Thread: Ebony Macassar Box

Hi Lappa,

Hard shellac acts like other shellac in the first instance, i.e. it dries very quickly and your brushes, rags, rubbers will harden in minutes if left exposed to the air. This is because the methylated spirits evaporates, leaving just the shellac behind. Hard shellac acts exactly like this in the short term, however, after about three weeks the cross-linking agent added during preparation starts to kick in. If your brush dries out in the short term you can reactivate it with methylated spirits. If your rubber dries out throw it away - it’s only rags.

Provided you keep your hard shellac rubber moist (not wet) in an airtight container where it cannot dry out it will last for ages. Mine certainly do. It is when you let it get dry the problems begin. As to brushes, I use a polishers mop which is very expensive so I wouldn’t ever leave this without cleaning immediately after use.

I do know someone who just leaves his (ordinary shellac) polishing mop in a jar of meths with the handle poking through the top of the lid. Claims he has never cleaned the brush in years. He’s a qualified furniture restorer and I’m constantly surprised how laid back he is about things we have been taught are ‘rules’.

Best regards,

Brian

Apologies to those who’ve followed along this far. A bit of a delay as the love of my life has been bedridden with back pain for the past 3+ weeks so I’ve been distracted by other things.

OK, a big push to the finish.

Having fitted the hinges it is time to think about the internals of the box. After much thought I decided to go with simplicity. The box is slightly too small to be what I think of as a jewellery box so it will be a keepsake box. No trays, no lock.

Normally I use green or tan suede for lining, but somehow this box called for something different. I decided to use lavender ultrasuede. I’ve fallen in love with ultrasuede/alcantara which is a synthetic suede. Don’t get the idea this is cheap, though - it is far more expensive than real suede. It has the benefit of being extremely hard wearing and, unlike suede, it does not contain tannins that tarnish silver.

I use 1mm white art board from Eckersleys Art Supplies as the base. I use double sided tape to fix the ultrasuede to the card and the card to the box.


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One of the advantages of suede or ultrasuede over velvet or faux suede is that it is not woven. As a result the material can be cut without the edges fraying, so in the main it isn’t necessary to fold over every edge, just the visible edges. To these edges I add a little white PVA glue to ensure a good bond between box and lining.

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Lining done, we are very close to the finish. It only remains to give the french polish a final shine with Festool Speed Gloss blue and a couple of coats of Liberon Black Bison Neutral paste wax:

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Box complete. Macassar ebony over American Black Walnut. Hard shellac by U-beaut, Black Bison wax by Liberon, smartHinge by Andrew Crawford and blue Speed Gloss by Festool.

It’s a challenge to photograph this box due to its high-gloss finish. Reflections look like flaws in the box. Still, here it is:

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Thanks to everyone who came along on the journey. I’m happy with the result of the build although if I’d had more veneer I’d have preferred a bigger box which would have justified a lock and a tray. Next time.

Thanks, too, to Andrew Crawford who taught me how to get that extra shine on french polish.

Comments, suggestions, thoughts welcome.


Back to the woodpile.


Brian

Bloody FANTASTIC is all I can say. I have enjoyed the ride and the destination.

Thank You ... its been worth it.

Euge

I absolutely love it Brian. One day I hope to achieve a shine similar to the one on this box.

Lovely work [emoji106]

As others have said, the finished product looks fantastic. You say the gloss makes it look like there are faults but I certainly can't see any so it must be you being over critical of your own work.
I am interested in the Festool blue speed gloss. What is it as I have never heard of it.

Thanks, guys - I really appreciate it.

Dallas - Festool Speed Gloss is part of Festool’s polishing range. They are similar to ‘cut and polish’ for a car. Essentially a cream with fine abrasive in it. Orange is the starting point, then blue, then white, the abrasive becoming finer as you go. I know there are people who use car products such as Meguire’s for this but I suspect it depends on what type of surface is being polished. I’ve never had any luck polishing shellac with auto products. Come to that I haven’t been able to master final polishing with talc or rottenstone, i.e. the traditional way. Something else to learn!

The shellac gave a finish more than good enough for a jewellery box but I wanted to give it a little extra. As it is, stopping at the blue product has given a very high gloss. Probably impractical for a jewellery box as it shows up every fingerprint, but looks good on a coffee table

Best,

Brian

Brian, another beaut box there!! I used to love nothing but gloss, but then found the beauty of satins and oil finishes, but there on occasions the call for gloss, this sir is one of those times. Fantastic.
Hopefully SWMBO is ok and up and about. Back pain is nasty, I get my fair share of that.
Richard

Great result! I don't usually go for a gloss finish, but that looks terrific on those timbers.