Lilly's Creations
The one where I make a box. A nice pencil box for holding pencils
Some Background
In this project I created a companion piece for the Walnut Table that I built in early 2024. It’s not a big piece, but there is some detail of interest, like the engraving and the dividers.
It is also another follow-the-grain or grain-matching project, where you cut the pieces from the original timber in such a way that the grain flows all the way around the box, like the Keepsake Box that I made for Debbie’s birthday. It kinda worked here, but not totally. Unfortunately the grain on this piece was pretty crazy, going in all different kinds of directions, and this technique only works with relatively straight grained boards.
Still, it made the box look better than it otherwise would have, so not a total waste of time. You can see the effect in the above image at the front-left corner of the box, dark and light grain stripes aligning somewhat, with the dark swirl at the bottom.
The Box
The Board
This project was made from offcuts of the Walnut Table I had just made. The table was of such a length that it left plenty of pieces to choose from.
I chose this piece because it was wide enough to slice in half and still have some timber to play with.
The Cut
So I made all the cuts, and put it back together with each piece in its original location.
As you can see, you have to plan and position the cuts well in advance, and make sure you do the mitres right, else it’s all for naught.
The Carve
The carve was done with the Shaper Origin, and it turned out pretty well.
Only complication was that I had to make sure that didn’t damage the fine point on the mitred edges when locking the board down for the cut.
The font is called Satisfy, which is oddly satisfying.
Join and Finish
Glue-up Prep
Dry fit before the glue-up shown here. I think I must have dry fit this one about a dozen times before committing to it.
It was those dividers that were being kind of finicky. They didn’t want to stay firm or align properly. A little sanding and some gentle persuasion did the trick.
The Glue-up
Band clamps are great for mitred boxes as the put the force on the corner joints inward towards the centre of the box.
Lilly’s Creations
A subtle epoxy inlay done here, and coated with Rubio Monocoat to bring out the richness of the walnut.
Materials
- Walnut from KJP Select Hardwoods
- Rubio Monocoat Walnut Oil 2C for finish
- Chill Epoxy for the inlay