Thread: Blackwood box with marquetry lid.

After sanding to 800 grit, I cut the dovetails, then shellacked and gave a light re-sand.
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The bottom has a padded suede leather covering, and you can guess what happened as soon as I put the glue on the wood. I glued the 2mm craft foam padding on and left it to dry with a damp towel on the other side of the bottom, which seemed to solve the problem. I put Titebond II on the foam and the suede and left it to dry, then ironed the leather on.
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I oiled the insides and put wax around the outsides of the corners to stop the squeeze-out sticking. The glue-up should have been simple, but because I was interrupted after taking the Techniglue out of the fridge, it went off too quickly in the heat and I had to mix a second batch to finish the job. I tinted it to match the wood and managed to get the lot assembled before the glue went off. The bottom is wrapped in Glad-wrap to protect it from the glue. The diagonal gauge in the photo is to check for square. Luckily, I set it to length yesterday during a dry fit-up. The high humidity today meant that I couldn't adjust it, which has never happened before.
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The squaring stick and glad wrap tricks are clever.

After the glue-up, the first thing to do is remove any squeeze-out. This is made easier by oiling the inside and applying wax to the parts of the outside where glue may squeeze out, before gluing up. After removing excess glue, the wax is removed using white spirits. The ends of the dovetail pins are tidied up using a block plane, and the outside is given a coat of shellac and a light re-sand.

The lid panel will be attached after the hinges and lock are installed, but the top part of the sides is removed at this stage, by cutting almost all the way through on the table saw, then cutting the last bit by hand. After trimming off the waste with a chisel, the edges were sanded on 240 grit glued to thick laminate. This was then sanded to 800, given a coat of shellac and re-sanded.

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As I'm awaiting delivery of the hinges and lock, I've started making the liner and tray. The box will be lined part-way up the sides by thin blackwood strips that are a tight fit. The tray will sit on top of these. They are made of southern silky oak.

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Alex

is that a pattern makers vise in your drive by?

Yes Ian, it's a Veritas. Don't know if they still make that model, I don't think they do, but I managed to score one. Not cheap, but very useful.

Jealous.
You're right Lee Valley no longer make them. Waa!

Finally completed the box this weekend. Photos attached.

This is the first time I've used Andrew Crawford's new SmartLock. I must say it's a nice lock, with a smooth, positive action. It's easy to fit after the box is completed, unlike many which are easier to fit before assembly.

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Great result Alex, absolutely brilliant,

Paul

Thanks all, glad you like it.

Beautiful work Alex. It looks amazing.

Hi Alex,
The box is beautiful and the lid is pure art very well defined with the choice of veneers a real pleasure to look at.
Regards Rod.