Minimal Tool Challenge Box Build

Return to main project page

Before moving onto cutting pins, I wanted to get the grooves ploughed in the long sides. The main reason for this is so that I could figure out what to cut out for the open end of the box. Ploughing was done by marking the sides of the groove with the straight edge of the combination square and the corner of the plane iron and then using a 3 mm chisel to remove the waste.

It was a bit messy (especially the first one) with some side tear-out when I wasn't being careful, but there's no chance in hell I'm starting again, so I'm just going to live with the tear-out!

As I ploughed the grooves, I kept stropping the chisel on the leather in the hope that I won't have to add a sharpening stone to the list if I keep it regularly stropped.

All the grooves in the long sides ploughed and an extra bit chopped out at the front end of the box for a narrow pin:

Marking the pins without having a vice or a proper marking knife on the tool list was, quite frankly, a pain in the proverbial posterior. This is how I did it:

The top side of each tail wasn't that bad to mark; the bottom side was extremely awkward. This is not a way I would recommend anyone transfer tails to pins :D

With the lines marked on the end of the board, I clamped the board to the bench and sawed as close to the line as possible, again wishing I'd chosen a rip saw rather than a cross-cut one:

To try to save the work for the chisel, I also sawed a load of intermediate lines and then came in at an angle to get rid of as much of the waste as possible:

Then it was just a case of chopping the waste out, using a wiggling action on the chisel as I don't have a hammer or mallet in the list. Thankfully, the small size of the 3 mm chisel means it goes through quite easily, it just takes a lot of goes to clear out the big tail sockets.

Given the difficulty of transferring marks, I was quite pleased with the first joint:

This is where I've got to so far: two joints finished (the second one wasn't quite as neat as the first, but like I said, I'm not starting again!)

I am a hobbyist metalworker and woodworker. I work as an electronic design engineer and spend most of my working days in front of a computer so I enjoy having the opportunity to use my hands and make things in my spare time. I particularly enjoy making tools as I can then use them on other projects. This website showcases some of the things I've made.

This website is free and ad-free, but costs me money to run. If you'd like to support this site, please consider making a small donation or sending me a message to let me know what you liked or found useful.

Please do get in touch if you notice any issues on the site or can think of anything that would be a helpful addition or improvement.