I got this entire blog done and lost the lot, so several days later take two......
Not 100 percent but I think this is some type of Oak I decided to make a watch box out of it till I realised it was too short and so it got repurposed pretty quickly. Cut it to size, then mitred the corner joints.
Having decided to make draws rather than a box within a box and a hinged lid I cut the holes for the draw front. Precisely cut the holes and made them dead square. Happy with that so proceeded to make the runners for the draws and fit them prior to gluing up the sides, back and front.
Some where amongst the clamps and box clamp (strap) is a box shell.
I'd thought for ages about how I could get the draw cut out done so I could reuse them as draw front. The holes I required for the scroll saw rendered them unsuitable for reuse. Pity because the four sides come from a continuous piece of timber. How else could I have done it? Maybe a laser, or CNC router maybe, I'm not sure nor do I own either of those machines.
The inside draw runners were glued in then I inserted panel pins once the glue dried. Careful to pre drill the holes for the pins. Happy with the slide and the precision fit of the draws. Mitre joints were good to. I started to make up some small draw handles out of some scrap and some American maple in the sandwich. Then I drew up the profile and shaped them using the scroll saw and elbow grease, not to mention a good file.
Next I cut the lid. once done I sliced it along the grain and inserted a Jarrah section to complete the width + 2mm spare. Planed it to thickness and finished it with 240 grit in the R Orbital sander. Glued it up and left it 24 hrs. Routered the excess off the edges then carefully finished it off with a router profile as seen above. Very pleased with the look and finish thus far. I also Burnished the sides and front + the back too. The draw front were already Burnished prior to fitting the handles.
Starting to pop a little........ Whilst you can see the grain in the lid seam it will be nice once I Burnish it the same as the rest.
The lid still required burnishing so I applied the first coat and while that was soaking in I cut the bottom for the box, I also glued up the velvet for the draw bases. Once I was happy with the fit for them I glued the bases into the draws. Back to the lid after an hour and a half to apply another coat of burnishing oil. After 15 minutes I used the Random Orbital to burnish with 240 grit, 400, and finished of with 1500 to get the desired gloss.
Pretty happy with the final result.
Kerry - Working with wood, the smell the feel, is such a joy, its a meditation of sorts.
Very nicely done! I like the drawer pulls - just the right amount of contrast.
I don't use a scroll saw, but wonder of you could use a jig saw to make the initial entry cut (rock the blade down for a plunge cut) so you wouldn't have the hole as the start point. Might not be sufficient - just a non-scroller brainstorming!
Fine work as always Kerry! The pulls are an exercise in determination, small and seemingly inconsequential, but the details you put in were worth the efforts!
For trying to get drawer faces from the same wood, the only way I know is to rip the board for the dividers, cut the faces and drawer styles free, then glue the face frame back together. The seams in the face frame where the parts are re-assembled usually disappears if the wood grain is fairly linear. No one would know (aside from you!)
