing. Body positioning, pressure, and movement are all essential to getting the most accuracy from this task. Watch this to learn how.
Have you got the plans yet?
The Student Series
Want to see another beginner make this project before you? It’s a great way to scope out any mistakes before you make one yourself!
Opposing grain direction on the box lid – 4:28
Removing more tearout– 7:00
How to use a high angle blade to remove tearout – 13:05
Using candle wax to make planing easier – 13:49
Removing tearout in small patches – 14:16
Using a cabinet scraper – 19:05
Overview – 21:50
Robs suggestions – 24:00