Kumiko Box Build Process

21/8/2022

It was then over to the milling machine. I wanted a 10 mm wide fence and I've ordered some 10 mm × 3 mm brass bar, but it hasn't arrived yet, so I decided to use some 8 mm × 4 mm bar I already had. I drilled and milled a 4 mm slot in the bar:

I then cut it to length, tidied up the ends and deburred everything:

I didn't have any M4 screw-in threaded inserts, so I used a heat-set one and just used a hole that was a very tight fit to house it:

The finished jig:

With that jig complete, it was time to get on with making another grid, this time much smaller:

Each piece got the edges chamfered very slightly, using the new jig and a chisel pressed up against the mitred face (with hindsight it would have been better to have the ploughed groove on the far side of the jig to give the chisel more of a surface to reference, but I couldn't be bothered to plough another groove):

After remaking the pieces rather a lot of times (eventually chamfering the edges before cutting the half-laps), I ended up with a small grid and a big pile of scrap:

The final job was to make some small pieces with a double 45° angle cut in the end to form the lock pieces that hold the pattern together. The position of the brass stop was tweaked (and hence the length of the lock pieces was tweaked) until two pieces locked the middle grid in place and then the other two lock pieces were cut to the same length:

With that the lid could be dry fitted:

This is what it looks like on the box:

I can't believe I've managed to produce 102 photos on this simple box project! I haven't worked out how to glue the Kumiko pattern in place without any squeeze-out and I may make the whole Kumiko pattern again to see whether I'm improving with practice. I think it needs to come out of the box lid and have a bit of sanding (which may break it, in which case I'll definitely have another go!). I'll then need to oil everything, which will again offer some interesting challenges as I try to figure out how to oil the Kumiko pattern without ending up with a gloopy mess in the pockets as I won't be able to wipe away the excess oil very easily. One option is to oil the Kumiko and box lid frame separately, but I'd like the Kumiko to be glued in place and the oil may make that difficult.

Something to ponder anyway, but I'm pleased with how the box has turned out so far anyway.

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