Once I've done everything possible with the No 5 I used a sanding stick that spanned the gap to refine things a bit more.

Next step was to install the rails.

So I get ripping......

....and planing.......

......until square is achieved.

Then shoot the ends until they fit.

This is repeated for all of the rails on which the two trays will sit.

Sorry, I repeated the fitting of the lid. Oof.

So, now it is time to make the trays.

Pop some wood in the vise....

Cut to rough length.....

Mark a line for tray height,,,,,

....and plane it down.

This process was repeated for the other side piece, then both were placed in a vise.....

...and planed to match.

This process was repeated for the end pieces as well.

Dovetails were then laid out and cut.

Pins were marked.....

and cut.

chopped out...

...and dry fit.

Edited Thursday at 07:55 PM1 day by Handfoolery

Then it gets the glue and clamps.

Check diagonal for square.

I chose 1/4 luan for the bottoms because I had it.

I sat the tray on it and traced the outline.

Cut it out

Cleaned up the edges with a single cut bastard file.

And here they are. Bottoms were simply glued on.

I want to do a bit of fitment to the trays, particularly the top one,

To do this I need to thin the dividers, so the first is essentially a bookmatch. I need to rip the board down the middle width wise.

Then it is cleaned up and brought down to thickness with the plane.

I'm not concerned with what that thickness is, just that it looks good to the eye.

I go through all of the steps you have seen before to cut all the dividers to length and shoot them on the shooting board until they are properly fitted.

This is the end result .

That is all for now. We are caught up on the progress of this build so far.

Thanks for looking, liking and commenting on my thread.

3 hours ago, Handfoolery said:

I used a sanding stick that spanned the gap to refine things a bit more.

Is the longer board used to keep the sanding area level as you work around the top? I've not seen that done before so interested to learn more.

15 minutes ago, BB1 said:

Is the longer board used to keep the sanding area level as you work around the top? I've not seen that done before so interested to learn more.

Yes. Essentially it's a long board with 80 grit on one end. It's long enough that it can span the depth pf the box and I can sand the edges and keep everything level and square with one another.

I use a similar tool to finish leveling the sides of acoustic guitars, and one with a 5 degree wedge on one end to bevel them.

Not sure if you’re left or right handed but from the pics I see you’re a switch hitter like me. It’s good to be proficient with both hands as a hand tool worker.

Bravo sir.

That is coming along real nice Mike, looks good.

23 hours ago, Zack said:

Not sure if you’re left or right handed but from the pics I see you’re a switch hitter like me. It’s good to be proficient with both hands as a hand tool worker.

Bravo sir.

Lefty, but I learned to use both. I try to stress when I have opportunity that you should be proficient with both.

22 hours ago, DuckSoup said:

That is coming along real nice Mike, looks good.

Thanks!