Compartmented Box for M6 Screw Assortment

I needed some flat head M6 screws for a project, and they came in a cheap subdivided plastic box. Sizes vary from 6mm to 22mm long.  The shiny stainless steel screws looked to me like they deserved a nicer box. This compartmented walnut box was made to hold them. 

Compartmented Box

The lid for the box slips onto the box easy and wedges down securely with a 3 degree tapered edge.  While I do have another piece of walnut that I could use for the top, a scrap of salvaged weathered wood with more interesting grain challenged that presumption. It was thick enough that a second use was cut into the top of it. 

Lid from a Weathered Wood Scrap

It now is a shallow tray to coral whatever small parts my current project may need. 

Parts Tray

A simple project.  Pocket toolpaths for the inner compartments. A profile toolpath for the perimeter. Another pocket for the rabbet edge on the underside of the lid.  Another profile toolpath for the outer shape of the lid.  The the lid was flipped over to pocket cut the recess center of the tray, and round the inner edge of the recess using a profile on-the-line with a 3/8"d ball end bit.  

Comments encouraged!

4D

Nesting Boxes.

 As my collection of wood scraps vary in length, width, and thickness, it occurred to me that a series of boxes that nest together might be a fun project to make.  Open the largest one to find a slightly smaller one inside.  Open that box to find an even smaller box inside it. Open that smallest box and there may be a surprise to find inside it. 

This story is not yet complete, but it starts with one box.

One Box. 2.625" x 1.75" x 1.5: tall.

Open the lid to find the lid of another smaller box.

Something inside.

Remove it to discover that lid covers another box.

Box #2. 2.25"x 1.375" x 1" tall.

Open the lid of box #2....

To find Box #3.

Box #3 is missing a lid.  The lid will have a dovetailed edge that slides in from the side.  That lid is yet to come. 

Three nesting boxes. 

With a range of router bits available, and a range of scraps in varying thicknesses available, CNC cut boxes can be made in a range of sizes.  The smallest box is 1.75" x 15/16" x 7/16" thick. It was cut with a 1/8" diameter bit.  An even smaller box may come, as I do have a 1/16" diameter bit.  Larger purely CNC cut boxes are limited by the length of the available bits and the Z axis range of my CNC. A constructed box with 4 sides, a bottom, and a lid may yet encase these nested CNC cut boxes.  Time and the available wood scraps I have will tell. 

4D

  

Table Saw Throat Plate Fix

My table saw's throat plate is unsupported at the end next to the blade slot. It will flex down when I'm cutting thin strip and cause them to catch on the lip of the table top. This is a solution for that design flaw.

Throat plate unsupported here.

Three inches or so below that area is the top edge of the blade housing. I carefully measured how thick the housing was, how far it was below the table saw bed, and how thick the throat plate was at that spot.

1" Dowel to Support the Throat Plate

I cut a slot in the bottom end of a 1" dowel to slip snuggly over the blade housing.  The dowel now stands up to support the throat plate. 

A simple solution for a nasty design flaw.  I only wish I'd gotten around to solving this 10 years ago. 

4D

 

A Small Maple Box with a Contoured Lid.

This little box was cut from 4 corner scraps left over from a previous project.  The 4 corners were glued together to make a board with enough area for this 3" x 3" box. 

The lid was made from a scrap of Walnut wood I found in my scrap bin. The walnut was a bit thicker than I liked, so I cut the top to taper down to a thinner edge. 

Contoured Top

The bottom has a rabbet edge with a 3 degree slope for a fit that slips on easy but wedges tight.

Rabbeted edge

The lid overhangs the box by 1/16" to make it easier to pop the lid off. 

Overhanging Edge

The contrast between lid and box wasn't my original intent.  I started with a scrap of beech for the top but it worked loose while being cut and was ruined. A constant potential of using the CNC for making small parts.  I may darken the box with a walnut stain to lessen the contrast between box and lid. 

4D

 

Low Angle Dovetail Joint

I found this joint sample hiding in a box of CNC-cut joinery samples I made for students to consider when designing their project. 

For Low Angle Corners

One half slides into the other half.

Not quite as simple as it looks to cut

I endeavored to figure out how to connect wood pieces at any angle with a CNC-cut joint while I was teaching.  This is an extreme sample that I don't remember ever using for a student project.  The left half in the photo above is the complicated one to cut.  The sides taper in as the bottom of the dovetail is narrower than the top.  

This sample will return to the box I found it in to wait hopefully for the day when it can come out to inspire a real corner connection on an actual project. 

4D 

T-Square/Marking Gauge Add-On for a Small Ruler

Not all projects take a lot of time or a lot of wood.  A little scrap of Bubinga that was headed for the trash bin turned out to be the perfect material scrap for this project. 

Bubinga Scrap

Three CNC toolpaths.  Three vectors. Two router bits.  The slot that the ruler slides into was cut with a 1/8" t-slot bit.  The center area and curved edge were cut with the same 3/16" spiral down-cut end mill.  The blue friction tape keeps the ruler in place but still lets it slide out easy for compact storage. 

T-Square

This little block of wood turns a simple cheap ruler into a slightly more useful T-Square.  I plan to add this ruler/T-square to a drawing kit box project.  

A bonus feature is that the ruler can slide through.  This allows it to work as a marking gauge.

Marking Gauge

To insure that the ruler won't slide when using it I cut a recess under the friction tape for a small square nut, and added a thumb screw to lock the ruler in place.

Thumb Screw to lock it in place. 

 I'm delighted with how well it works and easy it was to make.  The bubinga scrap is delighted to be something useful.   😊

4D