Mismatch! I hate hinges.

 After finishing off SWIMBO's 'Treasure Box' I've been noodling around in the workshop for the last few days making another little box, this time using some Laburnum 'oyster' veneers: 

...first used on furniture in the early 16th century. I had one little bit of timber which was sufficient to just make enough 'oysters' for a small box which 'er indoors has again purloined.  Never having used this type of veneering process before it was an 'interesting' experience and one I don't care to repeat!

All things being equal (which they usually aren't in any of my wood mangling procedures) the little box went together quite well.  I decided to use some Holly that I acquire from Stourhead years ago as an edge banding and also as a feature to mask where the top had been separated from the box; all pretty standard wood faring stuff.

The only hinges even worth considering for any half respectable box are Andrew Crawford's smartHinges which although hideously expensive are ridiculously easy to fit, just requiring four passes on the router table, one for each leaf.

The caveat is that you have to fit them properly! 

Each machined slot has to be precisely 42mm long and if there's any deviation from that exact measurement, the lid simply will NOT match the top.  The issue is that the slots are made on the router table, but each pair is machined in a different direction; two left to right and the other pair right to left.

A 34mm spacer needs to be made to set the slot lengths and of course once the table has been set up, trial slots can be made, ensuring of course that you check to see that they're exactly the same length. 

I made the trial slots, but being a complete an utter eejit bereft of all remaining brain cells, I neglected to check the lengths and assumed, as you would, that all was 'hunky doodly.' It wasn't though as one was less than 0.5mm too bloody long, which had the effect of 'corkscrewing' the lid when it was fitted.  You can faff around with this sort of fitting and adjustment til the cows come home, but in the end I decided to fill in the errant slot:

...and re-machine it again, this time a gnats cock less. Fortunately I haven't fiddled with the router table so the 'set' will still be fine. 

On a brighter and more positive note, this weekend I started a much larger job:

...which will be an interpretation of one of Jim Krenov's pieces, 'The Spalted Owl' cabinet though my one will be made in some outstandingly figured English Ash with a stand in Paduk.

Although it's much larger, it'll be a bloody sight easier to make than this sodding little box!

Treasure Box

After a fraught few months in which this job (on more than one occasion) nearly became bandsaw fodder it's finally done n'dusted:

There were a whole load of trivial, niff-naffy things that conspired to make to make it increasingly more irksome to complete, so ultimately I had two options: walk away from it or pass it bodily through the bandsaw.  I'm glad now that I decided to walk because now it's all complete, it looks quite respectable.

The marine brass hasp was expensive but worth the outlay.  However, it was very crudely polished and had to be take apart and re-finished using some of SWIMBO's diamond grits on a felt bob in a small Dremel drill; that took a complete day!  The polished M4 domed brass nuts complete the finished hasp once it had been re-assembled.

The drawer boxes were made in some very acceptable Victorian mahogany, dated roughly at about 1860 and the fronts are Birds Eye Maple, epoxied in place.  One of the intensely annoying bloody niggles was that they had to be fitted to the openings at least thrice and the second time was after they'd been polished so that had they to be done all over again! Thankfully, a touch of candle wax after polishing eased the fit so they all slide in quite nicely now. Drawer pulls and slim wedge for the hasp made in African Blackwood.

The underside consists of a couple of plinths in Bog Oak:

 

...secured in place with some maple buttons and No.7 c/s brass screws. I'm not convinced though that I used quite enough buttons to do the job; a pundit who shall be nameless thought that I could do with a few more!

I fully intended to sell this thing but whilst I was doing the final wax polishing, SWIMBO sauntered into the 'shop one Saturday morning just to see what was going on.  I mentioned in passing that I was going to flog it 'cos I was bloody fed up with it, whereupon she immediately said..."you'll do no such thing as I'll have it. It's now mine!"

Being of reasonably sound mind, I didn't have much choice in the matter, so it's now been found a spot on top of her:

...English Walnut chest of drawers that I made for her a few years ago. Suffice to say that it's already got a few 'treasures' located within and I dare say that a few more will find their way into the interior in due course.