[Schoolbox] Here we go again

I'm making another Joiner and Cabinet Maker school box. I will probably not have as much to say about each step of it, but as they come up I will record what I am doing and what I have learned. I've already dimensioned and flattened a 8' board of alder for the box. There is not much more to say about this process other than that the more I do it, it simultaneously becomes easier and more tedious. I'm also learning a bit more about how to feel when the plane iron is going from very sharp to just pretty sharp. There is a zone where it works just fine and leaves a clean surface, but it takes a little more effort to push the tool. I am trying to avoid this by re-honing before it needs it.

This time I decided to use a fine-crosscut panel saw instead of the carcase saw for cutting the boards to length. This saw was made by Matt at thesawblog.com and while I have mentioned it before, I have to repeat that I love it! It is rather small and light, and fits my hands nicely. It is nearly as thin and precise as my carcase saw. I set the board up here on my benchtop for comfortable full-height operation, though I had to get a little creative with supporting the rest of the board. My sawbenches stacked on top of each other worked just fine! Probably not OSHA approved but it was a lot more comfortable than cutting on the sawbench for something this precise, and also a little easier than using the carcase saw, which gets laborious with boards this wide. The final cut was close to perfect and barely needed shooting, if it did at all.

Next up will be dovetailing the shell of the box.