Thread: Some new things

This is a box I have been working on for a little while and trying out some new methods of construction and running into a few problems. The box carcass is made from some really dry and cranky Redgum. It came in a rough sawn length about 80mm square which I resawed at about 14mm thick and left it to settle for a few months. The joints were done using the Gifkins jig which I've had for some time but not used it very often. I constructed the box and thought I would have a go at inserting a veneered panel in the lid. I haven't done any veneering before so watched a few youtube videos to see how it's done and it didn't look too hard. I just used some melamine and clamps to press the veneer onto both sides of the 4mm marine ply. Very happy with the way it came out. For the lid I just made a frame with mitred joints and recessed the veneered panel into it and then glued the frame onto the top of the box.
Another first for me was doing the banding around the panel edge. I cut the groove for the banding using a Dremel and a downcut carbide bit (very kindly gifted to me by Jacques). This was very nerve wracking after coming this far and didn't want to mess the box up, but it worked perfectly with a very snug fit for the banding.
I was roughly following a plan by Roger Gifkins where he suggested using the stays for the lid but didn't realise that you need to make the box at least 110mm deep. This caused all sorts of dramas with the geometry of the stays and where to put the screws so they operated correctly. After making a mock up from 2 pieces of timber and using some trial and error eventually found the correct combination of screw positions. I then lined it with Huon Pine and made a Red Ceder tray to fit it.
This was all constructed in my non heated workshop and everything was working well. I brought it inside the house and the next day the lid had twisted a couple of mm and didn't close flat anymore. I didn't intend to put the catches on but thought that was the only way I would keep it shut properly and I would just have to keep it myself as I wouldn't give a faulty piece to someone. To my surprise, after being closed for maybe a week the lid settled and now sits flat again so maybe the latches weren't required after all.
I sanded the outside to 2000 grit as suggested previously by one of our respected members and then gave it 2 coats of Organoil Danish Oil. Left it for a couple of weeks and then put a couple of coats of Alfie Shine wax on.
So after all the trials and tribulations I am quit happy with the way it has come up.

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