Quick thoughts:
Sounds to me like you've got 'some' of these boxes on-hand, but they're not quite useable due to the diameter of the holes that were originally drilled. It 'sounds' like ... if those diameters were slightly increased , you'd be in business. Have you thought about reaming them out ... slowly and deliberately?
It looked to me like those 'shells' had an almost ice cream cone taper to them. It also 'sounds' to me as though there may be some variance in the diameter of what goes into the holes based on your desired fabrication process.
If I had your boxes and shells, this is what I'd do:
Pine is soft. This process will take just a few seconds and you'll get the custom diameter you actually desire. If you've not tried something like this before, here's a tip: keep your drill running at a slow and steady speed and count the number of reaming strokes required to get to your desired diameter. People are always careful with the first hole and overdo it down the line. Since you can't put material back, make a practice of stopping and checking frequently. And, focus like Hell on keeping the nail as close to dead center of the hole as possible.
Sounds to me like you've got 'some' of these boxes on-hand, but they're not quite useable due to the diameter of the holes that were originally drilled. It 'sounds' like ... if those diameters were slightly increased , you'd be in business. Have you thought about reaming them out ... slowly and deliberately?
It looked to me like those 'shells' had an almost ice cream cone taper to them. It also 'sounds' to me as though there may be some variance in the diameter of what goes into the holes based on your desired fabrication process.
If I had your boxes and shells, this is what I'd do:
- wrap the boxes in leather
- mount in my vice
- get some high grit sandpaper ... you want a very smooth surface ... me personally I'd go with 800 grit ... but, that's just me. 300 or 400 might work for someone else.
- glue a 1/4" wide by 2" long strip of sandpaper to a finishing nail just under the nail head
- you'll fold that strip in half and glue the back to itself and the nail stem
- it's the tips of the sandpaper strip that are going to do the job
- stick the pointy end of the nail into a hand drill
- keeping the nailhead on center ... ream out the holes to the desired diameter
Pine is soft. This process will take just a few seconds and you'll get the custom diameter you actually desire. If you've not tried something like this before, here's a tip: keep your drill running at a slow and steady speed and count the number of reaming strokes required to get to your desired diameter. People are always careful with the first hole and overdo it down the line. Since you can't put material back, make a practice of stopping and checking frequently. And, focus like Hell on keeping the nail as close to dead center of the hole as possible.