A Squiggle Box.

Round or square or triangular or any other regular polygon shapes are reasonable shapes for a box.  This little box is my protest against "reasonable".  Presenting my Squiggle Box.  

It was made from a cut off scrap of a butcherblock countertop board, clamped into my low profile CNC vise.  

In my Vise

I had to extend the 1/4" spiral end mill to handle the depth needed for this box.  In addition I had to mount the vise down on the rail for the tailstock of my radial axis.   Cuts started with the center area.

Once the CNC finished it's part of this creation the box block was take to my bandsaw. First to trim away the corners. Next to my trim router table where a flush cut bit cleaned up the bottom 1/2" that the CNC avoided to preserve the jaws of my vise that held it. 

Just the box.

A lid was still needed so another scrap was used to make the lid.

Lid.  A poor fit.

Initial test found that the lid fit depended on how it was oriented to the top of the box.

Correct Orientation

Second test revealed that both orientation and alignment were require to arrive at a snug fit.

A good fit!  Finally. 

The top and bottom were rounded over to remove the sharp edges.  My roundover bit left burn marks though so more sanding will be needed to clean it up before applying a finish.

This little box succeeds in standing out from the ordinary.  It will still hold what other boxes the same size will hold. It is easier to grip and pick up than a smooth round box.  Both features are enough to justify its creation.

4D

Small Trays Made From Leftover Scraps

I have A CNC. I have a bottle of wood glue, and several clamps. I also have several small odd shaped wood scraps begging to be used for something useful.   

Small scraps glued up can make larger boards. Here are a few shallow wood dishes/trays all made from glued up scraps.  

This first oval dish was cut from three maple scraps glued together. I used my CNC to cut the top recess and rounded edge.  Then used my router table to bevel the side 11.25 degrees, and follow that up with a small 45 degree transition to the bottom.  

Oval Tray

This second tray was the best shape to make from two glued up corners saved from a hexagon table top cutout. 

Diamond Tray

This walnut version was made from several walnut scraps. Add in patching two screw holes with walnut dowels to increase the potential final size. For this one I used the modelling tool in Aspire to create the center recess. It also has a 45° chamfer on the bottom edge.  A rounded rectangle.

4" x 6"

This 4" x 4" Cherry example required several bit changes, and used the VCarve toolpath to make the crisp inside corners of the dish. It used up the left over corners from a round plant stand cutout. Its shape echoes the shape of the glued up corners. 

V-Carved Cherry Dish

Several bit changes were required.  Bits used (in order) were a 3/16" end mill to clear out the center area of the dish, then a 60 degree V-Bit to slope the sides and create the sharp inside corners. A 1/4" end mill cut a clearance path for the final bit and profile out the final shape.  Last bit used on the CNC was a side cutting V-bit to put a groove around the sides as shown below.

VCarved, V-cut, and beveled. 

As with all of these trays some follow up work was needed.  The waste perimeter was roughly cut off using my bandsaw.  A flush trim bit cleaned up the bottom edge on my trim router table.  Lastly a 45 degree chamfer bit beveled the bottom edge. 

Beveled bottom and side groove.

Lastly, an octagon dish. Made from one scrap board nearly 11" long and 2.6" wide.  It had a rough bark side.  I cut it in half and glued the good sides together to make a roughly 5" x 5" block close to 7/8" thick. The inner and outer sloped sides were 3D toolpaths.  The center of the top was a pocket toolpath to bring it down to the bottom of the inner sloped sides.  Hard maple with tight grain cut nicely on the CNC. 

Octa Dish

These are small examples of the value you can find from small scraps of wood left over from previous projects. Glue thin scraps together to make thicker boards that may be more useful. Any scraps with a straight edge can usually be glued up to make a larger board.  A trip across a jointer may be needed to face the edges for the best glue joint. I have a small benchtop jointer that is perfect for this task. Its small expose blade gap between tables make it safer than larger jointers with a larger expose blade gap to slide over. 

So save those odd scraps.  When boredom or inspiration strikes take a few and glue them up to make a larger board that can become something useful.  

Comment encouraged!

4D

Scraps. A Window Table made from Assorted Workshop Scraps.

Scraps

This table came to be from my desire to use up some assorted material scraps I had in my shop.  A vinyl wrapped particle board 18" wide shelf scrap became the table top.  A scrap of hickory that used to be one side of a wall mounted shelf became the drawer front. The angled ends of the drawer front inspire angling the ends of the back stop above for some detail continuity. The knobs on the drawer front are located where there were two screw holes to cover. Some old growth pine was used to cover the edges of the base which was made from 3 pieces of cheap plywood. The cheap plywood was painted black to diminish it's visual impact. 

Smooth running drawer.

The drawer hardware rollers were salvaged from old cassette tapes.  A Teflon spring loaded guide t-pin was embedded into the back edge of the drawer to run in a t-slot and keep it from racking when pulled out or pushed in. 

The top of the base sides slide into dovetail slots in the bottom of the table top. The center panel slides into dovetail slots on the inside faces of the two sides. This table can be quickly disassembled for relatively flat storage or moving/shipping. 

The construction is simple.  The details make it look more interesting.  A nicer version could be made from solid wood rather than MDF and cheap plywood, but wouldn't be any more useful.  I had this table on display in a gallery show of my work and was surprised how much interest it attracted. 

Without all the detail the 4-plane assembly (2 sides, a center plane, and a top) is a quick and simple way to make a table (of nearly any size) from sheet goods. The center slips down dovetail slots in the sides. The sides slide into dovetail slots on the underside of the top. 

24" x 24" x 24" four plane table

With some thoughtful reflection even a pile of scraps can become a nice looking useful little table. 

4D

Comments and Questions welcomed and encouraged!