Decorative Grease Box

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Got this idea from HokieKen's project.  After looking into it, I chose Cherry and Wenge as the accent wood (for the bowtie and the "tear drop" that I'll talk about below.  I started by getting my stock faces jointed and squared to the edges.  Then, I made the cross cut for the opening angle where the top cover meets the top of the middle piece at 1::6 as I had seen others do.  This cut was beveled, and made by hand.  Using my bandsaw, I then sawed off the top cover, and then the middle piece.   

After I had the three pieces, I rounded off the corners of the whole unit (keeping the three pieces taped together), and then sanded them.  Next step was to make the bowtie key, followed by cutting out its profile into the lower and middle pieces.  This was done by hand.   Next, I hollowed out the grease tub from the bottom piece, again by hand.  

I used a brass Chicago Screw for the pivot, as I felt this would be more decorative.  Re this screw, I grounded off the smooth button end leaving only a 3/16" diameter screw casing to embed into the bottom piece of Cherry.   I then drilled through the 3 pieces to set the casing for the pivot.  The casing was then glued into main piece.  Next step was to cut the slot in the middle piece.  Lastly, I recessed the pivot screw ~1/8" into the top cover using a 1/2" Forstner bit.

Now, as this was a prototype, I didn't get too fussy on smoothing the pieces.  Instead, I was more concerned with getting the mechanism right.   However, in making the box wider than the typical 2" (this one is ~3 3/8"), I found that the top cover wouldn't slide past the opening as it would get obstructed in the left corner.  (Had I opted for a steeper angle, that wouldn't have happened.)  So, to fix this, I rounded off the left corner of the top cover.   To fill that gap I cut a small piece of Wenge to match the corner piece I removed, and glued this (i.e., the "tear drop") onto the middle piece.  The result, I think, added to the overall appearance, and it provided a back stop for the top cover to go against when closing it.   The last part was sanding and oiling the box.

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Looks a lot better than mine.   Nice

Ron

im just wondering why id need one ?  but let me say, alan so well done my friend !

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

Looks great!

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".

Nice box. You are now a member of the GBOC ( grease box owners club) Mads Felding (MAFE) is president!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day

Thanks guys!  

Jim, I'm honored!

And for Pottz, the reason you need to make is because it's made out of wood!  

Seriously, though, if I were looking to make stuff that'd easily sell at craft fairs, this'd be high on the list since: 1) people (and women, in particular, based on the feedback I've gotten) seem to like/want them as they're unique decorative containers for holding moisturizers, 2) they can be made fairly quickly, and 3) there's very little material cost!

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Nicely done.  

Grease boxes were used to lubricate the soles of wooden hand planes.  They usually used rendered tallow.  It is part of the reason that so many old wooden planes looks so grimy on the sole when you find them.  

--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

Very nice build Alan and way to turn a problem into an embellishment 😁

As far as what to use them for, I keep one in the shop with a paste wax I made from paraffin to put on my plane soles when they get sticky.  I also made my wife one that she uses to put rings in when we travel.  I could see small ones being used for lip balm and pills too.
Great ideas HokieKen, and in particular, I like the idea of a pill holder!

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