Thread: A lidded box

Looks pretty good to me
what tools did you use and finish

hey now, that is spiffy lookin' ...well done Frank.

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Nice looking box and good timber selection

Cool! Looks like the box has a picklehoffer (or whatever they are called You know, those spiked German helmets that were on the collectors last Friday. ) on. I like it.

Originally Posted by tea lady

Cool! Looks like the box has a picklehoffer (or whatever they are called You know, those spiked German helmets that were on the collectors last Friday. ) on. I like it.

Wonder who turned all those finials probably some woman in a purple shed

Originally Posted by efgee88

A lidded box.

Base is made from a bit of gum tree (don't know which!). Lid is from a bit of yellow box burl and redgum.
Watching KenW at the sharpening day gave me courage to attempt a finer finial.

About 20cm from base to top of finial.

Cheers,

FrankG

Frank, I like the box.

One question though - did you use a redgum insert on the lid? I have stacks of the stuff here and some of the masters have discouraged me from using it as it moves too much.

Like the box shape and that lid is outstanding

Gottverdammung, ist gut!

Originally Posted by Sawdust Maker

Looks pretty good to me
what tools did you use and finish

Nick,

For the hollowing I used a DAHT from Woodcut (older adjustable tip version of the pro-forme).
For the finial I just used skew chisels.
To shape the lid and base I used spindle gouges (I think) - don't really know the difference between bowl & spindle gouges - they all seem to cut well enough for me.

The finish that works for me is:
1. fine sand to 300 grit
2. apply a spirit based laquer - I use Incralac (because I have some and it works for me!)
3. resand after 1/2hr or so to finish at 1200 grit - doesn't really take very long
4. apply 2-3 coats of danish oil, drying 12-18 between coats (1st coat I apply on the lathe, subsequent coats off the lathe)
5. let last coat dry for a few days and finish off with 1-2 coats of carnauba wax (24hrs between coats) to buff up a bit of a sheen. This also brings the timber more to life, I find.
.... and voila!

Ask me why I do it this way?
I haven't found a better finish yet that I'm happy with. I quite like to see the grain so I'm not really a fan of varnishes. My finish gives a silky feel to the timber.


Hope this answers your questions,

Cheers,

FrankG

It's very pretty!

Frank, very nice lidded box.
Also nice to see the different approach of making boxes in this challenge.
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Originally Posted by jefferson

Frank, I like the box.

One question though - did you use a redgum insert on the lid? I have stacks of the stuff here and some of the masters have discouraged me from using it as it moves too much.

Jeff,

You been a bit quiet lately there. Are you keeping up with your box production?

I did glue into the lid a red gum "ring" before I finish-turned the lid. I have used red-gum before like this and I've not had any greater problem with it than anything else I've used. For instance, the base for this box was from an old gumtree in my Dad's back yard that had been dead for years. It was cut down about 5 months ago and I pinched a few pieces. I thought it would be dry as there were no cracks in the slices of trunk, but once I started turning the timber, it warped like crazy, cracked in places (as you can see on photo) and I had to re-turn it again.
I made the lid fit like a "vacuum fit" really nice, but after a few days it was quite tight. It has been about a month now since I turned this piece and the lid is back to a nice firm smooth fit. I think it is the base - not the redgum in my case that caused these problems.
I guess all timber will change shape by fractions of mm,(or lots!) after you make it thin, and you won't know that until you have finished and left it for a while.

I've decided that the timber will do whatever it wants and I just go with the flow.

Cheers,

FrankG