Silky Oak and Queensland Maple

[Ruddy]

This box is made from Silky Oak and Queensland Maple that was purchased from Greg Ward a few months ago.
The lid is from Queensland Maple and includes a Blackwood insert that has a birds eye pattern throughout.
Some brass highlights were included in the mitre keys and in the handle lift.
The trays are Silky Oak and the base of the trays are lined with red suede trapped on a layer of soft foam.
280742280743280744280745280746

[chambezio]

That box has definitely got to be "Heirloom Quality"
I was quite taken by the shelf dividers. Very artistic. Great use of some special timber

[TTIT]

Absolutely gorgeous box Ruddy :2tsup::2tsup::2tsup: The ripples show of the Silky figure in a way I haven't seen before and the brass is a top touch - love it :U

[tdrumnut]

That is one ruddy nice box Ruddy, very impressive.

[Woodtec]

Ruddy how did you do the brass inlays?

[Ruddy]

Thanks for the comments. I used an Arbotech mini cutter to do the sculpting on the sides but I did not achieve the effect I was hoping for. It still looks like a rectangular box and I was hoping for a more fluid look, more rounded.
The inlays were made by inserting some brass pieces into the keys before the Wenge strips and gluing the both pieces in with a two part epoxy. The same for the inserts in the lid.
The brass was some 1/8 inch x 1/8 inch pieces of brass rod I had purchased from a hobby shop.
I like the idea of opening a box and seeing a little more creativity inside and this method of making trays allows some opportunity to get away from rectangles and squares for compartments.

[AlexS]

Really nice, Ruddy. The dividers really appeal to me. Absolutely beautiful.

[Wongo]

The dividers do look very classy. Nice work sir.

[A Duke]

Just brilliant.
Regards

[Avery]

That's nice. thats really nice.

[StevoWoodi]

Great job! What size is it? (Approx)

thanks Steve

[Nanigai]

Nice work Ruddy, I love your innovative design of the trays. :2tsup:
It is really interesting what you did to the sides and it really exposes the grain in a really special way.
Good work, Cheers, Ian

[dai sensei]

Nice work Ruddy, I love your innovative design of the trays. :2tsup:
It is really interesting what you did to the sides and it really exposes the grain in a really special way.
Good work, Cheers, Ian

:iagree: :2tsup:

[Ruddy]

Again, thanks for the comments. It is a leap of faith to make a nice conventional box with good tight joints and then clamp it in the bench and get stuck into it with a freehand carving machine that rips timber off like soft butter. Even a bigger leap when you have a vision of how you would like it to look but have no idea how to do it.
Stevowoodi, the box measures 260mm x 165 mm x 112 mm high.

[AlexS]

Ruddy, the way designs improve is by trying to do things we haven't done before. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they blow you away, sometimes they lead you to the next step.

[artme]

This is a beautifully done box Ruddy!! And the dividers are a great point of
difference to the usual methods.!!!:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:

I have no desire to detract from your wonderful workmanship, but for me
the box itself is too Rococo like. I Think a plain flat outside would suit my eye better.

[Ruddy]

Artme...I do appreciate your comment because I too do not like the result. I thought long and hard about posting this box because it is not pleasing to my eye. It is too high and the sculpting in no way achieved what I had in mind.
As I said earlier, it looks like a rectangular box that has been hacked. In my opinion the result is ugly.
But as Alexs said in his remark, all was not lost because the sculpting led me to the idea of the freehand tray approach and I am sure that this style of tray does enhance the project. Another first for me was the inclusion of brass as some thing new and I think that worked. You win some , you lose some....you just have to keep trying.
Again, thanks for the honest critique.

[Dengue]

We are glad you did post it, thanks Ruddy. It is a very interesting design, and teaches us what to do or possibly what not to do in future, according to each of our personal tastes. Personally, I think it is great, breaking out of the mould and generating ideas and discussion. Well done!

[Greg Ward]

Thanks for the visit yesterday, look forward to seeing what you can do with the blackbean....

I hadn't noticed this one.

I can see what you said about the blackwood. It however makes the top somewhat different to a standard cover, so has its own beauty.
Well done as usual.......
Greg

[hellofellow]

Sorry to boost an old thread, but I love that top tray. Really really great idea.

How did you do that tray if you don't mind me asking? With the fluid curved sides? Bit hard to see from the picture, is it one piece of wood carved out, or multiples?

Very nice IMO

[Ruddy]

Hi Hellofellow..You can make the tray from one piece of wood as I have done on this box. The disadvantage of using just one piece of wood is that the short sides are thin and it is all cross grain. I have posted below some more recent trays that I have made and these are better in my opinion as I have run some long grain on the ends to give strength. I start with a block of wood that is the correct thickness you need for the tray depth however I begin with the length and width larger than the box opening. I draw out the shape I want onto paper and then glue that to the wood. I use a scroll saw and tilt the blade to about 7 or 8 degrees and then cut out the shapes. The tapered blade ensures there is plenty of integrity in the tray. The next step is to shape the cavities and I do that with a combination of sharp chisels , a Dremel with small flap wheels and some hand sanding. I then trim the length and width to fit the box with sufficient clearance and then rout out the underside to take the bottom of the tray. I use 3mm ply for the base and rout about 4 mm deep to allow for the lining thickness. The base is screwed on trapping the lining material. Hope this helps.293688293689293690293691This way of making trays allows plenty of design freedom as you can lower the heights on smaller cavities as shown in the rosewood tray in the second picture.

[hellofellow]

Absolutely fantastic

Love that second picture. Really has fluid sides. Brilliant idea IMO.

I have a scroll saw, but no dremel. Fingers crossed I would be able to get a similar curved look just with the scroll saw and a little sanding? I imagine you only use the dremel and chisels to clean up the curves?

Thanks so much for your reply, I just had to ask how you did this as I like the idea so much.

Cheers

[Ruddy]

Hi Hellofellow. You should be able to get a good result without using a dremel. Bear in mind when you are shaping the tray by hand you can use a rasp to achieve the same fluid curves as a dremel will produce. You also can attack the tray from the top and also the bottom as at that stage it is an open frame. If the tray is symmetrical in design I do a small section on one side and then do the same on the other. That way you can sort of keep the curves consistent on both sides. If I do too much on one side, my memory span is exceeded and I forget how much I needed to take off to match!.. There is quite a bit of hand sanding involved and I use some 25 mm wide Metalite cloth that you can buy on the roll. I have a roll of 80 grit, 150 grit and then normal sand paper for the finer grits.