Thread: Elliptical NG Rosewood Keepsake Box - WIP

Originally Posted by wheelinround

Steve that box is amazing well done love it

edited added

You'll have no problem with twists

Thanks, mate. That means a lot coming from you. I've seen the quality of your work.

I'm slowly learning. Picked up a hell of a lot here over the last 2 months.

(Can't wait to try my first barley twist. I'll hunt for and order some timber tomorrow. More NG Rosewood probably. (I've got plenty of NGR, but only a board and 200mm turning blanks, no lengths.) Have to work out a design, too. For now, the plan is a lamp.)

The lid's done, except for gluing the bits together. Not perfect, but it came up OK.
On to the base tomorrow.

I'll have to think about how to position the lid parts while gluing without them slipping. I usually use PVA, but perhaps CA with 1-5 minutes drying time?
Any suggestions/advice on this is welcome. I could really screw up on this bit.
(And with hinge locating, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.)

I know this is off-topic and that I'm hijacking my own thread, but I didn't want to start a special thread for this.

After discussions with and guidance from wheelinround yesterday, I decided to have a go at a 'Barley Twist'.

Too impatient to wait until I could get some decent hardwood, I decided to make a quick 'roughie' out of balsa, for practice, tonight. Better, too, to do it straight away while the method is fresh in my mind. Only took 2 1/2 hours, start-to-finish.

Could do with a bit more flute rounding and sanding, but since this is just a practice run I won't take it further than this.

Didn't come up too bad, I reckon, for a first go, although it is a bit uneven. Thanks, Ray, for the incentive and help.
(3am, off to bed before the Sun comes up.)

Originally Posted by Hermit

Thanks, mate. That means a lot coming from you. I've seen the quality of your work.

I'm slowly learning. Picked up a hell of a lot here over the last 2 months.

(Can't wait to try my first barley twist. I'll hunt for and order some timber tomorrow. More NG Rosewood probably. (I've got plenty of NGR, but only a board and 200mm turning blanks, no lengths.) Have to work out a design, too. For now, the plan is a lamp.)

Steve all slowly learning even me thanks for the uplifting comment.

Originally Posted by Hermit

I know this is off-topic and that I'm hijacking my own thread, but I didn't want to start a special thread for this.

After discussions with and guidance from wheelinround yesterday, I decided to have a go at a 'Barley Twist'.

Too impatient to wait until I could get some decent hardwood, I decided to make a quick 'roughie' out of balsa, for practice, tonight. Better, too, to do it straight away while the method is fresh in my mind. Only took 2 1/2 hours, start-to-finish.

Could do with a bit more flute rounding and sanding, but since this is just a practice run I won't take it further than this.

Didn't come up too bad, I reckon, for a first go, although it is a bit uneven. Thanks, Ray, for the incentive and help.
(3am, off to bed before the Sun comes up.)

Steve thats brilliant in 2 1/2 hrs well done looks about 8" long and 1" dia looks well formed from here.

3am I was awake then but in bed and had been since 9.pm not feeling the best and another lousey nights too.

Hi Steve, You might be interested in this box which is a similar construction to yours. I think yours compares very favourably to this one.
FWIW, the hinge on mine is quite light and has lasted about 80 years, so I think yours will have no worries.
Re gluing up, I'd stick with PVA, and use masking tape, stretched, to hold it in place. Put wax where you don't want glue so squeeze-out is easy to remove. The wax can be removed later with white spirits.

Originally Posted by wheelinround

Steve thats brilliant in 2 1/2 hrs well done looks about 8" long and 1" dia looks well formed from here.

3am I was awake then but in bed and had been since 9.pm not feeling the best and another lousey nights too.

Thanks, Ray.
Pretty close - 250mm x 30mm.

I've always looked at Barley and Jacobean twists as almost magical. I feel like I've gained a new 'power'.

Originally Posted by AlexS

Hi Steve, You might be interested in this box which is a similar construction to yours. I think yours compares very favourably to this one.
FWIW, the hinge on mine is quite light and has lasted about 80 years, so I think yours will have no worries.
Re gluing up, I'd stick with PVA, and use masking tape, stretched, to hold it in place. Put wax where you don't want glue so squeeze-out is easy to remove. The wax can be removed later with white spirits.

Alex, you're right. I am interested in that box. A ripper, isn't it? There's a little bit of a story here.

When I first joined this site, I saw your post on the Australian Cedar box. I liked the box immediately and decided to make something similar one day. I have those two pics here in my woodcraft examples folder. I haven't looked for a while because I didn't want to 'copy', as such.

Having seen that box, I was led to your elliptical box, https://www.woodworkforums.com/f87/el...al-box-146490/ , which also made a great impression and helped motivate me toward an elliptical box.

Right up until yesterday I was searching for your original post on the ARC box, (couldn't remember who posted it), to give credit where it was due. I was using the keyword 'antique' instead of 'heirloom' (My failing memory.)

So, thanks for the inspiration. You've been a great help without even knowing it.

Wax to prevent PVA squeeze-out! So that's the trick. Thank you again. That's been one of my pet peeves. Light a candle and drip it on, or use furniture wax?

The masking tape sounds like the go, too.

Pics of the original, antique box. It's a more flattened ellipse. I kept mine a bit wider for more internal space.: -

Originally Posted by Hermit

Thanks, Ray.
Pretty close - 250mm x 30mm.

I've always looked at Barley and Jacobean twists as almost magical. I feel like I've gained a new 'power'.

Guess we'll soon see lamps and boxes with 4 corners 3/4 barley twists

The ones which amaze me are miniature makers which do peiord furniture using Jacoboan and Barley twists to perfection for up market doll houses etc. some of those chair legs not even 15mm long

Originally Posted by wheelinround

Guess we'll soon see lamps and boxes with 4 corners 3/4 barley twists

Yep. Been thinking about ways of incorporating them into boxes etc all day. Columns around the outside, Roman style. Also about helixes and double-helixes. I wonder if they would be structurally strong enough? (Not for load-bearing, but for dress.)
Could drill out the centre of a twist, or carve a twist in a hollow blank.

The ones which amaze me are miniature makers which do peiord furniture using Jacoboan and Barley twists to perfection for up market doll houses etc. some of those chair legs not even 15mm long

Me too. I was looking at some only yesterday on 'Antiques Roadshow'.

Four-twist helical. 40" tall, 6 1/2" diameter. The diameter might be the base, by the look. I think the helix itself is thinner.
[James Mont, 1950's USA, bleached Mahogany, gilt-edged]

Guess what I've gotta try next.....

Steve the helix is what david taught Sue to do 15 min lesson she did a demo down at Kiama Highschool for woodies one year along with the rest of us. The fellows were wandering between her demo and Darrell Smiths. She did do a 4 start helix that day. no drill out pure carve it away with micro-plane.

Strength would come from wall thickness, but a side ways knock could break it still.

Look foward to seeing you first Romanesc box

Glad it was a help Steve.
Re the wax, I just use the cheapest floor wax SWMBO can buy. I do a coat of shellac & sand off first, then the wax & glue up.

I did a bit of research on the maker of the old box, I'll dig it out & send it if you're interested. He was a retired builder & renowned locally for his inlaid boxes.

Originally Posted by AlexS

Glad it was a help Steve.
Re the wax, I just use the cheapest floor wax SWMBO can buy. I do a coat of shellac & sand off first, then the wax & glue up.

Good. I won't use my expensive Howard Citrus Shield.

I did a bit of research on the maker of the old box, I'll dig it out & send it if you're interested. He was a retired builder & renowned locally for his inlaid boxes.

Yes please. I'd like that. He had similar box-making tastes to me.