> On Dec 10, 2016, at 5:40 AM, yorkshireman@y... wrote:
> 
> Bill does some excellent work on an earrings tray… 
> 
> I have a couple of comments / questions.
> 
> First off -  for this application in particular, the benefit of the v groove
is that you can thin the top edges almost to nil without affecting the
appearance of the joint.  This is not true of, say, a halving joint, which would
show unsightly gaps, or indeed of any other joint I can think up for the
application.   A fine top edge also helps to disguise any irregularity in the
joint, as the gaps are less apparent.

One thing I found is that you can adjust, to a very small degree, the V shape on
the end of a piece to get a better fit if too much gap shows.
> 
> Second, may I ask, (for the depth is not apparent,) how easy it is for the
user to pick out something small from one of the compartments?  A friend made up
a similar arrangement, and found that some packing was needed in the corners to
allow someone to pick out small items.

This is a concern, but her fingers are much smaller than mine and she won’t be
seeing it till it is done… so we will just have to see. For the bottom till,
which will have an additional 20 cubbies for earrings, the depth will have to
remain since the smaller till must slide across it and you can’t have things
rising above the top surface. The top till is only 7 1/2 inches wide and if
necessary I can take it to the bandsaw and lop off one dovetail worth of width
to make access easier. At least that is what I keep telling myself. The
remainder of the bottom till is cut up into 7 1/2 inch long compartments for
necklaces and will be much easier to construct, altho it still involves 48
joints.


> I foresee some of this type of work in my future of restoring several old
boxes, and making more, so I’m grateful for the idiot proof photos,

The interior sticks are hard to layout since they are shorter than the outside
pieces and end in V’s to fit grooves in the outside pieces.  Using dividers to
layout the centerlines for the V’s is very precise, however once the V was cut
referencing from the bottom of the V to layout other pieces was a bit sketchy. I
fit the long internal sticks into their V’s, then laid a rule across from side
to side to get a layout that was square across. This time, before making the V
cut, I have made a fine pencil line right at the V’s knifed centerline. This
will give me a more precise reference for verifying and adjusting the layout of
the middle pieces. A god bit of this is adjusted visually on the fly so make
sure you have a bit of excess stock. I have to recut several pieces.

Bill