Thread: The Celtic Hummingbird Box

Once the design was sorted then i moved on the box, and naturally went straight to mock up the locking mechanism, cos that is the logical order...

The "key" is an arrow i cut out of some random stainless steel bar i had left over from some other project.

All the while i was working ideas for the box, what to do, where to put it, the usual tweaks and re-tweaks...lol

I ended up throwing into AutoCAD to see if its going to work... i might need a few more tweaks (i can see the hinge point being a issue with my extended finger joints but i can take them off if need be.

I've cut the timber for the box walls, the celtic knot will be hand carved into inlay strips that were left over from the pallet, the lid inlay with the hummingbird carving has also been cut from the pallet. I will stain the inlay timber a different colour than the rest of the box so they stand out plus the carvings will be painted gold.

Good one IceMan. I enjoy making boxes with fancy wood or a fancy motif but I love making boxes when the wood or motif is meaningful to the recipient. Your box certainly falls into the latter category. Satisfying and motivating.

Originally Posted by homesy135

Good one IceMan. I enjoy making boxes with fancy wood or a fancy motif but I love making boxes when the wood or motif is meaningful to the recipient. Your box certainly falls into the latter category. Satisfying and motivating.

Since embarking on making fishing lures i have really enjoyed carving wood. So can't resist the opportunity to carve something meaningful into my work.

I look forward to using fancy wood but don't want to destroy a nice expensive piece so will stick with pine as i can get it local, that said i would love to get my hands on some softwoods for my fishing lures.

I just want to see this beauty completed

Looks like you're on a roll with boxes now and the boat will have to take a back seat. Just one question that I can't quite make out from your CAD drawing, how will the lid be constructed? Are you laminating strips or using a solid panel and then attaching strips down each side? If you are you will need to allow for expansion and contraction of the middle panel in some way and not have it attached solidly to the side strips.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

Looks like you're on a roll with boxes now and the boat will have to take a back seat. Just one question that I can't quite make out from your CAD drawing, how will the lid be constructed? Are you laminating strips or using a solid panel and then attaching strips down each side? If you are you will need to allow for expansion and contraction of the middle panel in some way and not have it attached solidly to the side strips.

The boat should be at the top of the list especially that with the lockdown i'm not going anywhere other than work...lol... oh well

the lid frame will be constructed to look like the finger joint has continued into the lid, i'll probably end up doweling the sides into the front and rear panels (i haven't cut these yet).
then there will be a 5mm rebate into the frame where i'll drop in the 10mm hummingbird carved inlay. this will be made up of 8 repurposed bits of a pallet, the same as the celtic knot inlays on the front of the box

Update time...

cut out the finger joints yesterday and tweaked them tonight and put it all together for a dry fit... a couple of joints i'm not 100% happy with but not too bad for the hack i am.

I need to route out the rebates for the internal shelf and the base. trim up each of the joint edges to a 45 so there are no sharp edges and it looks fancy...

then dowel and glue up and sand.... and its still only just started

Coming along nicely and progress has been swift. Pity it's not going to be a more rustic box otherwise you could leave the fingers protruding and they would look quite at home.
I'm trying to work out what your avatar photo is. Is it the front on photo of a Snapper or similar fish?

Originally Posted by Treecycle

Coming along nicely and progress has been swift. Pity it's not going to be a more rustic box otherwise you could leave the fingers protruding and they would look quite at home.

I am leaving the fingers protruding, just trimming the corners down 2mm or so to a 45 degree angle.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

I'm trying to work out what your avatar photo is. Is it the front on photo of a Snapper or similar fish?

Its a bream, about 36cm bream from about 2007/08

well it looks like the base and internal shelf thing will have to wait... the thicknesser planer died... looks like it had a hard life before i borrowed of off Dad and chunks of the plastic casing has been bouncing around the motor coils and has caused damage and unless i can find parts, including a new casing then i'll have to buy some 12mm timber (I was going to reduce the old pallet down to 10mm)

eventually i'll be replacing the thicknesser but funds don't allow just yet.

Oh well, will concentrate on other things until i decide exactly how i want to get it sorted

That's sad. Which brand of Thicknesser was it?
Might be worth putting a wanted ad in the market place for parts from a dead one if it's worth fixing.

It was an old Sherwood i believe.

Dad and i are looking at buying a new one, portable enough to be easily transported, have a good quality cutting head and still not cost too much. looking at no more than a grand and a spiral cutting head for a cleaner cut

Hope you're not in a hurry as most places seem to be out of stock for the next 4 - 6 weeks.