Tight Lid

Make it oversize and sand to fit.

I've made scores of boxes but once I get the lid to fit, I *never* sand the "mortice" or "tenon" but wax them with a little beeswax. Graham

Just wait for he RH in the house vs the shop. It will expand or shrink. One can never be happy on the fits. Wood also shrinks with age.

I have a birdhouse that has an acorn top on the base. The base expanded in an axis not evenly. It pinches the top on. It fit nicely before but now is tough. But what the heck, we never want to take it off anyway - it is a kitchen shelf decoration not a bird birdhouse.

Mart> What can I do to assure a tight fitting lid on a turned box after sanding?

I agree with the beeswax solution. No one is going to see the lid joint parts anyway so why try to sand them until they shine? As noted in other posts, the joint is going to swell and shrink with the weather and may fit perfectly on one day and be loose or tight on another.

Fit it until you get that wonderful "pop" when you open it. Add some wax and go have a beer! Don't sweat the small stuff!

Pops in Howell, NJ

We had the pleasure of a nationally known turner in our local group. His comment was that the turners always liked those tight fitting lids as proof of their capabilities. But the people who bought his stuff always complained that they wanted lids they could take off with one hand - not having to hold both parts.

So if you want to sell your turned boxes, don't worry as long as it's not excessively loose - it shouldn't rattle around :-).

P.S. You can read more of Russ's wisdowm on:

G, Ross had a good idea, the other thing you can do is to get the exact fit and do not touch it after that. If you put finish on the mating surfaces, you have a chance of the finish acting like glue and sticking the lid on.

Deb

Larry Blanchard wrote in news:nad0a0$65s$ snipped-for-privacy@gioia.aioe.org:

That's exactly the fit I wound up with. Easily removed with one hand but it doesn't rattle around. I was hoping to get a fit where the lid would stay on when the box was inverted but fit easily, but I guess we're talking about hitting a range in machinist's tenths there...

Interestingly, I got a good fit by missing my objective! Today was a good day.

Puckdropper

Tom Puskar wrote in news:9ukyy.7435$ snipped-for-privacy@fx18.iad:

Does the drying method make a difference in the movement? This is air dried from one of the branches of the tree.

Next time I try one, I might round/chamfer/dress the edges of the top to give your fingers something to grab as you open the box. That way, if the box does decide to stick you can still open it.

Puckdropper

Taper the fit.

I've found that in addition to drying, all wood is "reaction wood" to some degree. After you remove the inside, the stresses in the wood changes and it will move a bit.

I've turned closed forms with lids from wood that sat in my shop for years. It always moves. Lately I'll turn it so the lid fits tightly, then set it aside for a week or two. After a while I'll remount them and true up the fit.

...Kevin