Walnut and Sassy box WIP

**ajw** · 5th March 2011, 09:09 PM

A good friend of mine is leaving our workplace, and I thought I'd make him a box as a farewell gift. I've done this a few times for other people and they always seem to appreciate it. Thought I'd do a quick WIP for those who are interested.

Step 1 - Get a piece of walnut. Got this length from Mathews Timbers in St Marys. Enough for several boxes, and it looks like it'll have some nice grain.

Step 2 - Dock a length, and then create a square face and edge on the jointer. Grain is looking nice!

Step 3 - On the bandsaw, cut two lengths and mark the top face. After cutting the first piece, I ran the face over the jointer before cutting the second piece. Then take both pieces to the correct thickness on the (you guessed it) thicknesser.

Step 4 - Box will be approximately 12" x 8". I want the grain to wrap-around the whole box. To do this you cut the first board at 8" and then 12", and then the next board at 12" then 8". I mark which pieces become 8" and which become 12", and put A,B,C and D to show where it all joins together. It's easy to get confused.

Step 5 - Gifkins jig for dovetails comes to the rescue.

Step 6 - Dry fit. Grain wrapping nicely.

Step 7 - Top will be sassy veneered onto 1/4" ply, with walnut frame. Got the sassy glued to the ply and clamped up tight.

Step 8 - Disassemble box, and sand interior to 320 grit. Can't get to this area easily later on. Also cut groove for bottom panel which will be some hoop pine ply.

Step 9 - Glue up, with just the occasional clamp to keep it tight and bring it square.

Tomorrow will be the lid.

Cheers,

ajw

**groeneaj** · 5th March 2011, 09:35 PM

Looking really nice mate. What finish are you going to use?

**ajw** · 5th March 2011, 10:55 PM

Hi Andy, haven't noticed you on the forum lately. Thought you might be away for work.

I think I'll use a mix of 1/3 boiled linseed oil, 1/3 tung oil and 1/3 satin poly. I like the way this is just wiped on and off. Will then buff with wax later on. I used that finish on the last walnut box I made, and it came up well.

What are you making at the moment?

ajw

**Ruddy** · 5th March 2011, 11:14 PM

That walnut looks beautiful. It is a lovely wood to work with and when finished like you intend, it will look even better . Lovely work.

**groeneaj** · 6th March 2011, 08:45 AM

Originally Posted by ajw

Hi Andy, haven't noticed you on the forum lately. Thought you might be away for work.

I think I'll use a mix of 1/3 boiled linseed oil, 1/3 tung oil and 1/3 satin poly. I like the way this is just wiped on and off. Will then buff with wax later on. I used that finish on the last walnut box I made, and it came up well.

What are you making at the moment?

ajw

I've been busy with work this year, and I've been away the last few weeks.

I started making a krenov style cabinet at the start of the year out of American cherry, but I put that on hold as I didn't get much time to go in the garage. Before I went away I cut up some red mahogany to make a box which will be a good little project to get back into it.

Keep up the good work and keep uploading pics

Andy

**ajw** · 6th March 2011, 09:16 PM

Pic 1 – Sassy panel glued up nicely, and ready for trimming to final size.

Pic 2 – Stock for the lid frame milled to thickness. Box sides have been sanded to 240 grit. Final sanding will be done when lid is in place.

Pic 3 – I thought I’d try to make some wooden hinges for this box. Never made them before, but after reading some excellent articles in the library section of this forum, I found a design that I thought might be OK. These hinges will be made from some European beech and some other red timber (not sure of species).

Pic 4 – After milling to thickness, and cutting lots of strips, time to drill a hole for the pin. I’m using a BBQ skewer (bamboo). A simple setup on the drill press gets the hole in the centre and spaced correctly from the end.

Pic 5 – Hinge is taking shape.

Pic 6 – Hinge glued up. All the articles stress the importance of ensuring there’s no glue in the pin or the pivoting section. Not sure if I’ll use the hinge yet. Will wait and see what it turns out like.

Pic 7 – The router table makes short work of the rebate for the sassy panel. The rebate is ~ 1 mm deeper than the panel, to allow sanding of the walnut to get it flush with the sassy for that nice “touch me” look and feel.

Pic 8 – Corners mitred and the sassy panel cut to size. Dry fit at this stage. Need to do a bit of sanding of the frame before gluing up.

That’s it for this weekend. More to follow next weekend. I’ve got 3 weeks to get it finished.

Cheers,

ajw

**artme** · 7th March 2011, 08:56 AM

Liking the look of this!!!

**Cliff Rogers** · 7th March 2011, 02:33 PM

**Woodmouse** · 8th March 2011, 12:37 AM

Its going to be lovely when finished - thanks for sharing the wip

**Billyboydes** · 9th March 2011, 10:59 AM

Hi ajw,
Great WIP. It is going to be a very special box. I will be interested to see how you attach the wooden hinges. I would normally assemble the entire box with lid in a slot then cut 30mm or so from the top to create the lid and some room to glue/pin the hinges.
regards
Billy

**ajw** · 9th March 2011, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by Billyboydes

... I will be interested to see how you attach the wooden hinges. I would normally assemble the entire box with lid in a slot then cut 30mm or so from the top to create the lid and some room to glue/pin the hinges.
regards
Billy

Hi Billy,

I've made boxes in the way you describe before, but I wanted a different look this time, with a wider frame around the sassy panel. There are lots of ways to do this, which is why I like making boxes. Each one can be different.

Not sure on the attachment method for the hinge yet. Probably just glue it. Still want to see what they look like when finished. I've got some 4mm barrel hinges that I might use instead, if the timber hinges don't work.

Thanks for the positive feedback on the WIP. Never really sure if people are interested in this stuff or not.

ajw

**spokeshave** · 11th March 2011, 09:23 PM

Looking good.

I'm liking the look of the walnut/sassy combo for the lid. Interesting to see how it looks after the finish is applied.

Steven.

**ajw** · 11th March 2011, 10:12 PM

Originally Posted by spokeshave

I'm liking the look of the walnut/sassy combo for the lid. Interesting to see how it looks after the finish is applied.

Steven.

I'm looking forward to it too. The weekend's here, so hopefully I'll get to it tomorrow.

ajw

**ajw** · 12th March 2011, 05:34 PM

Two weeks until this box needs to be ready to give to its recipient. On target so far. Today's efforts:

Pic 1 - Top glued up. I'm liking the sassy/walnut combo.

Pic 2 - Rebate cut in lid so it can fit inside the box.

Pic 3 - Lid fitted to box. Just a little sanding needed to make it seamless (almost...)

Pic 4 - Top view

Pic 5 - Added a chamfer to create some shadow lines and soften the edges a bit.

Pic 6 - First go at figuring out how the hinges could be attached. Need to ponder this some more. Not sure if I like the overall look.

Pic 7 - I've got about 4 projects on the go. This one is a Tall Boy for my daughter's bedroom. Making the drawers for it at the moment.

Pic 8 - Two drawers done, 3 to go.

So, the big question is the wooden hinges. Should I use them??? What do you think?

ajw.

**groeneaj** · 12th March 2011, 05:57 PM

Nice work there mate. I'd love to be able to have as much time!

What timber are you using for the tall boy?

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