a BIG jewellery box

[Dengue]

Hello, this is the culmination of 6 months work, on and off, and could only have been done with the valuable help of members of this forum as they advised on how to overcome various problems like inlaying and bleeding of the oil finish on open pored timbers used in this box. I was very fortunate to get some excellent advice from Bob Flexner, a well know author and restorer, an expert on finishing.

The box is a gift for an elderly neighbour to her specifications 500 x 250 x 125, and no dividers in the tray please. I knew she had a strong family connection to red cedar, so was fortunate to find a couple of small boards from a tree that had been felled many years ago at Tinaroo Dam up on the Atherton Tableland. I was able to resaw one of these into 1mm veneers for the lid with a 4mm marine plywood substrate and set into a rebate in the box sides.

The box sides are made of 12mm northern silky oak to maintain the North Qld connection, as was the Qld Silver Ash for the tray. I felt the need for box handles as it was so big, and made them from leftovers from the silky oak sides. The box hinges are the 95degree SmartHinges by Andrew Crawford.

The box sides use a dovetail joint, whereas the 8mm thick tray sides are use a mitre joint and 2mm thick ebony keys

The inlay on the outer perimeter of the lid is made a single band of 3mm wide Queen Ebony from the Solomon Islands, and 9mm wide Koto or African Ash

The box and tray are lined with red pigskin.

The ornament in the inner lid is Paua shell from NZ, with a Koto timber border. This was used to break up the large expanse of dark red cedar

The box is finished with Livos Kunos #244 oil. I found this to be the best finish to get the reddish brown natural colour. Most of the others just emphasised the black grain fissures in the timber

I would welcome any comments on the effectiveness of the inlay banding on the outer lid, and the Paua ornament on the inner lid. I am not so sure they have achieved their purpose. Probably a narrower 3 or 6mm width of the Koto on the inlay banding would have been better. Feel free to comment and give your personal views and feedback

Apologies for the photos, I took them outdoors and it was a bit windy, with dust and fluff showing on the closeup of the Paua shell picture and at the bottom front of the box. Didn't notice it until I had packed everything away

[crowie]

Very nice work Joe....

[AlexS]

Nice work, Dengue. The timbers work well together, and the banding is good to break it up bit on a box that size. I like the paua shell, too. All up, a very nice piece.

[Lappa]

Stunning work! Love the timbers - they work so well together.

[groeneaj]

You've done very well

[ajw]

A really nice piece. Well done.

cheers,

ajw

[Pauls321]

Hey Joe, (love that song also), one very very nice looking box there I must say, very impressive indeed. Your neighbour is very lucky to receive that as a gift.

Well done,..!!!

Paul

[AngelaPetruzzi]

It looks just amazing. A piece that will be passed on thru generations I'm sure.

[lovetoride]

I love this! Simple clean lines, timbers work well together, elegant (even for a large jewellry box) and the shell just makes it so special. It is nice to see something that catches the eye when you open the lid.

[Ruddy]

Well done Joe....
an excellent result.

[kcam]

You have done a beautiful job Dengue, the combination of the timbers work well. On your question re the inlays- i think that the width the Kota banding for the lid is right in the proportion for the box size. The banding for the Paua shell I think would be more effective on the narrower size say 3-4mm in proportion to the shell. A Paua insert on the outside of the lid would also be very effective and not necessarily in the centre.....just my thoughts

[spokeshave]

Excellent box.

I think everything works well. I looked at all the pics before reading about your concerns regarding inlay sizes and thought it all looked fine to me.

Beautiful work.

Steven.

[old1955]

Well done looks tremendous.

[TTIT]

Top job mate!