Thread: Walnut Jewellery box with Neat hinge

That is absolutely magnificent, particularly the lid. Congratulations, and many thanks for sharing.

Can you please tell us a bit about the lid design? Did you allow for expansion of the centre panel?

Can you also please tell us a bit about fitting the lock - that keyhole looks really good - how did you do that?

The keys are very impressive too, well done. How did you make them so thin, and how did you cut the thin slots?

Here in the tropics, it is mid summer, and actually cooler here than in the southern states of Australia, although our humidity make it a bit uncomfortable. Still, a lot better than 2 foot of snow and a freezing workshop

Must admit the ambient in the shed last month was in the 40's, and the tools were hot to handle. You knew it if you put your hand on the saw table cast iron top.

That is one stunning box!! Stunning in evry respect!!

Ah yes, that is nice.

Regards

Nice one Andy, very professional finish in every way.
Heat isn't bothering us much in the tropics, but people living in the south of the country are experiencing a massive heatwave and bush fires.
Hope they don't have too much more to cope with.

Cheers, Ian

Hi, My face just turned green with envy of the craftsmanship. Nothing more to be said. Cheers Brian.

Lovely work, Andy.
Fortunately, the coolest place in the house is my workshop.

That is one very nice looking box I would also love to know how the mitre-keys were made so thin .

Pity you didn't have time to do the escutcheon - could have been the finishing touch

Originally Posted by Dengue

That is absolutely magnificent, particularly the lid. Congratulations, and many thanks for sharing.

Can you please tell us a bit about the lid design? Did you allow for expansion of the centre panel?

Can you also please tell us a bit about fitting the lock - that keyhole looks really good - how did you do that?

The keys are very impressive too, well done. How did you make them so thin, and how did you cut the thin slots?

Here in the tropics, it is mid summer, and actually cooler here than in the southern states of Australia, although our humidity make it a bit uncomfortable. Still, a lot better than 2 foot of snow and a freezing workshop

Must admit the ambient in the shed last month was in the 40's, and the tools were hot to handle. You knew it if you put your hand on the saw table cast iron top.

The lid was made by framing a piece of Birch ply with 25mm strips of walnut then when it was veneered the edges could be rounded over and only walnut can be seen, the grain then runs around the lid with no end grain on show and the centre being Birch ply it is stable and there will be no movement.

The lock mortise and striking plate is routed after setting a stop either end then the mortise for the body is drilled out on the drill press and a very sharp chisel is used to shave the sides of the drill holes, a 3mm chisel is used to square the ends, the location of the keyhole is supplied with the instructions and then drilled on the drill press, the smaller downward slot is done (very gently) with a Dremel, or it could be filed with a small file.

The keys are made up of five layers of veneer, five being an odd number means you can vary the pattern, in this box there is one layer on the outside and three contrasting layers on the inside, you could have five alternating layers or two either side and one in the middle etc. etc. Five layers of 0.6mm veneer measure 3mm so I had a small cheap ripping blade resharpened to have teeth which have flat tops and a 2.8mm kerf, this blade is now only used for cutting the slots for my splines, when fitting they may be a tad tight, all that is needed is a few taps with a hammer on something solid (table saw) and the fit is exact, sometimes they fit first time, just make sure they go all the way down to the bottom of the slot.
(the ripping blade should really already have flat topped teeth and only about 16 of them so not as pricey as it sounds)

Thanks for all the encouragement chaps, you will be pleased to know it is cold, raining and windy here ....thankfully no snow...yet

Andy

Thanks for this interesting and helpful reply, Andy

A fine box Andy. The Neat lock is very classy and adds a great touch to the overall design.

Real nice work Andy, well done.

That's a VERY nice box. Such detail.

The hinges are AUD50 (can't see anything about postage yet)

Big number, but on a quality item they look very nice indeed.

Originally Posted by Evanism

That's a VERY nice box. Such detail.

The hinges are AUD50 (can't see anything about postage yet)

Big number, but on a quality item they look very nice indeed.

Evan, Big number yes but....Took the box to a craft fair yesterday and it was sold by 2pm for AUD336.7 (£180) so the hinges are worth every penny if you can make that sort of profit and it has to be nice quality if you are going to ask that sort of price, going to ask a little more for the next one....that sold a bit too quickly.

I think you will find that postage is included with Ian's hardware, have a look here;

Hawthorne Crafts Box Hardware - Neat Hinges, Neat Locks, catches | Wooden Keepsake Boxes by Ian Hawthorne

Andy

I loved this box. All the elements that I would like on the boxes I make. I'm pleased that someone asked about the splines. I could not imagine how you did it so thanks for the explanation. I must give that at try. As I don't sell my boxes yet I'm reluctant to buy such expensive hinges but they do make a nice job, don't they?
Thank you also for the explanation of how you did the top.
A great box sold for much less than it was worth in my opinion.
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