Help with a Jewellery box please

[richarddownunder]

Hi

I have started a jewellery box for my daughter using sapele. In hindsight I wish I had bought a different wood (cherry or maple) rather than using leftovers. I had intended to rebate a floating sapele panel in the lid frame but thinking about it now it may look rather boring, being red and stripy, even if I try to introduce some marquetry. I don't have a big enough bit of maple to make complete floating panel out of that but do have some 6 mm maple faced ply. It got me wondering what more experienced box makers do to achieve a light-weight but stable lid. I wondered about making a mitered frame within the dovetailed frame then screwing a smaller light-coloured panel from underneath.

Any advice on box lid contruction using a frame like this would be welcomed. BTW, the frame isn't glued yet but yes, it is a bit of a different colour to the bottom of the box! Hopefully it'll look better once finished and the grain difference wont be so obvious.

Cheers
Richard

 

[custard]

For a first time box maker you should be feeling well pleased with yourself, the dovetails look tight and the box looks very professional. I'm sure your daughter will be delighted whatever route you take.

Fitting a mitred frame within a dovetailed frame is pretty challenging, it can be done but it's extremely hard to work to that level of accuracy without any gaps. Personally I'd stick to the floating panel idea, either sapele or maple faced ply. Using ply means you can glue it into the rebate which will add a lot of strength.

Good luck!

 

[andersonec]

I don't know what you have at home but have a look at this example of how he made a simple box look very attractive with some simple techniques.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3VveFlugTs

Andy

 

[richarddownunder]

Thanks for the comments. I wondered about using the 6 mm thick sapele I had cut for the top and inlaying a larger burl panel as shown in the video. Perhaps that is the route I should take rather than using ply which just feels a bit cheap! The dovetails should be strong enough without gluing the top panel in...I hope. Is there a trick to gluing veneer on solid wood to accommodate movement (apart from orientating the grain the same way)?

Cheers
Richard