Thread: Presentation wine box

Just Beautiful Alex

Thanks Woody1

That is a classic box. The finish you have used really enhances the grain,
What did you use?

Beautifully made. Hard to tell that is even Sassafras in the lid, just looks like a continuation of the Myrtle.

Originally Posted by Ruddy

That is a classic box. The finish you have used really enhances the grain,
What did you use?

I used Eco oil, three coats over sanded shellac, then a final coat applied with OOOO steel wool and wiped down straight away, then buffed.

Originally Posted by Treecycle

Beautifully made. Hard to tell that is even Sassafras in the lid, just looks like a continuation of the Myrtle.

The photograph makes the lighter sapwood of the sassafras look redder. There's actually a bit more contrast between the top and sides.

That is very classy, Alex, thanks for sharing. What a great 50th present. I like the engraving, very neat.
Have you just glued the saffafrass to the lid frame? How thick would the sassafrass be, please Alex? I have some thin NSO and was thinking of doing the same

The sassafras veneers are glued to both sides of a ply panel. They started out at about 2mm or a bit less and were machine sanded to make the panel 10mm, the same as the box sides. The corners and top edges of the sides were mitred and glued up with the floating bottom. I then cut the top panel to fit, and it was also mitred to fit to the sides. before separating the top and bottom I cut a 6mm rebate around the top edge for the beading.

Thanks Alex, that was some neat and very precise craftmanship to have the mitred lid drop nicely into the mitred top edges. Well done! I have never done that, not game

Did you cut the mitre on the lid on the tablesaw or router table?

And congratulations on fitting the 8mm wide strap hinge to 10 mm wide sides. Not much room for error there. I imagine it needed very careful handling after cutting that rebate so the side edges didn’t snap off.

I didn’t think you could fit a Smart lock to a 10mm

Very nice simple profile dripping with sophistication.
calabrese55

Thanks Dengue & Calabrese. I cut the mitres on the table saw. With the hinges, I make small cuts with a razor saw before routing the slots for the hinges, so the router doesn't pop the end-grain corner off. I leave it as lat as possible before cutting the slots, as the edge is extremely fragile.

Thanks for posting the photos Alex. They give box-makers ideas about timber matching, designs and build techniques. While I love through dovetails, the grain flow around the mitred edges is a strong feature of this box.

Edit: Sorry, in my last post I said the bottom of the box was floating. Sorry for the brain fart - it was mitred in exactly the same way as the top. This makes the box stronger, and removes the need for slipfeathers in the vertical corners. Of course, the veneers have to be laid on ply or other stable manufactured board.

Lovely piece. I would love to use more veneers however the machining of side rail or quadrant hinges has to be better than 100% perfect, which is not easily accomplished.