Display Case

[BrokenolMarine]

This one could have gone in the Knives section, I guess, since the display case will be for all the knives I have laying here and there around the living room. But, it's woodworking. Miss Tina was walking by the table by the front door where they are all laid out and said, "You need to make a display case for these so no one walks out with one or some kid doesn't get cut." I think she was more worried about the Former, than the Latter. We trust the few friends we have met here in Oklahoma since we have moved here... but we have Service People and Repair Folks come in and out. In the last four years, three or four of those have turned out to be scam artists in their business, so ... not Trustworthy. Sad, isn't it?

I started laying out the design in my head, then sketching a rough on paper for a materials list. Wood alone, in oak, would be nearly $100 at a box store, and that wasn't anything fancy, just oak. Not trim pieces or carved oak, just oak. I went to my woodpile and picked out some rough stuff. These two raw boards should do it.

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I set up the lunchbox planer and hooked up the dust collector and prepared to plane the two pieces to remove the roughness and insure they were the same thickness. Always a good start. By my calculations, the longer of the two would give me enough to make the side frame, and the shorter should provide the face. If not, I have more in the wood pile but I don't want to have to set up the planer again.

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About fifteen passes through the planer, seven or eight on each side, and they are looking good. Not worried about the fall at the edges, they will be trimmed to width.

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The longer board will need one edge dressed to be used as a guiding edge when cutting, whether I use the table saw or the skill saw, that puppy is rough. Take a close look, that's a live edge. I have it clamped and ready for the hand plane.

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A little work with my hand plane and she is ready for the next step. Time on my feet is short, so we are done until tomorrow. It will give me time to figure the dimensions of the cuts, how wide do I want to make the sides of the "Shadowbox" style display case. I am going back and forth on the background. I intended to go with Diamond Tuck, but Miss T is laughing at me. "Yeah Right, Diamond Tuck."

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More later, Watch this space.

[BrokenolMarine]

I have no idea why she seemed to think the knives were piling up...

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Of course, those on the table by the door don't include the five she has. The three I have, or the five or six I have sent out as gifts to Virginia and the two I gave to friends here.

Yup, the case is underway. I'll get 'er done and it will go on the wall behind the table. The picture will be moved to the Fly Tying Room, and the lamp will ... go away.

[rickhem]

Nice looking cases there BOM, That one with the diagonal separation between the flag and your stuff from the Corps is unlike any I've ever seen, and I like that one a lot.
I have a case for some of the more important medals, but apparently my foam backer doesn't hold them all in place, and some keep shifting from gravity.
Some really nice looking knives there too!

[BrokenolMarine]

Nice looking cases there BOM, That one with the diagonal separation between the flag and your stuff from the Corps is unlike any I've ever seen, and I like that one a lot.
I have a case for some of the more important medals, but apparently my foam backer doesn't hold them all in place, and some keep shifting from gravity.
Some really nice looking knives there too!

The one with the Diagonal Divider is my original design for MY flag and medals. I made it from a piece of firewood I was about to split and tossed aside to cure in the shop. About two years later I ran it thru the bandsaw and made that box for my stuff. The wife couldn't believe I had spotted that grain in the piece we split before that one and saved it. You can really see the grain from the sides.

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I have made a couple more in the same design for family members and veterans since. One for my Son in Law in Curly Cherry when he left the Air Force. He went on to earn his Master's and still works for the Air Force, and is now in charge of All Training for the F22 Program, Pilots and Maintenance.

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I also made one for the widow of a WWII Bomber Pilot in Black Walnut. She is a friend of the family that my Daughter and Son in law know very well, they bought their farm in Oklahoma just before the husband passed.

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She sent me a pic of the box after she put the flag and medals in his box, but she wasn't good at picture taking. You see what I mean.

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I made a couple others in different styles, laying out the plans with some input from the Veteran's daughters.
This one in Brazilian Cherry...

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This one for a friend of the wife's who's dad was not only a vet, but a member of a post service Initial Agency... until he died.

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In most cases, the only thing I asked of them was they order any inlays and the engraving plates, and the glass for the viewing area if I already had the wood. If they wanted Special Wood, then I found it and send them the receipt. Curly Cherry and Brazilian Cherry can get Costly....

[rickhem]

Beautiful cases.
Is that lower area a storage space, or just solid for weight?

[BrokenolMarine]

In that design, they can place keepsakes in the space. She put her Dad's Glasses, his pocket knife and a few other small items in the space before I put the back in place. In another box I built, the woman wanted a piece of the original wood, bark on, placed in the space so when you slide the back panel off to add medals, or adjust the flag you could show the doubters the case was actually built from the tree out of HER yard. MY box has the same, a piece of bark from the original log. You pull the brass " cabinet feet" out of the top, remove four small screws and the top lifts off. Now the back panel pulls up out of the dovetails so you can easily access the interior in that design. I tell each recipient that I do not recommend doing this often. The removal of the feet can distort those carefully drilled sockets. The small screws can snap off when you put them back, or when you are removing them. Or you can simply strip the heads on the tiny phillips heads. (Some folks are a little heavy handed with tools) Tapping the small brass box feet back into place and miss, you ding the top of your display case... it IS real wood.

[BrokenolMarine]

All of the above has happened....

[BrokenolMarine]

Out in the shop this morning... and got the table saw set up. Another pucker factor morning. Cutting long rip cuts is always fun. If the board should bind, it can shoot back and ... Owie. I take all the precautions I can. I support the back end, I use a feather board, and a push stick that keeps both lateral and downward pressure. The Pawl that came with this old table was defective and caused more issues than it solved. I bought a high dollar, super duper overhead vacuum one, with cool pawls... didn't work. Out that money. So... I take my time and focus on the cut.

The set up... Dust collection in place, and the support as noted above.

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Ready for the first pass, note the first cut is a narrow rip, to remove the defective edge.

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Success, and preparing for the second and third passes.

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Now they are all done. The good stuff on the left are the 2-1/2 inch box sides. The trimmed bad edge and the excess on the right. That leftover piece might be good for something in the future. The other piece might have sections wide enough to cut plugs out of to fill screw holes... I might cut it into sections, save/toss. If I don't end up needing plugs I'll toss them all.

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The 2-1/2 inch pieces will be cut into two 48" pieces and two 16" pieces, the leftovers will be saved for braces and "As Needed."

[Vaquero]

Well, if miss T thinks that's a lot of knives, well, she'd probably have a heart attack if she saw my buddies collection up in Wis.
Some pretty cool lookin blades in there. Very nice.

RP

[BrokenolMarine]

Well, if miss T thinks that's a lot of knives, well, she'd probably have a heart attack if she saw my buddies collection up in Wis.
Some pretty cool lookin blades in there. Very nice.

RP

Those are just the ones I've Made... those aren't my Collection. The collection is in the safe, and tucked in boxes in the closet. She was just pointing on the knives I made laying on the table.

I have four or five swords, a couple lances, some weird machetes, and a LOT of knives I've collected over the years.
Including a civil war bayonet that is one of less than 750 made for the Spencer Rifle. (Spencer Saber Rifle Bayonet.) Of course, being a marine, a couple K-bars, one I used, several engraved, some on plaques.

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A intricate inlaid Philippine machete with mother of pearl and ivory in the sheath, that was a gift. Some type of ceremonial piece.

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Of course my engraved NCO Sword from the Corps...
A copy of the Braveheart Sword, (Also a Gift for helping a couple I knew)
and a copy of the Calvary Sabre used in the old west.

An African lance/spear about 8' long stands diagonally in the corner of my office, since it's too tall to stand upright.
(A gift from one of the veteran's in our kayak fishing program, his wife told him to get it out of the house when his kid started walking... ) Same guy that gave me the ceremonial machete.

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I have the Cold Steel and Benchmades of course, and the Bucks and Kershaws...
The Old Henry and Stag and Bone... The Autos and the EMTs... some I keep forgetting about.

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This last one was a gift from a protégé after making him a custom Humidor.

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Too many knives, not enough room to display them all.
So, I'll display the ones I've made myself.

I may decide to take some pictures off the wall in the den and make a tall narrow display case for the rest of them and get them out of the safe, except for the swords.

Let's see how this first case turns out. I'm hoping it turns out pretty good... if not, it occupied my time for a week or so.