Thread: Yet another walnut box

Good to see you get a bit of spare time Jacques and be able to do something you enjoy. You certainly got as far as you did quickly. It seems to take me forever to complete a box but you are steaming ahead.
Personally I like the thin banding on the outside but that's just me.

Cheers,

Some progress for today....

Grooves cut, and inlay banding glued in place.

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Next up I wanted to reinforce the mitres slightly but didn’t want 3mm thick mitre keys. I settled for some 0.3mm veneer strips. The cuts were made by hand using my 0.3mm Razor saw. It won’t add much strength but should do since I glued the plywood lid and panels in place all around so that will add to keeping the sides together.

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I recently got some hinges from Ian Hawthorne (Fine Box Hardware) to give it a go. Pictured below is the Neat Elite hinge next to Andrew Crawford’s (smartBoxmaker). Ian’s to the left and Andrew’s to the right in all the photos.

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Last job for today was to seperate the lid.

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Hopefully I’ll be able to cut the slots for the hinges tomorrow. I’m also thinking to add one of Anton Gerner’s locks to the box (which by the way is exactly the same as Ian’s mid-budget brass lock), in which case I might attempt to make an escutcheon from a piece of leftover zebra wood veneer.

Looking good, Jacques!

How do you like the Neat Elite hinge compared to the Smarthinge? I’ve seen a comment somewhere which claimed different pairs of the NE opened to different angles (91 and 95 I think). I see the Neat Elite has moved to a 2-knuckle style.

How would you compare the two?

Thanks,

Brian

Thanks Brian,

I can't see a difference to be honest (other than the obvious 2-knuckle and it being a tad shorter). The pair I'm using in this box was a "second" which i got for half the price. The leaf was a bit loose so i just put a punch to the center which tightened them up. The build quality is the same as Andrew's and I think the NE is slightly cheaper. More importantly Ian has his logistics sorted, his product are in stock and shipping is fast and seamless. I wanted to get some of Andrew's hinges and one of his fancy locks but he was out of stock on both, seems to be a frequent occurrence. The other difference is the barrel, Andrew's is a single size pin, Ian's is different sizes. I will get a photo for you.

I have a few of both now so can take heaps of photos if anyone is keen, I also have one of Ian's fancy locks if you want some photos of that.

All in all I reckon you would be happy with either hinge.

The fun continues...

The slots for the hinges went in OK with only one slight mishap, the little mitre on the one corner came unstuck never to be seen again. I managed to fix it up properly though by gluing another piece into the mitre and cleaning it up with a chisel.

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Next up was my love hate relationship with little brass screws. Not 1, but 3 of them broke off, guess i have to take more care next time . I made up a little hole cutter with some brass tubing and I must admit, it worked like a dream. The hole it left is cleaner than my fortsner bits! If anyone needs some walnut plugs with some embedded brass, let me know.

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This is the first time I've made an escutcheon, I used some of the veneer I had left over, marked it up and sanded it to shape then transferred the shape to the box. I used my Dremel and chisels to clean up the recess. I'm quite pleased with the way it came out.

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All the recesses cut, hinges, lock, striking plate and lid lift. I will try and finish it during the week.

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I'm contemplating edging the escutcheon with the same white banding I used on the lid? What do you guys reckon, should I give it a go? I'm a bit nervous I will mess it up and I'm not sure how to approach it to get decent results. Anyway, i will sleep on it.

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Looking at the zoomed image on the PC I will have to straighten up that keyhole

Thanks, Jacques. Interesting to hear your views on Ian H’s latest hinge. Andrew is now taking orders for hinges again - his site says shipping started June 17th.

The base cost of the two types of hinge is £30 for the Neat Elite from jewelleryboxhardware.com and £29.50 for Andrew’s smartHinge. JBH don’t charge VAT for those of us living down at the Arts End of the world, taking the price down to £25 a pair. However, Andrew has a fixed £5.50 postage charge for overseas orders which is lower than JBH. Both have further discounts for volume.

Looking forward to seeing the finished box. On the escutcheon, if I use this type I glue the edge on before cutting the rebate. Makes it easier to just cut the rebate once. I’d also use black for the edging - tends to hide mistakes better!

Regards,

Brian

Fineboxhardware.com you mean Brian?

I agree, I realised that earlier, I should have added the stringing around the escutcheon upfront. Will know better next time.

Sorry, Jacques. Yes, Fine Box Hardware. They used to be called Jewellery Box Hardware, then got out of that business and later restarted as Fine Box Hardware.

Given that making a veneer escutcheon isnot a big job why not make another one, glue on the edging then rout out the space for the whole thing?

Brian

Clever man, I think I will do that.

A couple of nice recoveries there Jacques. When it comes to brass screws I find that it's always a good move to have a steel screw of the same size available to establish the hole for the brass screw, particularly if working in wood that is anything beyond quite soft. I'm rather partial to brass plated steel screws.

Cheers,
David

Some great fixes there Jacques. I hate it when those little corners flick off but you have replaced yours nicely. Not far from the finish line now and it seems like you are getting more spare time than we thought from your earlier thread, or you just work very fast.

Thanks Dallas, don't judge me, I know I should be studying instead but I can't help myself. [emoji16]

Following Brian's advice I made a new escutcheon. Let's hope I can get it off the tape once the glue sets.

Slowly getting there. I managed to redo the escutcheon and am glad I did, this one looks way better.

I also cut brass on my X-carve for the first time. I dont like the plated strike plates that came with my cheap lock so cut another from thin brass stock. It didnt come out too bad. I reckon I will experiment with cutting a 8mm wide plate, 3mm thick strike plate which will make it a nice cheap lock companion for the strap hinges.

Next need to fit all the hardware, finish and do the linings.

All done, finished it off with some Osmo Polyx gloss and paste wax.