monophoto
Member
I make boxes, typically long and narrow - often 1" or less in diameter. These can be used an containers for pills, toothpicks, sewing supplies, etc. Hollowing is done by drilling, and if a Forstner bit is used, it is necessary anticipate that the spur on the bit will leave a divot at the bottom of the hole that extends the depth by another 1/8" or thereabouts. Then, the final step before finishing is to part off the bottom of the box, and because I want the bottom to be slightly concave so that it sits only on the rim, the parting tool has to be angled slightly during that cut.
Recently, I screwed up; I angled the parting tool too much, cutting into the divot and leaving a hole in the bottom of the box. Whoops - but it's fixable. I was able to remount the box on a scroll chuck by gripping the tenon at the top that receives the cap. The hole was a bit ragged around the edges, but was roughly 3/16" inch in diameter, so I used a 1/4" standard twist drill bit to clean up the hole. I then glued a short length of 1/4" dowel into the hole, allowed the glue to cure, and then carefully trimmed off the excess tenon on the outside bottom of the box using a spindle gouge.
But that left a very short nub extending through the bottom of the box into the inside. Because the box was narrow, there was no way to get inside to clean up the bottom.
My solution was to use a 2" length of 1/2" dowel - I cut a small square of 240 grit abrasive, glued it to the squared-off end of the dowel, and after the glue dried, used a craft knife to trim the abrasive to a circle covering the end of the dowel. Then, I chucked the dowel into an electric drill, and then lightly sanded the inside bottom of the box to remove the nub of the dowel patch. Because I wanted to minimize wood movement, I then sealed the inside of the box by brushing on some lacquer-based sanding sealer using a cotton swab.
Sanding disks are routing sold in a variety of diameters; I've seen commercial offerings as small as 1". But there is no reason to not go smaller if that's what the application requires.
Recently, I screwed up; I angled the parting tool too much, cutting into the divot and leaving a hole in the bottom of the box. Whoops - but it's fixable. I was able to remount the box on a scroll chuck by gripping the tenon at the top that receives the cap. The hole was a bit ragged around the edges, but was roughly 3/16" inch in diameter, so I used a 1/4" standard twist drill bit to clean up the hole. I then glued a short length of 1/4" dowel into the hole, allowed the glue to cure, and then carefully trimmed off the excess tenon on the outside bottom of the box using a spindle gouge.
But that left a very short nub extending through the bottom of the box into the inside. Because the box was narrow, there was no way to get inside to clean up the bottom.
My solution was to use a 2" length of 1/2" dowel - I cut a small square of 240 grit abrasive, glued it to the squared-off end of the dowel, and after the glue dried, used a craft knife to trim the abrasive to a circle covering the end of the dowel. Then, I chucked the dowel into an electric drill, and then lightly sanded the inside bottom of the box to remove the nub of the dowel patch. Because I wanted to minimize wood movement, I then sealed the inside of the box by brushing on some lacquer-based sanding sealer using a cotton swab.
Sanding disks are routing sold in a variety of diameters; I've seen commercial offerings as small as 1". But there is no reason to not go smaller if that's what the application requires.
