Thread: Tasmanian Blackwood, Jarrah and Red Mallee Burl

Amazing box! The lines, proportions, and design are superb.

what they all said, can you explain the workings of the hinges, for this dumb bum they are striking , i would like to copy them if that is ok with you

Hi Col,
I will try and explain how I made these hinges. I took a few pictures for my own records so these may help. If it is not clear, please send me a PM and I will try and walk you through it. I suggest you try the process on a small piece of wood to make sure you get the mechanics right before embarking on a complete box. I did that and it certainly helped.Just make one hinge as a trial.
The hinge strips were all cut from Jarrah on the table saw and were cut to just under 3mm thickness.This is important as you have to dry assemble the box later and it needs to be a neat fit.
The hinge inlay cutouts were done using a 3mm dia router bit and were spaced 6mm to leave 3mm remaining. These were done when the box was still rectangular and the depth was referenced from the back at exactly 8mm.This stage is shown in the first picture.The inlay shape allowed for the additional thickness of the table saw blade cut that would later seperate the lid from the base.
The next stage was to shape the box. After this was done, the box was then cut almost through to create the lid and base. The next two pictures show that stage. The box was then seperated using a sharp knife and the faces sanded square.
I made a special drilling jig that positioned the hinge hole in the Jarrah hinge pieces. Every hole was 4 mm from the back reference face and 3.5 mm from the end. The same jig is used for both the lid hinge pieces and the base hinge pieces.
The next step is to put a groove along the rear of the base to allow the lid to swing open. I used a 10mm dia ballnose.
The first assembly step is to locate the lower hinge pieces.I glued them into the base with a longer 3/32 hinge pin in place and made sure they were in the right position.
I then hand fitted the individual lid hinge pieces and dry assembled the box to make sure it would open. Masking tape helps with this process.
One thing that is assured with this technique is that the lid/ base alignment when you have glued the final hinges in place will be exact.
The next time I would cut the inlays before I glued the box while the rear piece is still a flat piece of wood.

That's some incredible work on the box. Glad you posted the progress giving me a chance to see the original post.

Excellent photos into a tutorial, much appreciated. I did forward a photo to my grandson, and he's excited. It'll be a while before I can get to it (-20 C) in my shop now, just sanding and finishing in my basement now!!

Thanks again,

Glenn

Really nice job Ruddy, thanks so much for the detailed pics.

Thank you Ruddy, I don't use a router very much, and didn't give it a thought ,on how you 'd cut those slots, in my minds eye i had you useing a saw Well I did say I was a dumb bum, It is all clear now, well presented tutorial CD.

Nice! Like the wooden hinges, looks great!