Thread: Myrtle hexagonal box with veneer inlays WIP

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Photo 9 – Dry fit using blue tape to hold the frame together.

Photo 10 – Glued up, with some light clamping.

Photo 11 – Put some finish on the veneer inlay, in the hope that it will stop it from moving too much due to moisture variations. Also wanted to see what the colours looked like.

Photo 12 – The box sides are cut with 30 degree angles, and have a ¼ inch dado cut to take a ply base. The sides are cut from 1 piece. To maintain grain continuity, I put a piece of blue tape along the length of the stock and write numbers on it along its length. Later, when all the angles are cut, it’s easy to put it back together in the right sequence, so that grain continuity is maintained around the sides of the box.

Photo 13 – Cutting the ply base, and took a shortcut (didn’t reinstall splitter on table saw). Consequence was a kickback and a bruised gut. I don’t normally take shortcuts, and I’ve now received a painful reminder. Needless to say, I also had to cut a new base.

Photo 14 – Box sides glued up, with lots of blue tape holding it in place.

Looking forward to the Easter break so that I can finish this box.

ajw

Looking great mate

I'm sure your friend will love it, just like the last one you made.

Andy

Looking good. I like your jig for cutting the veneers.

Originally Posted by ajw

Photo 7 – Being careful with grain direction, glued the veneers to some ¼ inch ply and then trimmed to size.

If you look closely at the one on my website, you'll see that I wasn't careful enough.

That is looking great!! That hexagonal design is a grea optical illusion too!

Your design and technique is well executed and explained. The end result will be a beautiful creation.

I might have to muck around with computer design one day, my 2c school note book will have to do for the time being.
Cheers Kerry

Here 'tis.

Added a small chamfer to the top and bottom, then a bit more sanding followed by some finish. 1/3 1/3 1/3 mix.

One of the veneers developed a crack which is annoying me no end, but there's nothing I can do about it now.

This is my first experience with myrtle. It's an interesting timber to work with.

I was worried that the lid would only fit certain ways, but it turned out that it fits well in any orientation. You'd think there was more room for error on a 6 sided box compared to a 4 sided box, but this seems to fit well. Maybe my skills are improving!

Hope you enjoyed the short WIP. What do you think of the finished article?

Cheers,

ajw

Looks good, myrtle is one of my favourite timbers for boxes.
For boxes with lift-off lids, when you're cutting the slots for the top and bottom, also cut one half way through where you will separate the lid. Keep a bit of scrap from the sides so that, when the box is finished, you can cut another one from the outside, lower down the side, just deep enough so that when you separate the lid, it fits neatly on the base with a lip inside it. The idea is to cut the outside slot so that it is a tiny bit deeper than the bottom of the inside slot but far enough down the side that it doesn't intersect the inside slot. Then, when you've done it for all the sides, give a firm push downward and the lid should pop down into position. You can then clean it up and it should be a good tight fit.