Four words...

You know how I bragged about what a bad-ass-hardware-biatch I was in my last blog? I have four words to say to myself about about that:

Don't
Be
So
Cocky

Yup, just as everything was going so well, just as I was in the homestretch of finishing up this project - I screwed up. Not a huge screw up, but certainly one that made me scream at the top of my lungs for ten seconds straight.

If you were standing outside of my shop, I'm sure you would have heard it.



Lupe was working in the shop; she definitely heard it.

Luckily - it was fixable.

It started off so well - I made a small form, just slightly larger than the cremains tins that are going to be placed inside this casket. This made it easier to build the small area where the tins will be held.

The tins will be placed in the corners

and I decided to make some diagonal boxes to hold the tins. It's a slick design.

Instead of hinging the tops of these small areas, the plan was to use small magnets, to hold the lid in place.

The magnet holes were drilled in the wood,

and then the magnets were pressed into the wood

with a dab of gorilla glue holding them in place. I marked the polarity on each magnet, so that I could install them properly in each mated surface. If I screwed this up, the two pieces of wood would actually repel each other. Every magnet has a north and a south pole, so it was important to place the correct side up on each piece.

I measured the lid for each corner box

and because I only had one piece of this wood left for the lids, I cut a sample lid out of scrap. No room for errors here!

It was a good fit, so I cut the mahogany, using the tablesaw

and routed a nice profile in the front edge.

Remember when I said that every magnet has a north and a south pole? Well, you guessed it - somehow I put two of the magnets in backwards. Every time I put the lid in place, it hovered above the surface, instead of being pulled down into place.

Ever try pulling out a small magnet glued into a snug hole? (I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere.)


The good news? This project is finally done, except for the finish. Hopefully, I'll get a few coats of oil on it this week, and post some photos. It's a shame to think this box will be buried, but what a beautiful tribute to two beloved pets.