| Project by Boxguy | posted 364 days ago | 1676 views | 3 times favorited | 16 comments | ![]() |
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Pictured is an oak tea chest with a veneered Russian Walnut top.
Story: I just finished this box yesterday, and this top is really beautiful wood. A friend works for a local veneer plant that specializes in exotic woods. This top is a “scrap” from one of their projects. The top is a Russian Walnut burl that has been quarter matched so the four corners of consecutive slices meet in the center of the top. This technique gives the spectacular kaleidoscopic pattern you see here. At 15 inches long, 8 inches wide and 5 inches high this box will hold a ton of teabags, but I just couldn’t bear to cut the top any smaller.
Materials: The top is Russian Walnut burl quarter-matched veneer mounted on a Masonite core with a Black Walnut veneer on the inside panel. The sides are quarter sawn White Oak. The corner splines are Black Walnut. The internal dividers are made from a recycled Venetian blind, half-lapped and glued at the joints to make it into a lift-out unit for easy cleaning.
Techniques: I hand sand a slight chamfer where the lid meets the bottom. I have a blog entries that show the jig I use to cut the spline slots and the jig for making the splines themselves. Both are basic, easy builds. This year I have been using a three part finger indent you see pictured on the fifth shot above. It is done on a Jet spindle sander by first sanding away the middle part then the side indents. I put the sander’s top at a steep angle to do the indents.
Thanks: As always, thanks for looking and a really special thanks to all of you who are kind enough to add comments or suggestions. Keep boxing, and keep posting, Lumber Jocks.
-- Big Al in IN
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16 comments so far
GrandpaLen
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952 posts in 438 days
#1 posted 364 days ago
Big Al,
That is some beautiful veneer!
“Box on” dude. – Len
-- Mother Nature should be proud of what you've done with her tree. - Len ...just north of a stone's throw from the oHIo, river that is, in So. Indiana.
Greg The Cajun Box Sculptor
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3762 posts in 1474 days
#2 posted 364 days ago
That is really a very nice box Big Al. That walnut really adds alot of character. the QS oak is really a fine wood also. I have had several hundreb board ft of it in my shop for about 4 years that I got from a friend with a sawmill and solar kiln. It is just waiting for me to decide what to make with it. Most likely will be some more boxes soon.
-- Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. http://www.FineArtBoxes.com
Bertha
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13111 posts in 859 days
#3 posted 364 days ago
Wow!!! That top is so spectacular that I’m at a loss for words.
-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog
helluvawreck
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10348 posts in 1032 days
#4 posted 364 days ago
Boxguy, you have wonderful talent and this box is beautiful. You do very nice work.
helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com
-- If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. Henry David Thoreau
doncutlip
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2808 posts in 1722 days
#5 posted 364 days ago
Wow, super gorgeous
-- Don, Royersford, PA
robert triplett
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1303 posts in 1270 days
#6 posted 364 days ago
This is my kind of box. Beautiful wood in the top, nice design and some extra details like your finger indent. Great job. It really isn’t too big for the varieties of tea we have!
-- Robert, so much inspiration here, and so little time!
Ken90712
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12660 posts in 1354 days
#7 posted 364 days ago
Great work all the way around!!! The splines and wood are perfect.
-- Ken, "Everyday above ground is a good day!"
GenerationWW
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412 posts in 415 days
#8 posted 364 days ago
great looking box, can’t get much nicer than that!
-- list your handcrafted treasures @ www.generationwoodworks.com for free!
itsmic
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1423 posts in 1284 days
#9 posted 364 days ago
Very Nice Box Big Al, You have perfected this style which is very attrative and styleish, Great job, thanks for sharing
-- It's Mic Keep working and sharing
grizzman
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5366 posts in 1469 days
#10 posted 364 days ago
well this is just the cats meow here, i wish i had a friend who could get me wood like that, shesh, you did a great job al…..what a beauty.
-- GRIZZMAN ...[''''']
Daiku
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185 posts in 1073 days
#11 posted 364 days ago
Big Al
Great job as always! Before I even read your description, the word kaleidoscope came to mind. Thanks for being the savior of that piece of veneer and making it a piece of art.
-- Cal Noguchi
gfadvm
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6611 posts in 856 days
#12 posted 364 days ago
That is a very special piece of veneer. If that is scrap, I’ll bet the planes are spectacular! The design of your finger indent is nice as well.
-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm
sawdust55109
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61 posts in 1014 days
#13 posted 364 days ago
Clever idea on the dividers. Nice job on the veneering. The mirror match looks splendid.
kiefer
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1832 posts in 833 days
#14 posted 364 days ago
All of the above and love that veneer top !
Kiefer
-- Kiefer 松
deon
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1162 posts in 1191 days
#15 posted 363 days ago
Great work!
-- Dreaming patterns
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