If you are going to put a lot of work into making a nice wooden small box, you might as well use fine quality hinges and possibly other products. 

So, let us go through options of hinges, lid stays, and locks. I will make recommendations. I will hold off discussion of feet, nobs, and latches.

Most woodworkers make a box, sooner or later. So here we go . . . 

Hinges

You can use regular style hinges, widely available in good quality, that allow you to open the box lid 180°. Since you usually want to stop the opening range at just over 90°, you would need to install a stay mechanism. I will get to that later.

I prefer to use a hinge pair that will itself stop the lid from opening further at slightly greater than 90°. The two best available options are from England. smartButt hinges have clever, elegant round knuckles that stop the opening at 93°. (See the photos at the top of this article and just below this paragraph.) (By the way, there are some shadow images in the top photo; not an imperfect fit!)

The other great option is smartHinges. (See the photo just below this paragraph.) These go on the side pieces of the lid and body of the box. These also stop the lid opening at 93°. You can easily and entirely use a router table to fit them. Note that the wood grains in the tops of the sides of the lid and the frame sides should go front to back. This is to avoid tiny short grain at the outer edges of the hinges.

The two excellent types of hinges are available from the great box maker Andrew Crawford at smartboxmaker.com. 

Also nice, but without the same elegance of Crawford’s hinges, are stop hinges (photo just below) and side rail hinges from Brusso (brusso.com).  

Brusso also sells quadrant hinges. I have an example of this type (not Brusso’s) in the photo just below. These also control the lid opening but I think are harder to install than the options mentioned above. 

Separate lid stays on the side

Ok, if you nevertheless use hinges that do not themselves fix the lid open, you will probably need a lid stay on the side. There are numerous choices but I think Brusso’s lid stay is your best option. 

You can also use a string made of metal beads, cloth fiber, etc. This is a bit floppy and not my choice. 

(Photo just below.)

Locks

This is not strong security in your wooden box but is a nice image you might like. Again, I recommend the fine smartLock. Lee Valley has a good variety though less exquisite. (Photos below.) Don’t loose the key! 

Brusso has a nice button latch for the box front, though not a lock.  

So there is a quick summary of box parts that you can install. You are going to go through careful, detailed work that you want to make really nice, so install excellent parts to refine your work. 

Enjoy!

Here are three tools worth having.

1.

Mortise Master is a cleverly designed way to use your plunge router to make loose tenon mortises. In other words, you simply make a mortise in both wood parts and then add a separate tenon to fit them together.

Does this mean that it will not be a strong joint? No. We well break down this issue in an upcoming post.

Mortise Master has a clever way to keep the mortises laterally centered on both pieces. Just as easy, they both can be set equally off center, or they can be unequally off sided.

The vertical positions are also readily set. The router’s guide bushing sets in the slide plate which is governed by the two metal runners and limited by the screw-held stops on each side.

Work moves quickly and reliably.

It does have a couple of shared limitations. Like most mortising, there is no dust collection. Routers tend to through lots of cutting waste. Also, you cannot, like most basic mortise setups, do angled mortises. That can be done with the Leigh FMT ($) mortice and tenon jig, which takes a lot more learning to use.

I really like this tool! You can get a Mortise Master now for $230 with free shipping. (I have no business/money connection.)

2.

The JessEm dowel joint tool is just great. I have the common 3/8” dowel version. (I will be discussing the grace of dowel joinery in a soon upcoming post.) This very well made tool is accurate, direct and easy to use. You can make small joints or stepwise reposition it to make longer joints.

It has a great precision line up mechanism.

I cannot find a JessEm discussion/demonstration about using the jig to make the dowel holes across the flat face of the board. However, it is straight-forward and I have done it very accurately. 

Well, I do not think I am going back to my years of using the wooden hole jigs to set out and drill dowel holes. 

3.

Leigh makes bench hold-down clamps that I like better than the longtime traditional curved metal holdfast clamps. I never found that even good quality holdfasts grip well without more than a quick bang to set it up.

The Leigh tool bench connection does not set up quite as fast as the old kind, but once it is set up, it quickly grips on and off the woodwork. You simply move the lever at the top. 

A useful help that I think Leigh should supply at the rather expensive cost of this tool: The “speed nut” that fits underneath the bench top can be awkward in some situations. It can also loosen and even drop off occasionally. I made a simple wood piece (about 3 1/2” long, 1″-square thick) with a full-length hole. A framed nut is screwed into the wood. It attaches to the tool’s long screw at the bottom. It holds fast and well.

I have no business/money connection in any of these tools. They are worth your try!

Four months ago, I replaced almost all of my Norton sanding discs that I had been using with 3M. There is no contest in sanding speed and efficiency: the 3M wins.

3M Xtract Net Disc 710W Cubitron II sanding discs

A few different sources online that I read in the past 6 months show a clear sanding efficiency superiority with the 3M. More convincing for me is the actual use in my shop. It sands faster and lasts longer.

One quirk that I have with the 3M product is the progression of grit: 80, 120, 180, 22o, 240, 320. I think a more sensible progression is 80, 120, 150, 220, 320, 400, which with Norton. Why is 3M’s 240 between 220 and 320? And why not 120-150-220? I suppose 120-180-220 with 3M is probably fine but seems a bit odd to me.

On Amazon, I found $0.73/disc for a 12 pack of 6 grits, and $0.48/disc for a 50 single-grit pack.

I use the 5-inch discs on the cordless DeWalt DCW210. I attach it with a 1058 Design nozzle whose other end (1 1/4″ inside diameter) I filled inside to allow it to firmly connect to my Fein collection vac hose. I also have a handy power switch near the end of the Fein hose. Virtually all of the dust gets collected! 

I always finish off with fine hand sanding paper (such as 320 or 400) to improve the final look.

I almost like sanding now! OK, I do like it a little bit! But I love the results!

This is the Veritas Bevel-Up #1 plane, which I have been using for a year now. With a 1 7/32″-wide blade, it is indeed small but it works legitimately as a seriously useful plane. An ancillary tool, not a necessity, still I reach for it a lot more than I expected, so I want to share its merits with readers.  

This plane excels for small or concentrated work where its maneuverability and the vision of the work that it affords are significant advantages. In fact, even large projects involve plenty of detail work, such as a leveling touch-up at the shoulder of an assembled mortise and tenon, and fitting small components, especially those involving angles and round-overs. 

What makes this plane worthwhile for me is the feel. While there is some crossover in function with a block plane, this plane is different. Getting both hands in non-cramped positions on the handles of the BU#1 away from the sole affords feedback and control that I really appreciate. I can readily feel the tilt, and I like the excellent visual clearance. I also find that it handles significantly better than the Stanley style (bevel-down) #1.

I keep the BU#1 tuned about like a smoother with the blades mildly cambered. Because there is little momentum behind this small plane, it is particularly important to keep the blades sharp, especially if using a high attack angle. 

This plane has a 15° bed so you can sharpen with a secondary bevel of 30° for a good all-round attack angle of 45°. It is also useful to keep a second blade sharpened to 40° or 45° for a 55° or 60° attack, respectively, to use as a touch up plane on difficult grain. The short sole helps in this function. By the way, I would prefer a 20° bed but I’ve covered that issue at length elsewhere. 

Other features that I like are Veritas’ Norris-style combination adjuster with set screws near the front of the blade to make responsive lateral adjustments, and the adjustable front sole plate with a retainer set screw to easily regulate the width of the mouth. The sole of the BU#1 that I first received was slightly but significantly concave along its length but Lee Valley, being the great company that they are, exchanged it without bother. I slightly touched up the sole of the replacement, just because I’m picky. 

The BU#1 does not suffer from the unfortunate handle design that plagues most other Veritas planes. (They can be replaced – talk to Bill Rittner.) It has only a mild curve but this works well for this plane; it feels right and comfortable to me. 

My usual disclaimer: This review is unsolicited and uncompensated. My goal is only to point out good tools so you can make great stuff.

Author Brendan Bernhardt Gaffney has produced a biography of James Krenov that anyone even slightly interested in the subject will want to read. For those for whom Krenov has been a major influence, and there are so very many woodworkers, including me, in this group, this book is a must-read. 

The depth, breadth, and detail of the research demonstrated in this book are truly impressive. As the author states, it “spanned four continents, six languages and hundreds of interviews” and “thousands of hours.” Even if you have already read, as I have, all of Krenov’s books and lots of related articles and interviews, this book presents vastly more. It is fair to say that you do not know Krenov until you have read this book.

Rather than overwhelming the reader with this mountain of information, Brendan does a wonderfully intelligent job of organizing for the reader the rather complex life of James Krenov. This has helped me further understand the many influences on the development of his craft and what drove him. 

No hagiography, this book does not shy away from uncovering the less pleasant, or at least more difficult to understand, aspects of Krenov. Showing the subject as a real person rather than an icon makes for a much more powerful biography. Along with this, Brendan seems thoughtfully aware of how his relationship to Krenov’s work and teaching can influence his role as biographer. 

I will mention a few quibbles. In some areas, I think the writing and factual accounts could have been made more compact, while it would have also helped me if some of the life landmarks were restated. I suggest for a future edition to add a two-page layout of a timeline of the subject’s life to guide the reader. I also found myself confused by the overuse, in my opinion, of semicolons. 

The best compliment I can pay is this. As Brendan presents all of Krenov – his genius, his contradictions, and the remarkable patchwork of his life – he offers mature, judicious insights into how the many elements relate. Yet, he does this sparingly and modestly, leaving the reader plenty of room to draw his own inferences about Krenov. Moreover, the sheer thoroughness of the book equips you to do that. This is a fine line to walk and Brendan hits it just right.  

One more thing: one evidence of the artistry with which Brendan has approached this work is on pages 248-249. There, facing pictures of James Krenov with a book in his lap as a studious-looking boy in Alaska and as an old man with an easy smile in California bring to mind the uncertainty and beauty of life’s journey. A “quiet joy,” of which Krenov spoke, after all. 

The book is beautifully published by Lost Art Press. 

These useful tools from Veritas are paired sets of French curves. The small and large members of each pair have the same curve pattern in a 1:4 ratio.

This allows you to draft on paper at the commonly used scale of 3 inches = 1 foot using the small curve of the pair and then transfer the drawn curve to the workpiece using the full size curve of the pair. Similarly, you can layout full size mock ups with the large curves, decide which one looks good, then use the corresponding small curve to incorporate the curved element into your design on paper.

The curves are made from 3mm-thick 3-ply birch. The largest one is 36″ long. The edges are not as smooth as plastic curves, so you might want to do some light touch up with sandpaper using a block to avoid rounding over. 

There are tiny holes at corresponding locations in each pair of curves that can be used as reference points to transfer a layout from one curve to the other in the pair. Numbering the holes, as shown here, helps keep track of the paired locations. 

I often use long, very gradual curves in my designs, so I wish Veritas would also produce paired sets like these with very mild curves. I imagine this could be readily done with a CAD-CNC process. 

The key to using French curves is to mark the end points of a curve, then “fill in” the curve using at least one (usually two or more) additional reference point(s) to guide the placement of the template. Shift the reference points and use various segments of the French curve until the drawn curve looks the way you want. 

Consider using this wonderful rasp for truing curves in templates and workpieces. [If I made a buck from it, I might have called this a shameless plug.] 

By the way, why “French” curves? Beats me, but with a little online research, I learned that French curves are based on segments of the Euler spiral, named for the great eighteenth-century Swiss mathematician. The Veritas curves approximate a common Burmester set, named for German physicist-mathematician Ludwig Bermester (1840–1927). So, why aren’t these types of curves called “German curves?”

The DeWalt DCW210 is a cordless 5″ random orbit sander that is powered by the company’s 20-volt lithium-ion battery system.

Smitten with DeWalt’s 20V Max series of tools, it is a bit like dealing with Apple stuff. I know I’m being played but the products are just darned good. 

Handling is excellent. Weight, vibration level, and control are comfortable. With a top grip, the only option, the sander tends to meet the work squarely with no tendency to tip or gouge. At least with a smallish 2.0 amp-hour battery, balance is excellent. The rubberized area enhances the feel, and the on-off switch is easily accessible from the grip position. 

This is a finishing sander, not a stock removal hog. In that context, it has plenty of power. It is similar to my Bosch ROS20VS, if not more aggressive. The DCW210 has a standard 8-hole base with hook-and-loop disc attachment, and runs with a 3/32″ diameter orbit. The brushless motor is very efficient, so I read. It has a variable speed dial, also accessible from the grip position, but I rarely use that option on a sander. 

You’re going to love this as I do: the motor brake stops the motion immediately when you hit the power switch. Hallelujah!

Dust collection with the onboard bag is surprisingly good but of course, no match for sanding with a vacuum hose. (I vacuumed up the tool nice for the photo.) The bag’s good-sized plastic collar and locking system makes it easy to use one hand to detach and attach with a nice positive click. A spring that lines the bag can be compressed and popped to “shake out” stubborn dust. I find it is more useful for allowing a vacuum hose to thoroughly clean out the bag without it being sucked into the hose. 

The outlet diameter will not fit standard shop vac hoses but this does not matter to me because using a cordless sander with a hose would pretty much negate the advantages of having no power cord. So I will use this sander without tails of any sort.

I cannot offer data on how long the battery charge will last. After a while of sanding, I check the charge-level indicator on the battery and replace it if it is low. With just two extra lightweight 2.0 Ah batteries on hand and using the DCB113 charger, I could keep working indefinitely. You can also buy higher capacity batteries but I guess at some point the weight would get uncomfortable. Anyway, this is a finish sander suited for relatively light work. Note that DeWalt charger models vary considerably in their charge time.

I will still use my bigger Bosch 3725DVS (3/16″ diameter orbit) with its cord and a vac hose for heavier work but the DeWalt DCW210 is now my go-to tool for finish sanding. 

This review is unsolicited and uncompensated. I just want to help you choose good tools. 

I don’t know why it took me so long to get one of these. It’s one of those “Ahhh” tools – a favorite as soon as you handle and use it. 

The Hamilton gauge (this is the 4″ model) fits wonderfully in the hand. The grip affords excellent control to keep the fence tight to edge of the work piece, to regulate the depth of cut, and to start and stop the cut. 

A key feature of this gauge is the fingernail-shaped blade. As you would expect, it cuts cleanly across the grain, but it is also fully effective along the grain where it does not tend to deviate by following the grain of the wood.

The blade is at the end of the stem so you can easily see what you’re doing, an arrangement that I much prefer. It is secured by a machine screw that threads into a tapped brass block, and can be installed with the bevel facing in or out, so you can always keep the bevel in the waste wood when marking. 

The stem of the gauge travels in a snug dovetail slot, which allows for one-handed adjustments. A nicely knurled brass knob easily secures the setting.

The fit and finish of the Hamilton gauge are magnificent. This is one of those great-looking, great-working tools that is inspiring to have in the shop. Jeff Hamilton also makes this type of gauge in a 6″ model, plus larger traditionally styled gauges, and a panel gauge, all in a variety of woods. I like mine in osage orange.

I wrote a series of posts about gauges a couple of years ago. I’ve somewhat revised my gauge set since then. The Hamilton gauge, which I prefer to the Titemark, is now among my favorites along with the Marples mortise gauge and the Japanese cutting gauge. 

This review is unsolicited and uncompensated. I love goods tools and, equally, detest poor ones, and I want readers to know of the former and avoid the latter.