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273354 John Ruth <johnrruth@h...> 2021‑04‑06 Box or Case for Large Oilstone
Gentle Galoots, 

Please help me design a box or case for a large oilstone that I inherited from
my father.  I believe it was previously owned by his father, who passes
literally decades before I was born.  I want to make s box with a hinged lid.  A
major goal is to preserve the stone for the next generation.

The stone is 14" long by 3-7/8" wide by 2-3/8" high at the ends.  ( The center
is dished by a considerable amount, perhaps 1/2" Flattening is not yet on the
agenda.)

It was formerly in a crude wooden half-box formed by nailing sides and ends onto
a board.  The good feature was that excess oil could ooze out between the bottom
and the sides, though eventually the whole thing was crumbly due to using
excessive miscellaneous oils over its many years.

I have some used 3/4" "real" mahogany boards about 3-1/2" wide and 7 feet long.
I also have a used 4-quarter old-growth southern longleaf yellow pine plank
which is larger than the stone.  These should clean up nicely with some
scraping.

Current thinking is to make the long sides of the mahogany with dovetails along
the bottom edge.

The questions are:

What should the ends of the lower half of the box look like, in terms of design
for likely wood movement?

Should the bottom of the box extend out beyond the ends? ( I can't see a need to
clamp a stone this large to the bench, but would like to hear if others find
this useful. )

What should the lid be like, other than I have a suitable brass piano hinge? 

Should I just hollow out a big chunk of oak as a one-piece base, and call it at
that? ( I have a suitable  oak log. )

How have other Galoots approached the design of boxes for large whetstones?

Thanks in advance,
John Ruth

Recent Bios FAQ