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Posh pencil box with inlay - updated with finishing

Blackswanwood

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Location
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Name
Robert
I posted some pictures of a jewellery box that I made a bit ago and there was a request that I post how I do the inlay. Having been a bit busy with work and a bit of civil engineering to get ready for a new wood shed I finally got around to a bit of woodwork.

I've learned doing this that doing one of these posts is much harder than it seems ... I keep forgetting to take pictures. If anyone has any suggestions on my method please comment - there is a lot of experience on here and there is no such thing as a monopoly on good ideas.

Having has a root around in my offcuts I found a nice piece of cherry. It planed down to 10mm thickness and has an interesting pattern in it. Most of my boxes are square of proportioned using the Golden Ratio but this one is long and thin. At the moment I'm thinking it will be a posh pencil box but we'll see.

This is the construction

1boxconstruction.JPG

I have just realised that I don't know what the joint is called - a lapped butt joint? I rough cut them by hand (tenon saw and chisel) and finish them on the router table.

Bubinga veneer was to hand and even though it's highly figured and a small box I still decided to bookmatch it. Basically I need identical rectangles half the size of the top from two consecutive sheets. I align the sheets and use a mirror to find the pattern I want and then just cut through both sheets at the same time with a scalpel.

2veneerchoice.jpg

4substrate.jpg

The substrate for the bottom of the box is 2mm MDF this is sandwiched between two veneer sheets (no bookmatch) making 3mm overall thickness. The top is 4mm MDF with the bookmatch on one side and a single sheet of veneer on the underside making 5mm. The picture above is the top with a centre line to align the bookmatch - if it's not straight it looks naff!


To get a clean and matching edge for the bookmatch I align the two pieces, sandwich them between a couple of pieces of scrap and use the shooting board.

3bookmatch.JPG

I then align the book match and tape it together with masking tape. Stretching the tape slightly improves the result but if it curls like this you have to take care that the edges are butting up against each other when placing in position. If one overlaps the other it's firewood once it comes out of the veneer press.

6tapeup.jpg

Here's where I forgot to take pictures until I had put the top and bottom in the press ...

7veneerpress.jpg

What I should have shown you is that the top and bottom substrates have had Titebond Cold Veneer glue applied to both sides before sandwiching between their respective veneers. These are then placed between 18mm MDF Boards in the press. The total "stack" is 18mm MDF Board, Neoprene sheet, absorbent paper sheet, bottom veneer, MDF substrate, top veneer, absorbent paper, Neporene sheet and 18mm MDF Board.

The absorbent paper deals with any bleed through of the glue.

To be continued.
 
The box sides needed grooves for the top and bottom. Both grooves are 3 mm as the top will be rebated (it's 5mm thick). The top groove is 2.5mm below the top of the sides - this assists with getting the top perfectly flat later. The grooves are 3.5mm deep.

8grooves.jpg

This is the top after it has been rebated on the router table. The resulting "tongue" is 3mm long.

9top.jpg

The box can now be assembled. To save faffing around I have built this clamping jig

10clampingjig.jpg

This is how I left the box clamped up overnight while the glue (Titebond Type 1) set.

11clamped.jpg

This morning the box came out of the clamps and the top made perfectly flat on one of my sanding boards. I find these really useful for box making.

12topflatten.jpg

I removed the top at the bandsaw ... checking several times that I was not mistakenly cutting the bottom off which I have previously done!

13bandsaw.jpg

As ever the box was empty ... the saw marks were removed in the same way the blow was flattened using the sanding board.

14openbox.jpg

To be continued
 
The lid now needs to be made ready for the inlay.

This is a picture of the box as it came out of the clamps. You can see a slight gap between the book matched lid and the side of the box. The next step is to rout a groove for the inlay that just touches the edges of the box.

Out of clamps.jpg

The inlay is 5.5mm wide and I am using a 5mm down cut spiral cutter in the router table. The gap from the back edge of the router cutter to the fence is 9mm (so we clip the edge by 1mm. I then mark on the fence where the leading edge of the top is to be placed (the left hand pencil mark) when making the cut and where the back edge must reach before lifting off (the right hand pencil mark). Depending how brave I am feeling determines how close to 9mm I make this - today I used 11mm. I've screwed this up more than once in the past!

15routertable.jpg

This was the result

16routedlid.jpg

The corners need cleaning up and this is my Heath Robinson jig to do it with a corner chisel. If the corners are not neat the inlay simply will not work.

17cornerchisel.jpg

This is the underside of the jig - the dark strips register against the outsides of the routed groove. (I have to give credit for the idea to Andrew Crawford of Smartboxmaker.)

18jigunderside.jpg
 
The banding needs to be mitred which I ether do using a 45 degree square and scalpel or self made mitre box with a fine tooth saw.

19cuttingbanding.jpg

It is important using this method to have a sharp scalpel and to make the cuts towards the base of the square or the banding may snap or tear.

20mitrebox.jpg

The mitre box can be made quickly at the router table once the lid has been prepared.

I cut mitres on two pieces making sure the pattern aligns on the corner (same colour) and rub the edges of the banding on one of the sanding boards shown earlier until they fit. The router bit used was 5mm and the banding is 5.5mm. It doesn't take many strokes across the board to until the banding fits. It's important to take your time and alternate the edge being applied to the sanding board every couple of strokes.

This gives you the first corner.

21corner1.jpg

I then move on and cut the mitre on the short piece on the right hand side (3 in the picture) before trimming piece 2 to fit. It's important to make sure the colour does not change on the corner which may mean adjusting the previous cut to align everything.

22corners123.jpg

Everything has to be snug. This picture shows how the long pieces area couple of mm oversize until pushed into place. It's been done right if they go in with a small click.

23bandinglength.jpg

Once everything fits I glued the banding in using PVA concentrating on aligning all the corners before applying pressure at the middle of the banding.

After an hour it's ready to clean up with the cabinet scraper which is one of my favourite bits.

24scraper.jpg
 
I'm using JB101 Brusso Hinges.

25hinges.jpg

To add a chamfer I just add some pencil lines and use my block plane. The chamfer aligns with the thickness of the tongue on the corner joint.

26chamfer.jpg

27chamfered.jpg

Now it's time to sand to 320 grit

5sanding.jpg

This is my favourite finishing product and I'm about to perform some magic!

28magicpotion.jpg

First coat on

29first coat.jpg

30chamfercloseup.jpg

That's as far as I have got. I'll add a bit more about the finish later in the week.
 
Excellent job; I've got the whole range of that Peacock Oil stuff and it's rather good - Rob
 
Very nice work indeed. A a super helpful work in progress set.
 
Fantastic, Robert. Thanks so much for taking the trouble to post that in-depth WIP. It was me who asked, BTW. The world of veneering is one I just haven't even dabbled with, so this is all new to me. If I ever feel brave enough to have a go, I'll be refering back to this thread.

I presume you just buy the banding for the inlay? I guess that's from the same sort of suppliers as for the veneer, is it? And "absorbent paper".......I presume that's not just kitchen roll or a scrap of newspaper.
 
And thanks from me too.
Lovely precision work, clearly presented.
 
Thanks Guys.

Mike - I get my inlay from http://www.originalmarquetry.co.uk/ but am toying with the idea of making my own. A great place for veneer (and I'm pretty sure they also do bandings) is Capital Crispin who have an amazing collection in their warehouse at Beckton near City Airport. Some suppliers will only sell the whole stack - CC grew out of many years supplying small craftsmen and furniture makers in the East End seem to retain that ethos alongside the big commercial stuff.

The absorbent paper I am using currently is newsprint paper which I scrounged out of some packaging and ironed flat.

Cheers
 
That's brilliant Robert. A really enjoyable thread - thanks so much for posting because I know it's a lot of work.
 
very classy, I love the veneer work, and good to see high spec hinges used.
 
Smashing WIP thank you very much, just in case you didn’t know that newsprint paper is exactly the same as what your fish and chips are wrapped up in,I’m sure your local chippy will sell you some if they won’t give you it as a good customer. Ian
 
I was thinking Caran d'Ache Les Crayons de la Maison. Some of the earlier editions used some rather nice exotics, if you didn't mind paying seven quid a pencil...
 
Villa Chemist":1knygnev said:

Oh yes, blackwing. I got given 1 once. I didn't like the eraser. :eusa-snooty: :lol:

needs to come with a copy of this
DSCN0565.jpg


*not my personal copy, that's on my desk in work. My copy was used by David Rees. :lol:
 
Alf":33abenp2 said:
I was thinking Caran d'Ache Les Crayons de la Maison. Some of the earlier editions used some rather nice exotics, if you didn't mind paying seven quid a pencil...

I love the lead on a Blackwing. They are my favourites.

You need a pencil sharpener too...

https://youtu.be/wDvvIVmCANc
 
Villa Chemist":2ev446cl said:
Alf":2ev446cl said:
I was thinking Caran d'Ache Les Crayons de la Maison. Some of the earlier editions used some rather nice exotics, if you didn't mind paying seven quid a pencil...

I love the lead on a Blackwing. They are my favourites.

You need a pencil sharpener too...

https://youtu.be/wDvvIVmCANc

I'd prefer that to one of the rather pointless pencil plane.
 
I agree re the Blackwing. My wife gave me some for music annotation. The eraser marks the paper pinkish.

Looks nice though.
 
AJB Temple":6s605u8s said:
I agree re the Blackwing. My wife gave me some for music annotation. The eraser marks the paper pinkish.

Looks nice though.

I’ve never used the rubber to be honest. I love the smoothness and darkness of the lead. It feels as smooth and looks as black as a B or 2B, but the point lasts as long as an H or 2H.

Plus Steinbeck is my hero, and he used them.
 
Villa Chemist":wgqo5yp1 said:
.....Plus Steinbeck is my hero, and he used them.

And moleskin notebooks too, if I remember correctly.
 
Thanks for the detailed WIP. I've done a couple of boxes with "flush" veneered panel lids and inlay to hide the joint, but I largely made it up as I went along so it's great to see how others do it.

The sanding board looks like a good idea for getting the top flat.

I love your veneer press too! Where did you get that from?
 
NickM":1bpr3idf said:
The sanding board looks like a good idea for getting the top flat.

One of the mainstay's of Andrew Crawford's workshop and he does the very best boxes of any maker I know - Rob
 
NickM":1wm678vu said:
The sanding board looks like a good idea for getting the top flat.

I love your veneer press too! Where did you get that from?

Hi Nick,

The sanding boards are as Rob mentions another tip I picked up from Andrew Crawford. They come in handy quite often, not just for box making.

The press came about as I was on the look out for a book binding press to use on flea bay but none were coming up. It led me to ask around and I was put in touch with a really talented guy who does steel fabrication ... mainly agricultural stuff and he made it for me with a screw I bought from Matthew at Workshop Heaven. It's a bit more "robust" than I expected and also bigger than my sketch but I'm really pleased with it.
 
Blackswanwood":2ddwx0ma said:
NickM":2ddwx0ma said:
The sanding board looks like a good idea for getting the top flat.

I love your veneer press too! Where did you get that from?

Hi Nick,

The sanding boards are as Rob mentions another tip I picked up from Andrew Crawford. They come in handy quite often, not just for box making.

The press came about as I was on the look out for a book binding press to use on flea bay but none were coming up. It led me to ask around and I was put in touch with a really talented guy who does steel fabrication ... mainly agricultural stuff and he made it for me with a screw I bought from Matthew at Workshop Heaven. It's a bit more "robust" than I expected and also bigger than my sketch but I'm really pleased with it.

Thanks
 
Cabinetman":3n6oai5h said:
Smashing WIP thank you very much, just in case you didn’t know that newsprint paper is exactly the same as what your fish and chips are wrapped up in,I’m sure your local chippy will sell you some if they won’t give you it as a good customer. Ian

I used to sell books online and I used newsprint from the chippie to wrap the books - a whole pack from the chip shop used to cost me about £8 a time and it lasts for years, it's many hundreds of sheets.
Martin.
 
Over the past few weeks I have been applying coats of Hard Wax to the box exterior. Not only does Alfie Shine give a great result but it's worth it just for the smell!

Hard Wax.jpg

I decided to line the box with some sycamore that was in my offcuts - I don't tend to throw any wood away!

Sycamore Lining.jpg

I have a few simple planing jigs to bring small box parts down to the desired thickness.

Thicknessing.jpg

To mitre the sycamore pieces I just used the Donkey's Ear on the shooting board. This can be done equally well on the disc sander but this way is more satisfying. The Donkey's Ear in the picture is a prototype that I made a few months ago ... it works well but the clamping arrangement is a bit awkward.

Donkeys Ear 2.jpg

The lining is mitred to fit with just a tiny bit of lateral movement. I find mitres to be a bit of a pain in the backside as they often open up leaving an ugly line. When the sycamore is finally fitted gluing a coloured piece of veneer in the mitre both reduces the chance of this happening and disguises it if it does.

Fitting Lining.jpg

The box is destined for my son's girlfriend and as he's punching above his weight :lol: I decided to line the top and bottom with pig suede. I use 3M adhesive sheets to mount the suede on card (it's double sided tape but comes in sheets) and then Copydex to attach to the inside of the top and bottom.

Pig suede.jpg

Card.jpg

The sycamore then is glued in place. The picture shows this being done on the lid.

Fitting Lid Lining.jpg

The hardware is then fitted and the outer face of the front lining rounded over slightly - the aim is that the box shuts with a bit of a whoosh.

Finished internal.jpg

Finished external.jpg

Any suggestions or feedback will be welcome. I really struggle to remember to take pictures along the way so apologies if anything is unclear.
 
Well now! I have made quite a few boxes, but it does seem that I shall have to sharpen my skills.
Crackerjack job!!!
I also, struggle with the WIP's. I have some photos of the last few, and I will post, when I return home.
:eek:bscene-drinkingcheers: :text-coolphotos:
 
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