Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 22
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Townsville, Nth Qld
    Posts
    4,236

    Default Black Bean and Northern Silky Oak Document Box

    hi all, this job was given to me by my wife on 22 Nov as a gift to her young cousin who has spent the last 5 years at JCU School of Veterinary Science, and tomorrow Dec 19th graduates as a Vet and then returns home to Melbourne. It is made of Queensland timbers and intended to remind her of her happy days in our city of Townsville.

    The box timber is Black Bean, and the lid is a beautiful piece of quartersawn Northern Silky Oak (NSO) with amazing flecks that become 3D in the right lighting. I was given this timber as a gift a few years ago, and have been too scared to use it as I was worried I would not be able to do it justice. The brolga is the official emblem of Townsville.

    The box timbers have been resawn from a single board to 12mm thickness, to enable continuous grain around the 4 corners

    The box is 380 x 250 x 90 mm, designed to take A4 sheets comfortably. The lining is pigskin suede, and the finish is Livos Kunos #244 oil. I was just able to apply the third and final coat on last Saturday morning. That afternoon at 3pm, ex Cyclone Owen dumped 120mm on us for the next 24 hours, but I have been fortunate with a couple of hot sunny days to help cure the box finish. It really requires 4 weeks in a light sunny location to fully harden.

    The box could not have been done in time without the generous help of 'homey' who lent me a SmartLock until Andrew Crawford's production starts up again soon, and also helped me with escutcheons. The hinges are solid brass SmartHinges. And many thanks to 'crowie' and 'Uncle Al' for their pointers and advice with the photography. Still lots to learn there, but time beats me on this one. What an amazing Forum this is.

    Had the usual problems with bleeding of the oil finish on the open pored silky oak lid, requiring hourly rub downs for 8 hours as the oil bled through the pores and popped out.

    The key to the SmartLock is rather small, and the commercially available escutcheons are too large, so I designed one on AutoCAD and sent it to the local trophy engravers to be laser cut out of 2mm thick Qld Silver Ash. It was done so accurately that they were able to return the escutcheons together with the tiny keyhole cutout piece. Big thanks to NQ Plaques and Trophies for their quick and accurate work.

    The City Council refused to give me an outline drawing of a brolga, and they are impossible to find on Google, so I found a drawing of a crane and between my wife and youngest daughter who is a photographer we were able to modify the drawing of the crane to that of a brolga. That involved changing the head and putting a U bend in the neck. The local trophy engraver was able to laser engrave the image on the NSO lid.

    The escutcheon and the corner keys ( slipfeathers) are all made of Qld Silver Ash.

    The side finger lift was preferred by the recipient, with magnets on the corner, but there was too much uncertainty for me with magnets, so went for the lock instead. I was not sure of the strength of the magnet, and the surefire way of gluing them in so that they would not pull each other out of position over the years. Thanks for Alex Springall for his advice on magnets, but I chickened out. Sorry Alex

    For those interested in photography, the photos were taken with an old hand held Panasonic Lumix LX5, which produces excellent photographs with its Leica lens. The camera was run in Aperture mode, f4 and ISO 100. The morning sun was very glarey so I under-exposed with a EV of -1/3 The resulting shutter speed varied between 1/1000 and 1/ 2000 sec - thanks Uncle Al


    P1330747 .jpg P1330748 .jpg P1330753 .jpg P1330760 .jpg P1330770 .jpg

    P1330774 .jpg P1330779 .jpg P1330788 .jpg P1330784 .jpg
    regards,

    Dengy

  2. # ADS
    Google Adsense Advertisement
    Join Date
    Always
    Location
    Advertising world
    Posts
    Many





     
  3. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Leopold, Victoria
    Age
    65
    Posts
    4,677

    Default

    That is one nice box with a beautiful lid and a well told story of the making. You must have a good relationship with the trophy place and they obviously have the right gear.
    Nice of the council not to help out with their emblem to help promote the city.
    Dallas

  4. #3
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    1,147

    Default

    Beautiful. Everything about it is first class.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    back in Alberta for a while
    Age
    68
    Posts
    12,006

    Default

    lovely box that is sure to be treasured for the rest of your niece's life


    Here's some pics for next time






    regards from Alberta, Canada

    ian

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Western Sydney
    Posts
    22

    Default

    Very nice. That silky oak panel is just gorgeous!

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 1999
    Location
    Westleigh, Sydney
    Age
    77
    Posts
    9,542

    Default

    Top result there Dengue. The timbers go well together, and it's all beautifully made & finished.
    Visit my website
    Website
    Facebook

  8. #7
    crowie's Avatar
    crowie is online now Life's Good, Enjoy each new day & try to encourage
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Faulconbridge, Lower Blue Mountains
    Age
    68
    Posts
    11,165

    Default

    Superb Joe.....

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Sutherland Shire, Sydney
    Age
    71
    Posts
    1,301

    Default

    Nice story to go with the box Dengy. First class job, you certainly have some nice timbers. The fitting of hinges and catches can be a bit daunting, but worked out very well. I hope the recipient appreciates and enjoys your skills.

    Alan...

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Valla Beach
    Posts
    1,185

    Default

    Not bad Dengy, not bad at all, very impressive indeed. Very nice craftsmanship.

    Paul

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Mareeba Far Nth Qld
    Age
    83
    Posts
    3,069

    Thumbs up

    Nice job Joe.

    Jim
    Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important...

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Kew, Vic
    Posts
    1,064

    Default

    Joe,

    A sensational box and a wonderful heirloom.

    Brilliant.

    Brian

  13. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Adelaide
    Age
    76
    Posts
    768

    Default

    A first class box Dengue, and the lid WOW!!!

    Regards
    Keith

  14. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    1,556

    Default

    Fear not, you have done the NSO a true justice. that's beautiful. although personally I would've put the laser etching inside the lid.

    fantastic. you didn't show us the feet? hahaha

  15. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Townsville, Nth Qld
    Posts
    4,236

    Default

    personally I would've put the laser etching inside the lid.
    Hi Fumbler, that was my first choice too, but the recipient wanted just a small drawing on the outside in one of the corners. When she received the box she said the drawing position and size was exactly what she wanted.
    regards,

    Dengy

  16. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    1,556

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Dengue View Post
    Hi Fumbler, that was my first choice too, but the recipient wanted just a small drawing on the outside in one of the corners. When she received the box she said the drawing position and size was exactly what she wanted.
    Cant argue with the client!! It's a beaut nonetheless.

    can I ask, is that a 1 piece lid or segmented strips?

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Black Bean timber.
    By The Welshman in forum FORUMS INFO, HELP, DISCUSSION & FEEDBACK
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 29th December 2014, 04:06 PM
  2. Black bean
    By NQwood in forum TIMBER
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 20th February 2014, 07:10 AM
  3. NE Black Bean Bowl
    By TTIT in forum WOODTURNING - GENERAL
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 15th June 2013, 05:33 PM
  4. Tas. Myrtle & Qld Silky Oak Document Box
    By AlexS in forum BOX MAKING
    Replies: 23
    Last Post: 15th January 2008, 09:10 PM
  5. black bean
    By robyn2839 in forum WOODTURNING - GENERAL
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 17th August 2007, 09:45 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •