Thread: a few more Resin Boxes

Never ceases to amaze me how the resin and burl comes up. I just finished this one, same as the rest, but the selection of burl always gives it that difference. I also went for a solid brass lock on this one as well. Michael (veneer inlay) over in Dungog has these locks, I've bought several of these now from him. Nice chap also, I met him at the Maleny Wood Expo in 2019. And drat I was all ready to head to the Expo this year and its now cancelled. I made accommodation bookings for last year, that was cancelled also. The thing is with these locks you need your timber 13mm thick otherwise you dont get much left either side of that plate on top/bottom. I've now got jigs pretty much perfected to allow me to install these hinges.

I made the escutcheon plate myself from 2mm brass. Timber is Queensland Maple, burl is Coolabah. I'm working on another similar box, this time from Banksia, lovely deepish red colour.

Paul

You've got some nice swirls in that resin, looks like a turbulent river. Have you got many burls left?
Do you use the spacers when cutting the dovetails so that they're even after cutting the lid off, or do you just use some sort of very narrow cutter?

Hey there Dallas and thanks. I've still got a heap of burls left. All sliced down to about 15mm. Initially I was using the inner parts of the burl for lid inserts, meaning nice full pieces. Now I am the opposite I am using the "live edges" on the outer. Then using probably two to create those island/land effects. And the inners are the left overs whereas before the outers were the leftovers, does that make sense?

For my dovetails, yes I use the Gifkin spacers. I think Col has demonstrated those on his videos. then I use a 4mm spiral router bit to slice the lid off, like Col does. I am watching all those videos, not live, but catching up. Some things I do different to Col, but I think everyone does things different depending on what equipment you have.

Paul

I have been following your thread for a few months, Paul, and really like the way that you are approaching your work. Those little boxes are delightful.

Originally Posted by Pauls321

... The only "gallery" up this way that I know of, is the Fine Woodwork Shop at the craft village at the Old Butter Factory, Bellingen. I have sold several boxes there, the owner doubles the price he pays to you. But I dont worry about trying to sell there any more....

That is a fairly standard mark-up (100%) when galleries buy work off you and on sell it. When they sell on commission and pay you after the item is sold then a typical market might be 50%. [For those who think in times of margins, these equate to margins of 50% and 33% respectively.]

I know they sound high but running a gallery is not a license to print money; most struggle. Designing, making and selling are very different skills and the latter may be the more difficult. Those margins probably reflect the effort and skill involved.

Originally Posted by double.d

... I was at the workshop of a renowned furniture maker last week and had a box with me and he made a broad statement that was really aimed at me and my box prices which he said were way to cheap and i was dragging the prices down and making it hard for people like him who have to make a living from his work.

Of course he is right but i am torn between volume at reasonable prices or one off's at high prices, which means much less time in the workshop so i'll broaden my price range with some higher priced dovetail boxes.

Hi double.d; please foregive my tardiness in responding, but I have heard that argument many times before and I would respectfully suggest that it is based on a fallacy. If you had said high volume crap at low or "reasonable" prices then I would have concurred.

Why can't you have high quality at high volumes and at high prices? It works for Mercedes Benz. It works for Apple. It works for Seiko. And it worked for Andy Warhole, although I am not necessarily convinced on the quality of his work.

Originally Posted by double.d

...The reason i am going this way is because i was at the workshop of a renowned furniture maker last week and had a box with me and he made a broad statement that was really aimed at me and my box prices which he said were way to cheap and i was dragging the prices down and making it hard for people like him who have to make a living from his work.

I've found pricing higher sells just the same volume. I've never hesitated in asking the full (but reasonable) price. Avoid the casual buyer - they have no interest in your work other than the low price that attracted them. An audience best avoided.

As for the renowned furniture makers , its a specious argument. Does a back-yardie mechanic threaten Beaurepairs, Kmart Tyre and Auto or such? Nope....

I'd think its the likes of Kmart, Matt Blatt and Ikea that are cutting his lunch.


Break down the numbers. 25 million people (Oz). Assume 1% of those people buy ONE box in their entire lives (and they live to be 100). That's 2500 boxes a year to be made and sold.

These numbers are obviously silly, but it shows there is either plenty of market to be sold into (2500 per year)... or people need only one box per 100 years.... or there is a population of 99% that have yet to buy a SINGLE box....

ALL of those numbers look good to me!

Hi Do you use a pressure pot or vacuum chamber, your boxes look stunning.

Hi Peter and thank you. No, I dont use a vacuum chamber, I dont have one. I have now started to seal the edges of the burls with the same resin, the day before my pour. That I believe prevents any little breathing issues from the burl. The burls are about 15mm in thickness when I do my pour, swirling and using a heat gun to get rid of any bubbles, just trying to keep doing this until the resin starts to go off is tricky. Once it starts to go off, no more swirling, it is what it is at that stage. I would imagine it all depends on the brand of the resin you use. I am now using Trojan 1000. The manufacturers are down around the Newcastle area, Broadmeadow I think. I made the mold for this from HDPE plastic. I apply my own home made release agent to the inside of the mold. I have to clamp down the burls to the inside of the mold as they would float away during the pour. I have little clamping methods set up to do this. When I take the cured resin/burls out of the mold the next day, I put it through my home made drum sander and sand it down to either 12mm or 13mm. That usually gives me a very nice finish but still very scratchy on the resin. If there was any little areas on the resin I wasnt happy with, I can drop a tad more of the same resin into the little spot and give it another day.

I had a week in CC 2 years ago, loved it. Stayed at Riccarton for the week,

Paul

Thank you for helpful reply hope you sell them quickly.

Very interesting range of products....

1000 SERIES – Epoxy High Clarity Resin KIT ( Part A + Part B ) | Trojan Fibreglass Online

Some very old Banksia

Paul

I could look at these boxes all day. The lid insert really sets off the rest of your workmanship.

Thanks Dallas, yes the resin is quite mesmerising. I don't really know exactly how its going to turn out until I run it through my drum sander taking it from 15mm down to (in this case) 13mm. 13mm being the thickness of the walls and lid for this box due to needing that extra 1mm to install the brass lock.

Thanks again,

Paul

Love the colour of that resin
Wonderful looking Box too!
Thanks for sharing
Mr Fiddleback