Will my box be rubbish?

[Graham Brazier]

FORGET THAT JUST RE LOOKED AT THE DRAWING

QUOTE="Graham Brazier, post: 1614320, member: 37782"]
Could you inlay a piece of timber rather than cut the box at an angle using a router for example
( apologies if this has already been mentioned )
[/QUOTE]

 

[recipio]

That box would be a challenge for even a seasoned woodworker. I would make it out of 12 mm MDF or Ply otherwise it will be very heavy and then veneer over all the surfaces. That way you will hide all your mistakes - and there will be a few I'm afraid. You may want to rout an inlay to protect the edges and those long miters will need reinforcement with a spline or biscuits. For the top chamfer glue long grain pieces on and rout to 45 degrees. End grain never looks good on a fine box. If it all goes pear shaped at least you will not have wasted any expensive wood.

 

[Hornbeam]

Timber movement can be very difficult to predict. The larger the item the more movement
My biggest concern is that your sketch shows the grain running top to bottom (maybe this is just a sketch up issue)
If you run the grain around the box. then you can make a thin torsion box out of veneered py ( you would have to veneer the burr anyway) with sycamore/walnut laminated sides sides which would give you your desired effect'
There are many ways of separating lids using a bandsaw or a saw bench will work but when things go wrong they make bigger mistakes quicker
A thin kerf handsaw and a guide batten means you go at your pace