Thread: Ebony Macassar Box

Great work there Brian, You certainly are the Master of Veneering. The final result should be amazing.

Paul

Very beautiful veneering. I had a piece of it given to me by a Luthier friend, it was part of a pallet!!!! I turned it into Pen Blanks, as it had quite a few nail holes in it.
Kryn

Thanks, Paul! I do like using veneer sometimes even though it is more time consuming. Things like Ebony Macassar, Zircote and various burrs would be difficult to find in full timber thicknesses, or very expensive, or, in the case of burr, less structurally stable.

I have another fully-veneered box on the go which I’ll do a work in progress report for once this one’s finished. Here’s a teaser (grin):

C7569475-4A9D-4AB6-9118-118FE12FC83B.jpeg

Best regards,

Brian

Kryn - part of a pallet!!!

I bet the pens were stunners!

Brian

Hi Brian, To make a nice box it has to be time consuming. You cant knock up a beautiful box in "five minutes". I've never got into veneering. A few years ago an old chap gave me a bundle of veneers that he said he had for ages and is now too old to use them. I just shoved them all under my bench, I don't even know what most of them are, all about 1mm thick.

Paul

Originally Posted by homey

Thanks, Paul! I do like using veneer sometimes even though it is more time consuming. Things like Ebony Macassar, Zircote and various burrs would be difficult to find in full timber thicknesses, or very expensive, or, in the case of burr, less structurally stable.

I have another fully-veneered box on the go which I’ll do a work in progress report for once this one’s finished. Here’s a teaser (grin):

C7569475-4A9D-4AB6-9118-118FE12FC83B.jpeg

Best regards,

Brian

Can’t wait for this one!! It looks fantastic so far.

Right - on we go!

The Carcass

Like the original box I saw the carcass is Walnut. I imagine the original was European Walnut but this is American. If my box was taller I’d have gone with a ply construction, but since the maximum height of one piece of the veneer is around 53mm and the box walls are 12mm I doubt the veneer will pull the box out of shape. Many old boxes were made this way and have lasted several hundred years.

Since the box is being veneered there is no need for dovetails. I’m using rebate joints, which are more than strong enough. First I cut away the bulk of the waste with the bandsaw:

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This leaves only a small amount to be cleaned up at the router table:

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I have a fancy Woodpeckers coping sled but mostly use this home-made one.

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Very simple and leaves the rebates clean and ready to go. Hmm - I’ve cut these rebates a bit too long - will fix that later.

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A quick loose fit into my box glue-up jig just to make sure all will be square when the time comes:


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The bottom is next. This one’s already done - I make up a supply of ply bases from time to time, veneered both sides - all I need to do is cut to size on the table saw.

Next job is to cut a groove 5mm wide 3mm from the bottom edge of the sides ( the base is 4mm ply plus 2x0.6mm veneers). This was done on the table saw making two cuts to get the correct width.

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A quick check to make sure the base fits. I LOVE these big rubber bands from Officeworks.


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On to the router table to create a rebate around the top edge to take the top panel. I usually put the panel into a groove but because the box is to be fully veneered the top surface needs to be exposed closer to the edge of the box than it would in a groove. This will mean there is no gap around the top panel once the edge banding is applied (more later).

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The rebates and grooves are now all cut ready for glue-up:


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The top and bottom will fit like this:

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OK, the carcass and base are ready for glue-up. The glue-up jig and the parallel clamps ensure the box is square - but I check it anyway, of course!

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Tomorrow will be a bit of a tidy up of the joints then on to the exciting bit - veneering the walls.


Regards,


Brian

Thanks for taking us along this journey Brian. I for one certainly appreciate seeing how things should be done correctly and the jigs you have made to ensure the outcome is right.
Really like the book press earlier on in this thread. Did you have to pay through the nose for it like most you see advertised or were you lucky?

Thanks, Dallas.

Credit for most of my jigs goes to Andrew Crawford. They have been designed along the lines of those in his books or ones I’ve been shown on visits to his wonderful workshop in Shropshire.

The book press was one I found on eBay. They seem to come up quite often (also on Gumtree) - everything from rust buckets to finely restored ones. I think it cost me around $250, but then I imagine I’ll get that back if ever I want to sell it. There is one on eBay right now for $200 buy-it-now price, but too far away from you (Fraser Island).

Or you could make your own using press clamps such as these: McJING Tools Online

Or, if you’re willing to import:

Shop Fox D3221 Super Press Clamp 769433432214 | eBay

I’m hoping to go to the Wood show tomorrow to look at the SuperMax drum sander and perhaps buy a shoulder plane. A shame that Carbatec, Timbecon, Lie-Nielsen etc won’t be there, though.

Brian

Edit: WHOOPEE! I’ve just noticed this is my 500th post and I’m now a Golden Member. That would HAVE to mean I’m allowed to spend a bit more tomorrow, wouldn’t it?

Completing the Carcass

OK, the carcass is glued up. Just a few more things before veneering.

First thing is to take care of those rebate joints that were cut over-long. I usually allow about 1mm extra (better long than short) but somehow I cut these ones about 3mm long. No problem. The edge where the overlap occurs is taped with light-stick green tape and the extra length cut off with a Japanese saw with a very thin kerf. The tape makes sure the saw is kept away from the box side itself:

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The tape is removed and the box sides sanded level and square on the belt sander. No, I don’t do this one-handed, but the camera was in the other! The bottom edges of the box look a bit rough right now, but this will all be smoothed out on the sanding board a bit later:


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Next up is to fit the top panel into it’s rebate. This pic shows the rebate. Don’t be confused by the ebony macassar in the bottom of the box. That’s just veneer pieces waiting to be used. The actual top panel is hiding just over to the right of the picture:

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I mark the panel directly to the box rather than measuring. A few cuts on the table saw and the top drops into the rebate neatly leaving a 3mm solid edge all round:

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Now to glue the top panel in place. The panel sits about 0.5mm below the edges so the sides can be brought down level afterwards, making routing for the edge banding easier. However, to glue the panel below the box edge I need to make a caul to ensure clamping pressure is applied where it is needed - around the edges but inside the ‘lip’. I used waxed paper to protect the top surface then made a crude ‘picture frame’ caul from scrap.

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The box was then put between two cork-faced clamping cauls and clamped for a couple of hours.


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Out of the clamps the lid is now fixed in place.


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This rather blurry pic shows the box edge sitting just proud of the top panel. This edge was levelled to the top using a low angle block plane and a card scraper.

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All the scary bits come next - cutting the lid off, veneering and fitting hinges - but those are for another day. Right now I’m off to work out what I want at the Timber show tomorrow

Regards,

Brian

Enjoying seeing how you do things, and appreciating that nice box.
Agree with you re Andrew Crawford's workshop & books. I visited him last year, and found him to be a most generous and helpful host. His book was what got me into box making.

Hi Alex,

Thanks! I’m hoping to visit Andrew’s extended workshop early next year and also to visit Little Halstock if they are willing. Capital Crispin Veneers is also on the list although I’ve got enough veneer to last me three lifetimes (grin).

Regards,

Brian

I will keep an eye out for someone drooling over a Supermax when I get there tomorrow. Pity a lot of us don't know what each other looks like otherwise we could have a big get together.
I am looking forward to enjoying my day.
By the way, thanks for the great WIP and links to various pressing systems, learning heaps.

The Veneering Begins

Time to cut the lid from the body before veneering the sides. Why not veneer the sides first then cut? By cutting the lid off first there will be no loss of 2-3mm in the pattern of the veneer where lid and base meet. Whether that matters depends very much on the species of veneer being used. A bold burr will show up the missing pattern, but something like European Beech may not show at all.

Sometimes I separate lids on the bandsaw, but this time it was at the table saw - a Festool Precisio CS50 fitted with a 2.4mm kerf blade. I aim for a cut just short of the full width so the top remains in place - just. I’m looking for about 0.3mm to be left to prevent the box closing on the blade in the final cut.

As an extra precaution I have some small spacers that slot into the cuts as the are made. These are held in place by rubber bands (not shown). The width of the spacers is exactly the width of my saw blade.

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Once the cuts were made all round the final separation was done with a sharp scalpel.

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After a little cleanup on the sanding board the top and base come together quite well.

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OK, on to the veneering. Ebony Macassar is hard, brittle and splits easily so sharp tools and some patience are helpful. Most cuts were multiple light passes from the outside edge towards the middle to avoid splitting. I use a Swann Morton scalpel with my favourite cutting ruler. The ruler has a flip-up finger protector which has saved my fingertips many times. Brilliant!

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The amount of work in veneering makes construction a longer, exacting and often more expensive process, especially if using veneers of scarce timbers. On the other hand you can create effects that would be difficult in solid timber. I like both approaches.

The veneer pieces are cut to size and glued on. The sides are done first so that the front veneers hide the edges of the side pieces. For this reason it isn’t practical to glue up more than two sides at a time.

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A fair bit of pressure is applied through clamping using wooden cauls and cork. This ensures the veneers stay flat and really stick

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I mask up the area with light-stick green tape before gluing. Takes time but save a lot more time cleaning up afterwards, and there is not much room for error when using veneers that are usually just 0.6mm thick:

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Once the glue is dry I plane the veneer level with the green tape (very carefully!), remove the tape and use a scraper to level out.


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Once the main part of the box is complete I start veneering the sides of the lid. Why wait until now? So I can match the position of the side veneers on the lid to the position of their corresponding pieces on the lower sides:

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While waiting for the glue to dry I gave the base of the box a quick coat of hard shellac.


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Once the lid is dry and the veneer trimmed it will be time to add the stringing and do a bit of a tidy up - but that’s for later in the week. More soon.

Regards,


Brian