I got back to some bench work the other day. Began fitting bottoms to three boxes that have been waiting around…
Sharpened the planes, thicknessed some white pine (above) and trimmed it to size. Jointing the edge here, prior to planing the bevels where the bottom will overhang the box’s sides & front.
Here’s the bevels, and pilot holes for the nails that will secure the bottom in place.
This small, 4-square reamer is one of my favorite tools. Here I used it to open up those pilot holes from below, to match the tapered shanks of the hand-made nails.
Nailing the bottom on – two in each side. Sometimes I add a 3rd in the front edge. Depends on how nail-rich I feel.
This one gets iron hinges too. Here’s the holdfast pinning the box down to the bench so I can bore and install the hinges.
A detail of hammering the gimmal/snipe-bill hinges in. That same reamer opened up this pilot hole as well.
Bent on the inside, about to be clinched.
Lids for these boxes before too long. Here’s a snapshot of the three underway…that desk box goes all the way back to my book Joiner’s Work. I needed a few photos for that book, and had to make this box to get the shots. It’s been waiting to get finished since then, maybe 3 years?
All the details about making boxes like this are in my book Joiner’s Work and a DVD I did with Lie-Nielsen – and scattered throughout this blog over the years too. If you need to know more, here’s links and don’t forget the search button in the sidebar –
Then yesterday I took some time to go birding with Marie Pelletier & Paula Marcoux – lousy light for photos, but a nice day down at the beach. Saw piping plovers (Charadrius melodus), including 3 chicks. Here’s one of those chicks. Paula’s been one of the monitors for this beach, these chicks are now just shy of 3 weeks old.
There’s maybe 3 pairs of killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) nesting there too. Here’s one of them.
On our way out, we saw a black & white warbler (Mniotilta varia) feeding a chick – deep in the bushes it was hard to get enough light for a shot. This is the juvenile.
Speaking of Paula – she’s done a couple videos recently, one about making chive pancakes and the other about brown bread – see them here – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbDDMEyH2wQ57gpgS1gDv8Q
PETER FOLLANSBEE: JOINER’S NOTES 
On birds:
Do you put feeders out in the late Spring and Summer?
I get conflicting advice on that:
don’t feed them they need to learn to get food for themselves
Feed them because you want to see them
Gregg
I’ve heard both stories about summer-feeders as well. I do use them, and it’s as you say, so I can see them. Especially this year, where I’m not out birding much. I bet they can feed themselves just fine.
Does the white pine bottom eventually give out and crack (and so what) or does if have flex/give to avoid that.
John – I have not had them crack, other than when I’m working them & not paying attention…
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Peter, Is that one of the large holdfasts I made for J. Alexander? Making the second one years later was a real trial. Always easier to make a pair at the same time. I was asked to make them taper. If that is one of those, how does it work with the taper? I have never made others that tapered. Tom
On Sat, Jul 4, 2020 at 9:41 AM Peter Follansbee, joiner’s notes wrote:
> pfollansbee posted: ” I got back to some bench work the other day. Began > fitting bottoms to three boxes that have been waiting around… Sharpened > the planes, thicknessed some white pine (above) and trimmed it to size. > Jointing the edge here, prior to planing the bevels” >