Celtic Flute Case is in the Mail

Custom Sapele Case for Celtic Flute

     I'll have to admit that I'm really happy with the final results of this Etsy order that I just mailed this morning.  This picture shows some of the beauty of this wood with its' ribbon grain effect.  The finish is Danish oil with my hand-rubbed, 3 part mixture.  Here's another shot of it that shows off the chatoyance of this wood.

3/4 View

     I tend to say that in my work it's all about the wood and this project bears that out.  I have always loved the subtle nuances in wood, one that really stands out to me is the spot about half way up on the lid.  It looks as if it's an "outie" but you run your hand over it and it's as smooth as can be!  I love the hand rubbed finish I use on almost all of my work.  You may recall that I applied all but the last 2 coats before separating the lid from the box.  They are applied with pieces of denim which I get from my neighbors whose kids have outgrown their jeans -- works great!

Applying Final Coats of Finish

     Whenever I do this step it reminds me off Marine Corps boot camp and sitting on a locker, rubbing boiled linseed oil into the stock with your hands.  I doubt they still do that, M-16's have plastic stocks whereas the M-14's of my era were wooden.  The denim concept is the same.  You use a very small amount of the finish (don't saturate it) and rub it into a small area until it's almost dry.  I really think it's more of a burnishing effect using the finish as a lubricant.  Once you're done it's important to wipe everything completely dry and just let the piece sit overnight.  

     I sure I'm not the only person that gets a bit apprehensive the closer you get to the end of a project.  Just the thought of making a fatal mistake -- I mean, the potential is always there.  One area is installing the hardware like the hinges, latches, handle, and nameplate.  First up were the hinges.  After pre-drilling them the next thing was to pre-screw them with a steel screw to avoid any possibility of the brass screw breaking.  Even after all those precautions, I still lubricate the threads of the screw with beeswax.

Hinge Installation

     For the nameplate I use a tiny #2 x 3/8" round head screw.  I don't even bother with an electric drill for those, a small gimlet works just as well.

Gimlet for the Nameplate

     Any commercial handle I found was way too large in scale for this case.  I chose to use the same leather material I use for strapping in my pistol cases.  I think the look of it with the brass finish washer and slotted, oval-head screw maintain the scale and purpose of the case.

Handle & Nameplate Detail

     Got the case all wrapped up and sent it priority mail this morning.  Most projects I do I get some attachment to.  This one was extra special.  The person that ordered it from me recently sent two recordings of the actual flute being played, the one that's going into this case!  That was special, a bit of Irish Celtic music to really get me into the spirit.  I played it while I was taping the package up.

The Separation of Lid & Box

     One of the more common ways of making a lidded box is to make it as a solid piece and then separate them.  This way the grain is continuous and you know they will be perfectly aligned -- after all they were made as one piece!  The two most common ways of doing this is by using either the bandsaw or the tablesaw.  My preference is the tablesaw, it just seems to make a smoother and more uniform cut then the bandsaw does.
     In practice, it's simple.  Set the rip fence to the required size and cut away.  However, there is a potential for problems which usually occur on the last side cut.   What can happen is that on the final cut, the box and lid squeeze together resulting in a snipe. On a recent episode of Rough Cut with Tommy Mac he did this process but didn't do what I recommend doing.
    Here's what I suggest, first cut the two longest edges of your box completely through.  The blade is set slightly higher than the thickness of the box sides.  To cut the other two sides I'll adjust the blade so that it is 1/16"+ lower than the thickness of the sides which results in something like this:

Tablesaw Work to Separate

     What happens here is that you leave a small sliver of wood so there's absolutely no risk of squeezing the two sides together and causing a snipe or even a kickback.  Notice that I cut right in the middle of a finger joint so there is long grain on both the top and bottom.  All that's required now is to use a zero set saw to complete the cut.

Finishing the Separation

     You can hold the box either as shown or horizontally.  This results in a small fin of wood that can easily be pared or chiseled flush with the box.

Paring the Cut

     Now that the two are apart, it's time to check the fit of the insert ….

Success

                                                                                                         ……. it fits!

      Next step was to mortise in for the hinges.  These are a quality pair of solid brass hinges from Lee Valley.  I'm planning to use a set of Brusso hinges for my next custom box project.  They're not that much more than these and I've heard so much about the quality of them I believe they'll be worth the couple of extra dollars.  I use a template and bearing guided router bit to start the process.

Hinge Mortise Guide

     Hinge mortises need to be exact if the box is to close and open properly.  The mortise I route out is slightly less than the hinge length, 2" in this case.  Even though I align the template as carefully as I can, there's still a chance of being off.  To counter that I use a chisel to trim the mortise so that the distance from the end of the box and the outside edge of the hinges are exact.

Exact Distance from End

    Once that's set, the inside edge of the mortise is trimmed to fit the hinge.  I prefer to use slotted, solid brass screws for this type of project but they have a tendency to strip out or worse -- break off.  Not good so each hole is pre-screwed with a steel screw. Good insurance as far as I'm concerned, nothing worse than trying to remove a broken screw inside of a finished project and then fill the hole, re-drill, etc.  By the way, I prefer the slotted head screw because it gives the appearance that this case has been around for many, many years.
     The way the insert will be held in place is with strips of Sapele that will do double duty to not only secure the insert but also function as a dust check for the box.  After carefully fitting them in place I needed to taper the outside of the front one so the lid would close easily over it.  The other edges will have a slight round over.  These pieces are only 1/4" thick and 3/8" wide so no way could you use a router or even a small block plane.  I have the perfect solution for this; an old, Stanley #101.

Stanley #101

     When Adam was a teenager he went to England with his Dad and brought this little antique back for me.  Not sure if he figured I'd use it or that it was just a great memento to give me from his trip.  I've sharpened the blade and it's great for forming chamfers or quarter rounds on small pieces such as this.  I know it's an antique because the blade is stamped with the Stanley Rule & Level logo.  This plane was made from 1877 to 1962.  Since he bought it in England I'd assume that's were this particular model was made.  It's a neat little tool that has seen much use in the past and will continue as long as I'm able.
     Last up today was to shellac the dust check and the top edges of the newly separated box.  Diane is going to sew the felt covered, foam piece that will secure the flute in the case.  All that remains are a couple more hand rubbed coats on the outside followed by wax, apply the handle and nameplate, and this project will be ready for shipping.  I've met the Christmas deadline!

When Your Theory Pans Out

It Worked!

     I had an earlier blog about the Celtic Flute case where the challenge of custom work was praised but the uncertainty of an untried process could undermine the over-all success.  Even saying that though, that's the part of doing this kind of work that keeps you motivated.  At left is the completely formed and lined inner compartment for the flute.  The socket at the top was used as a gauge because the largest diameter of the flute matches it ; 1 1/2".

In a previous post I discussed how the recesses with their rounded bottoms were formed.  In this post I'll go over the process I used to line them with the 100% wool felt.







     The first step was to protect the ends that have already been shellacked and are completely finished.  This was done with painters tape then carefully trimmed so it was only on the sides but none on the bottom.

Taping Off the Insert

     Diane and I discussed the best approach to this and we decided that starting from the center was the best way to go about this.  The outer edges were protected with tape and then the inner surfaces were covered with spray adhesive.  That tape was removed from the outer edges so the felt wouldn't stick there before the inside walls, cove, and bottom were covered.  Because the application started from the center, the outer ends helped align and keep everything square.  I waited a bit for the adhesive to set and then began working it down the side, cove, bottom and then back up the other side.  Here's what it looked like then:

Before Final Glueing 

     The side was protected once again, didn't want a glue layer there that could prevent the insert from sliding into the box.  A layer of newspaper was placed  over the box and the glue sprayed on.

Ready to Glue One Outer Edge

     Next, the tape is removed so the only glue is on the upper edge and some on the back of the felt as well.  This was securely glued down and the process was repeated on the opposite edge.

Ready for Final Trimming

    Once the glue was set up and everything properly cured, a fresh blade in the utility knife trimmed off the excess and this step of the box is complete.  Also hand sanded the first of 5 coats in to the assembled box with 400 grit wet/dry paper.  The nameplate is ready so that was picked up from the trophy shop so hinging, fabricating the handle, and final assembly is what remains to be done.

First Coat of Oil

     So, what do you suppose is lurking under this conglomeration of clamps?

Bet you Guessed!

     Yep, you were right; it's the assembled case for the Celtic flute.  Here it is with the clamps removed.  The tape is there to help me keep the pieces straight during assembly, it's happened that a board was flipped or put in the wrong sequence so the grain doesn't match up anymore.

Unclamped, Mark on Right Indicates Lid

     I always like to use liquid hide glue for dovetails and finger joints since it has a longer open time and is relatively easy to clean up.  I tried Old Brown Glue for this project and so far I liked working with it.  The only disadvantage is that you do need to run it in a warm water bath to get a good working viscosity but I would do that with the Titebond brand I'd used before too.
     I decided to try a different approach on this case and  oil the case before I separated the lid.  Most of the bottom of the case is the insert that will hold the flute.  The top will have a foam piece that will put pressure down on the flute when the case is closed and hold everything securely.  After paring the finger joints flush and preparing the case, here's what it looks like.  I really like the ribbon grain of this piece of Sapele.  Well, admittedly I like it better to look at than trying to surface it -- interlocking grain makes planing or scraping difficult.  I chose this panel for the top because of the blemish just left of center.  I think it adds character, it's really not a blemish, just an interesting swirl in the grain.  Next up is lining the insides, a number of top coats, and then final assembly.  This is where things slow down, you just can't rush that 24 hours between coats!

Freshly Oiled

So, How Do You ……...?

Celtic Case Innards

   



     The thing about doing custom, one of a kind projects is that you rarely get complacent or bored.  That, in my opinion, is a good thing!  For example, when I was first contacted about making a case for the Celtic Flute, the unknown aspect of this project was how to create the recess for the flute parts to rest in.  In our earliest correspondence I referred to these as "troughs" but that word just didn't convey that elegant image this case will have.  After looking at various designs and things that others had done, I came up with my own solution.

     This first picture shows where we are now, next up will be to shellac and seal this assembly prior to gluing in this high quality, 100% Merino Wool Felt.  It's that deep, rich green color similar to what you may have seen on a pool table.

     The unit starts out with the Sapele ends, Poplar dividers, and a piece of 1/16" Mahogany door skin.  The ends will show so that's why they're made of Sapele, everything else will be covered with the felt.

Basic Structure

   This is sized to just fit into the assembled case.  You may notice how the ends were notched to accept the dividers.  This was the perfect project to use a 23 gauge pinned on, can't imagine trying to apply glue, hold everything square and aligned, and then drive a brad home with a hammer.  I bought the pinner a few years ago for a restoration project that had lots of small moldings to create and re-attach.  The challenge was to create the radius in the bottom of each recess.  Here's how that was done.

Routing the Coves

     The first step was taking a piece of MDF that was longer than the case and cutting a 1/2" cove on each edge.  A small plunge router with an edge guide completed that step.  Boy, is MDF ever a messy product -- dust all over the place!

First Pass on TableSaw

   


     The tablesaw was used to separate these pieces.  I suppose if this was an official publication this is where I'd put in the disclaimer about keeping your guards in place and that they were removed for photographic clarity but I don't like to lie.  This is how it's done, you could use a push stick and a feather board to increase the safety of this operation but the bottom line sometimes has to be this:  if you're uncomfortable doing any process with your tools than, by all means, DON'T DO IT!  Find another way.

Second Pass on TableSaw

   




      After making the first pass as shown the fence was readjusted and the blade height was set so that it is just above the thickness of the MDF.  In this instance I am using a push stick.  You need to reach over the end and hold the piece next to the fence to avoid the possibility of it shooting back.  Safety wise, it would have been a better option not to have the cut off piece against the fence but I was confident in handling them this way.  They needed to be consistent in size so I chose not to readjust the fence for each cut.



     The final step was cutting and gluing them in place at the bottom of the dividers.  For this a utility knife did the trick.  My glue of choice for this was Liquid Hide glue.  A bead of glue was applied to the flat sides of the radiused piece and a "rub joint" will hold it all together.  A few coats of shellac to seal everything and then I get to be an upholsterer of sorts!

Cutting the Cove Pieces

Can You Use Your Imagination?

Top & Bottom Panels

     Saturday and Sunday saw the Sapele panels for the Celtic Flute case getting their initial finish coats. I think they look very "musical" if that's possible.  The ribbon grain of the Sapele lends itself to a classical look you'd associate with a piano or other stringed instrument.  Currently it has the initial coat of Danish Oil sanded in with 320 grit wet/dry paper and the first of 4 top coats which are also hand sanded with successively finer grits of paper ending with denim.
     As for the inside of the case it's in the initial stages.  Here you can see the parts dry fit together to get the dimensions correct.  The chrome object you see is my sizer -- aka a 1 1/2" socket!

Inside of Celtic Flute Case

     This will be assembled with glue and small brads.  In my next post I'll show how I form some coved pieces to create the rounded interior portion required for the flute parts to nestle in.  Once this structure is complete it will be shellacked to seal it prior to applying the felt.  After the box is assembled and the lid is separated, this unit will slip into it and be held in place with the dust check.  I decided to tackle this using the same technique used for my pistol cases.  Should the felt ever need to be replaced, which is doubtful, this piece that cradles the flute can be removed simply by unscrewing the dust check.

New Special Order: Celtic Flute Case

It's a Start!

     Although it doesn't look like a whole lot in this picture, this will be a case for a Celtic Flute and  placed under someone's Christmas tree this year.  I had a request from my Etsy store to make this.  Making custom cases is interesting, so far the communication on these types of projects has been successful.  There's kind of an unwritten rule that says you should only rely on measurements you've taken yourself when building something but that's not always possible.  The approximate size is 3" tall x 5" wide x 16" long.  The wood is Sapele and I had just enough for this project.
     Making one of a kind pieces is a joy.  It allows me to select and lay out the wood to show it to its best advantage.  If you're a woodworker you know that there may be hidden flaws or defects the show themselves only after you've begun to cut things out.  For this project a piece of 8/4 Sapele was used which of course, called for re-sawing.  One piece was cut into thirds to give me the 7/16" thickness for the sides while another was sawn in half to yield the top and bottom panels.  I've seen quite a bit of talk about bandsaws and specialized fences for re-sawing but find that the old method I use is still effective.

Checking for Drift

     Step one is to plane the bottom of the board square and then mark your line.  Free hand, I'll cut about 2/3's of the way through  the board staying right on the line then turn off the saw.  Once the blade has come to a full stop I carefully let go of the board making sure it doesn't move.

Draw Line 

     Step two is to draw a line along the edge of the board on the table.  This will be parallel to the cut you made.

Can You See It?

Step three is to align the fence with the line you just drew.


It's hard to see, but if you look closely the drawn line is just to the right of the fence.  On my Jet bandsaw there are 4 bolts that can be loosened.  This allows you to move the fence to make it line up to the line drawn on the table.  You're now set up to re-saw the boards.  Basically this is the amount of drift, for this kind of wood, with the tension currently set on the saw.

Re-Sawing the Sapele

   


     Now that every thing is properly set up it's time to cut the material.  The final step to the process is to run the boards through the thickness planer so they are the same thickness.









     I have a good quality planer but it seems that no matter how carefully things are set up and adjusted a small amount of snipe is inevitable.  You can see the snipe here, just ahead of  the pencil.

Planer Snipe

     That's why I always use a smooth plane for the final surface, even this Sapele with its interlocked grain responds pretty well to the plane, now that snipe is gone.

Snipeless --  Is That a Word?

  Next up is cutting the finger joints.  You'd think that the adjustments wouldn't have changed but … they did.  After tapping a bit to the right, then a bit too much,  then back to the left for what seemed like a hundred times I finally just completely loosened the jig and started from scratch.  You know what, that worked the first try!

Finger Joints on the Last Piece

     One of my students keeps asking me if I own stock in Lee Valley because many of the tools I own were purchased from them.  I don't but they do carry and develop quality tools for not only woodworking but gardening as well.  They make a box-slotting router bit that really simplifies the process of cutting a slot to hold a box or drawer bottom.  Here's a LINK to it so you can see for yourself.  To cut a slot in any box that isn't mitered requires a stopped groove on two of the sides.  You can plan the slot on the other two sides to either coincide with a dovetail or finger but that can be a hassle.  With this router bit, you assemble the box and then route the slot.

Box Slotting Bit in Use

     It is a pretty messy job which is the one downside.  After clamping the box together, I used band clamps for this one, it's put over the bit and cut out.  I try to keep ahead of some of the mess by holding the vacuum cleaner hose in one hand as I cut which does help quite a lot.  The one bit of advice I'd give is to make the cut in two passes.  I'm cutting a 1/4" deep slot so just eyeball half the depth for the initial pass and then finish it off to the final depth with the bearing guiding the depth of cut.
     This leaves a radiused corner which just so happens to be about the size of a quarter.

Laying Out Corner Radius

     Pretty self explanatory and very easy to file to the required shape.  After marking the limits of the radius with the small combination square, hold the quarter at the edge, trace around it, and then file away.  As always, a trial fit is a wise use of your time.
     The function of this case determined my design process.  The slot for the top and bottom is located 1/2" from the bottom of the case.  The top and bottom panels are 7/16" thick so that means that the box sides will be proud of them so there's no chance of scarring the panels.  To raise the panels a panel raising jig was used, this is my dedicated tablesaw sled that's set for a 15 degree cut.

15 Degree Panel Raising Jig

    As always, the end grain is cut first because if the grain is going to split out, that's where it'll happen. This is followed by cutting the long grain.  To create the flat section of the panel that fits into the slot, the blade of the tablesaw is set to about 5/16" and the fence is slid over to leave 1/4" on the sides to slip into the slot.

Cutting the Flat Tongue for the Box Slot

     A lot has been accomplished but I'm thinking that this is the easier part of the project.  Before gluing together I will finish the panels with Danish oil and my hand rubbed finish, it's always easier to do this before gluing the box together.  The more difficult part of this project will be to create two recesses or troughs for the three sections of the Celtic flute to fit in to.  I was able to find 100% Merino Wool felt from another Etsy store (http://www.etsy.com/shop/feltonthefly) and that's already arrived.  What a difference between it and the blends of wool/rayon you find at the local craft stores -- no comparison!
     Looking forward to finishing this wood, that's when things really start to look good.