Thread: Walnut, sassafras, myrtle and flame rosewood boxes

Very nice....I like the clean lines of these. They will make great gifts.

Wow they're beautiful.

Were you going off any plans or did you just make it up as you went along?

Where did you get those hinges from, they're very nice

I'm just setting up my workshop and my plan is to start making boxes, I just love the look of them.

What timber is this made out of?

Sorry for all the questions, I have lots to learn

Originally Posted by ajw

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ajw

I keep telling myself I will make a decent box one day I could never get close to these.

Originally Posted by Dazm

Wow they're beautiful.

Were you going off any plans or did you just make it up as you went along?

Where did you get those hinges from, they're very nice

I'm just setting up my workshop and my plan is to start making boxes, I just love the look of them.

No plans - just something I made up. If you're interested in the details, I made 3 almost identical boxes and put together what's known as a Work In Progress (WIP) that shows the steps. CLICK HERE to see it.

The hinges are excellent, but very very expensive. I import them from England. With our poor exchange rate, they're currently around $55/pair. Google "SmartHinge Andrew Crawford" and you'll find them. They are simple to fit, and hold the lid open at 95 degrees.

There are a lot of nice boxes on the forum - I pinch ideas from others all the time!

cheers,

ajw

Originally Posted by Dazm

What timber is this made out of?

Sorry for all the questions, I have lots to learn

The lid is called Flame Rosewood. The colours are striking in real life. I don't think the photos do it justice.

The body of the box is Myrtle.

There are a lot of nice timbers, and when you find a special piece, it deserves to take pride of place on a nice box.

cheers,

ajw

Originally Posted by ajw

The lid is called Flame Rosewood. The colours are striking in real life. I don't think the photos do it justice.

The body of the box is Myrtle.

There are a lot of nice timbers, and when you find a special piece, it deserves to take pride of place on a nice box.

cheers,

ajw

Thanks ajw, much appreciated.

Thanks also for the WIP, you done a great job there, super helpful to beginners like myself

I think my first project is going to be making some slides for the saw table.

Wheeinround, my early efforts were very ordinary to say the least. The thing to do is keep making boxes. Skills improve with every attempt. There are imperfections on all of these boxes, but only a fellow woodworker would pick them. Having good equipment also helps, but it's not enough by itself. Keep going!

cheers,

ajw

Dazm, jigs such as a cross-cut sled for your tablesaw are very useful. A couple of tips:

* make sure your blade is parallel to the mitre slots
* make certain there is no "slop" in your sled when it rides in the mitre slot.
* make sure you adjust the rear fence on your cross-cut sled to be exactly 90 degrees to the blade. Minor variations will drive you crazy.
* don't rely on mitre gauges supplied by saw manufacturers - in my experience they are never as good as a cross-cut sled.

Good luck with setting up your new shed.

cheers,

ajw

Gorgeous!!!!

Beautiful boxes.

That flame rosewood in particular is a stand out.

Steven.

Originally Posted by Dazm

What timber is this made out of?

Sorry for all the questions, I have lots to learn

ajw,

How did you do the relief along the bottom of the box? is it just done on the router table?

Originally Posted by ajw

The lid is called Flame Rosewood. The colours are striking in real life. I don't think the photos do it justice.

The body of the box is Myrtle.

There are a lot of nice timbers, and when you find a special piece, it deserves to take pride of place on a nice box.

cheers,

ajw

Sorry one last question, what did you finish it with and did you apply some wax or something at the end?

Originally Posted by Dazm

ajw,

How did you do the relief along the bottom of the box? is it just done on the router table?

Yes. A chamfer bit in the router table. It's a small detail, but I like the look it provides.