Thread: First Box - mistakes for younger players?

Wayne I was about to say where's the pics the last line has covered it.

I'm looking forward to seeing the pics !

Thanks Ray and Groeneaj. OK, a few pics of the progress. As I've said - many mistakes already, but some success as well. The first mistake was in milling the sides a little too thin. This not only makes it difficult to fit appropriate hardware etc, it also makes the timber a little unstable - especially in timber that's already spalted almost to the stage of wood rot.

The second mistake was in cutting the top a little too shallow. I should have allowed the top to be a little deeper to allow it to have some structural integrity of it's own. You can see by the pattern on the right hand side of the lid that the grain has tipped to an almost vertical position. This has allowed the lid to distort somewhat on that side and deflect from a straight profile as you'll see. Note also the grub holes.

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I think I've figured out a way to rectify this problem in a way which won't be visible. I've sourced a small piece of brass flat bar (8mmx3mm) which I'm going to screw/attach to the inside of the top faces. The brass is sufficiently rigid to hold the top to a nice straight line and should do the trick. The box is going to be lined internally with felt, so this will look OK.

The third mistake was to badly underestimate how hard the 5mm Myrtle burl top was/is, and how difficult it was going to be to carve it out for the Mother of Pearl inlays. And, if I underestimated the hardness of the Myrtle - multiply that by 10x for the hardness of the Mother of Pearl. Man, that stuff is tough! How hard can it be, indeed!

I've seen a lot of inlaid letters where they embed the MOP in a few separate pieces, but I was determined to make each letter out of one piece of pearl. I managed to do this for all letters, but had to make the loopy bit of the 'B' as a separate piece because it is quite thin. Having carved out the letters I then set about cutting the grooves into the Myrtle. Quite a learning process for both procedures.

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As I've said, first box - first time working with MOP and first time attempting any type of inlay. Anyway, I sanded the top down to 800 grit after completing the inlay and gave it a couple of coats of Wipe On Poly to bring out the feature of the Myrtle and the MOP, and also to stablise the components somewhat. Oh, you'll notice that I fitted little mitred fillets of Myrtle burl to the corners as well. I thought this gave it a nice feature.

The next step will be to apply my brass stiffeners to the inside of the lid and then to fit some nice brass quadrant hinges. I purchased some from the internet but was a little disappointed with the quality when they arrived. I've now ordered some pairs from Anton Gerner and am looking forward to their arrival. I think I'll carve a few litttle feet out of Myrtle burl as well. I'll post a few images once all that's done.

Wayne

Looks really good to me

You got some excellent grain in that timber.

I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.


Andy

Wayne nice wood as Andy has said, what has amazed me is that you didn't decided to turf it which I think is great. It shows determination

What they said. Well done I reckon. Like the pearl letters.

Cheers
Pops

Very nicely done mate!

A suitable and fitting rememberance for Beth.

A very lovely box. I do admire your patience with the inlay, looks very nice too. I must give it a try. I do understand the problems you had with the lid etc. I have never made a box yet which has been thicker than 12mm and so often they tended to go their own way. The last one I did where the lid lifted at one corner like yours has, I fitted a shoulder around the lid which overhung the box body. It looked not too bad actually and I gave it away as a present to a neice of mine.
Terry vk6pq

Thanks Terry, Artme, Pops etc.

I've now fitted my 10mmx3mm brass strips inside the lid edges and it seems to have pulled the twist out nicely. It looks like the top is much more stable now and aligns nicely to the box. I'll fit the quadrant hinges to attach the lid over the next few days and then post some further photos.

There's not going to be any compartments inside - just an open box with felt lining for keepsakes. I've read some advice here that the cleanest way to fit the felt is to first attach it to cardboard liners, and then fit the cardboard liners into the box.

Sounds like a plan. How hard can it be?

I'll give it a go and report back as a matter of national interest!

Wayne

nice work for your first box. I like the inlay, well done.

Hey Wayne,

The box is looking great.
I am about to start building a jewellery box for my girlfriend, and wanted to try inlay for the first time and would really like to do mother of pearl inlay. Could you please give me any idea on the process, tools need and where to source mother of pearl.

Much appreciated,
Ben

Many thanks John, Ben & others.

I managed to complete a few more things in amongst other work commitments. First of all, I fitted some 10mm x 3mm solid brass strips inside the top (back & front), with which I managed to pull it back into alignment with the box itself - maybe they're a bit hard to see in the image? I also fitted a nice quality pair of brass quadrant hinges from Anton Gerner.

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I also lined the inside with some purple felt, using the cardboard inlay technique. First time doing this but it seemed to worked very nicely. I've put about 5-6 coats of matt Wipe On Poly on the sides and top with 600 grit sanding in between, so the box has a nice deep, smooth finish now. I'm going to turn or carve some little feet out of a similar Myrtle burl, and then fit a pair of brass clasps and it will be finito.

Ben, I'll add a few details here in relation to the process & sources I used for the MOP inlay etc in the next few days. Keep in mind this was my first attempt at any of this stuff so I'm certainly no authority on these things.

Wayne

Looks great Wayne can see the Brass strips a good idea that. Look forward to next instalment.

Geez That is one beautiful box. Well Done