Variation on a theme

As usual, I try to work with a project until I've run out of ideas.  This box of bubinga, maple and black veneer, is not quite finished--I haven't yet decided on a handle, and I'm taking my time with it.

This is now my fourth hinge lid box, and I must say that there is definitely a learning curve. Sanding the hinges is a bit out of my comfort zone, but I am definitely getting better. I'm also finding that I'm exerting more pressure with my right hand than my left hand, and I'm trying to be aware of it so I can feed the wood more evenly.

Still have the vase I'm trying to update waiting patiently, but at least I'm not bored!

Using common veneer to create interest

It's amazing how small changes can make a big difference in the appearance of a project. I was impressed, early on, at the elegance of many lathe-turned segmented bowls, and discovered that veneer was often used to set off the different elements. I found that veneer could be used in the same manner with scrolled bowls or boxes that used a straight-sided ring between the upper and lower sets of angle-cut rings.

This box used three layers of veneer on either side of the maple burl center ring. The veneer was glued to the blank, clamped securely until completely dry, then cut. Veneer from common wood is not very expensive when bought in bulk, and all you need is an assortment of light and dark colors to achieve an effect that moves your project to the next level.

My furniture suite

When I wrote the bowl book, I asked that the publisher use all the bowls from the book for publicity, since I was totally unknown, and I thought it would help raise interest for reviewers to see the actual bowls. I also did not know where I would put them if I did get them back, so it worked out well all around.

This time, I decided to take the projects back, but still had that same problem--very limited display and storage room. So, I used this as an opportunity to get rid of stuff that I didn't need to free up closet space. I also decided it was time to change the "exhibit", and put out some of the newer projects. These boxes are all from the chapter on boxes that look like furniture. Most are variations of band saw boxes, so there's no joinery involved. All the drawers interiors are flocked, and perfect for use as jewelry boxes. It was fun to create the miniature objects, and to use tiny photos to personalize the projects. I used to do this with sugarpaste for my cakes. Now I do it with wood.

Not as tasty, but lasts a lot longer!

When is "good enough" good enough?

I'm about to spend the afternoon remaking the base for a box that will be appearing at some point in Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts magazine.

The lid, which was the tricky part, came out fine. The base, however, which should have been a snap, did not match the lid as well as it could have, had a weird curve at the bottom, and gave me a hard time finishing. It did not look awful, and could have been sold or given as a gift as it was.

I had hoped to be done with the project by now, but the thought of a published photo of a box that didn't look right made it a no-brainer to remake the offending part.

By contrast, when one side of an elaborate box for the new book did not glue up as invisibly as I would have expected, I just marked that side with tape, with instructions to photograph only the unmarked sides. There was so much work that went into that box that I did not have the heart to redo it, and the photography for the book turned out fine.

I'll post pictures of the original and corrected base so you can see why I made my choice. If you've ever let something go, and found that it bothered you long after, you'll understand why I made my decision.

Fast and easy finishing method

Since my garage shop has no ventilation, it's not the place to apply the clear coat finishes I like to use on my projects. Fortunately, the activities building that's part of my condo development has an art room, with a fan that vents to the outside. The down side of this is that I have to use the room when no one else is around, close the door, put on the fan, and get to work.

So, for me, speed is important, and over the past few years, I've streamlined my approach. First, if glue spots may be an issue, it's prudent to apply mineral spirits to the project right after I think I've finished sanding it. This makes any glue spots clearly visible. If you use some chalk to mark them, you'll be able to find them again once the mineral spirits dry. I sand off all I find, using the finest grit that does the job. If they're stubborn and I need a coarse paper to remove all traces, I sand through the grits in that area so it will finish the same as the rest of the project.

Then, I cover the table with newspaper and place the pieces to be finished on small pieces of wood. I apply a thin coat of spray shellac. This seals the wood, and reveals any glue spots I may have missed. I rub down the finish, which tends to be a little rough at this stage, using either 320 grit sandpaper, 0000 steel wool, or a sanding mop at 320 grit.

I tack everything off well (damp paper towel works for me if I'm careful) and apply several coats of clear gloss spray lacquer. This dries very quickly, and between each coat, I check for sags or roughness, and rub them down with the 0000 steel wool. When I've coated the projects to my satisfaction, I give them an overnight dry, then a final rubdown with 0000 steel wool for a soft matte finish.

Since the building is climate controlled, humidity and temperature is not a factor, and I can often complete the entire job within 2 hours or so. Then, I clean up my materials, turn off the fan, and no one even knows I was there!

The inspiration for the box

Thought you might like to see the image that inspired the box. It took some work to make it into a pattern, but that's what Photoshop is for!

Thinking in terms of techniques, not categories

In case you're puzzled by the title of this post, here's what it means. A lot of scroll saw projects are viewed as categories of projects--intarsia, puzzles, inlay, and so forth. Although there's nothing wrong with projects that fit neatly into these categories, I find it much more exciting when they can be used as elements of a larger project.

For example, intarsia can be used to make a different and exciting lid for a box, as can inlay. The hamsa box in a previous post is an illustration of the use of inlay for a box cover. I've just created a bread board that looks like a braided challah, whose pieces were cut with attention to the grain, as you would do with intarsia, even though the edges were only rounded, not deeply shaped. Several of the box projects in my new book use stacked rings as a technique to create lips for lids, thus avoiding the need for a router.

As I continue to develop new projects, I'm finding that the more techniques I am familiar with, the more options I have available to me. Best of all, the projects defy categorization, and present themselves primarily as attractive projects that make people ask "how did you do that?"

Powerful little magnets

Some time ago, I picked up a few 1/4" diameter magnets at Michael's to use as closures for boxes. I finally got around to trying them out on a box with a pivoting lid, and they work really well. I just drilled a hole 1/8" deep for each magnet and glued them into place using a new (to me) glue, Liquid Fusion. It's a clear, non-foaming urethane glue that's supposed to work with metal, and I wanted an easier alternative to epoxy.

So far, so good--the glue was easy to apply and seems to hold well. The magnets are so powerful they hold even without actually touching each other, although I would not use them with objects meant for small children, in the event they come loose. The only thing to be careful about is to put the magnets in correctly, or they will repel instead of attract!

Finally, the secret is revealed

About a year ago, August 2nd to be exact, I posted a picture of a round yellow object with a red center, and challenged everyone to guess what it was. Well, now that the book cover has gone public and I've been cleared to reveal contents (but not methods or patterns), I can reveal what that mysterious object was: a pineapple slice, with cherry, for my pineapple upside-down cake box. That project is one of many in my "fun with food" chapter, along with cupcakes and my cinnamon-topped apple tart, using slices of real cinnamon. You can see them all in my new "author's photo" which will appear at the beginning of the book. Sort of fitting for a cake-decorator-turned-woodworker, wouldn't you think?

A Tip for the New Year

When I start moving from basic bowls to more elaborate projects, I studied segmented bowls, made on the lathe, to get some ideas. What I noticed, consistently, was the use of veneer to set off decorative rings. Although not cheap, veneer is less expensive than thin wood, and can sometimes be obtained in thicknesses as great as 1/16". For the new box book, I experimented with dyed colored veneer, and was very pleased with the results. It works similarly to padauk, or any other wood that can bleed if you're not careful, but otherwise presents no special problems.

Constantines, located in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, is a reliable source for specialty veneer, as well as other interesting stuff. I visited their store last summer, and was impressed with their stock. I was sorely tempted by a beautiful piece of bird's eye maple veneer, dyed a gorgeous blue, but could not think of a way to use it. Of course I'm sorry now to have passed it up. They pack the veneer carefully, so mail order is not a problem.

Since they're a small outfit, they are responsive to special requests, and seem to choose their stock carefully. If you're looking for a way to make your projects stand out, give veneer a try.

Back to the drawing board

Since it's impossible to test your own instructions, I asked my partner, Joe, to make up some pivot-lid boxes that will appear in my new box book.

He made up a few, and filled them with candy. We gave out two yesterday, and within a matter of minutes, one of his grandkids snapped off the lid of her box.

Although I thought the dowel I used would be strong enough to resist shear, I was thinking "adult" not "child". We quickly drilled out the broken remnant and substituted brass rod, instead. I think that should work, and even though I'll have to take a new set of process photos, I was glad that I had the chance to improve the design.

Professional photo shoot

I had the really neat experience this week of having process photographs for an upcoming magazine article taken by a pro. It was actually a lot more work than taking the shots myself, since I needed to have the project ready to shoot in various stages of completion.

I'm pleased to say that although my own shots are not as photographically polished as the pro's, I think are just as clear for teaching purposes. Since I now have all the work done for the new box book, (33 projects proposed, with 10 to 25 shots per project) I feel confident that my very low-budget photos (often taken with one hand on the wood and the other on the camera) will do the job.

Watching the grain

When you make bowls that use two, or even three sets of rings, be sure to keep the grains in alignment. This is particularly important if there are differences in color from one side of the board to the other. This piece of padauk was used for the second try at a stacked ring box. For the first attempt, I accidentally switched sides on one of the pieces. This resulted in a box that was darker on top on one side, and lighter on top on the other side. It was an interesting effect, but not at all what I had in mind, so I bought some more padauk and did it right this time.

Updated Ribbons and Bows Box

In 2007, I entered a box with a bow on it in Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts' design contest. I decided to update the box using the stacked ring approach. Instead of adding a ribbon on top of the box, I glued in a laminated strip of purpleheart. The loopy bow and tails were adapted from the bow pattern from the earlier project, using 8 loops to compensate for the narrower size. I'm really pleased with the results, and intend to try out other "bowl boxes".