Gluing the Box Sides — How To Make A Chisel Tray

Take the components apart and begin to glue up the box, one corner at a time. Remember that you will have to consider the order in which you glue up. First, apply some glue to the first corner. For the pin piece, you can put a small blob on the shoulder and then pull upwards along the two pins to spread the glue evenly. For the dovetail, apply two small blobs on either side of the tail (i.e. the pin recesses). Then assemble the two parts and tap the tail with a chisel hammer.

Apply a blob of glue on the tail recess between the pins

Ensure you have a thin layer of glue on either side of the tail and on the shoulders

Tap the joint together to ensure it is fully seated

Next, glue the second pin piece onto the opposite end of the first tail piece in the same manner. Lastly, glue the second long tail piece. (The last two joints have to be glued up simultaneously.) Wipe any excess glue with a tissue.

Note: The order of glue up is important because of the nature of the dovetail joint. If you were to glue two tail pieces to a pin piece, you would have to pull the opposite ends apart to insert the remaining short pin piece, and that would inevitably bruise and damage the already assembled joints.

With both pin pieces in place, glue up the remaining tail piece