This is a box made for holding general "stuff", made from Red Cedar. The box is 240 x 200 x 140 mm and has no internal compartments or trays. The finish is....wait for it...burnished Tung Oil/White Spirit mix which was then finished with 4 coats of Shellac. I used the oil first as it really does accentuate the grain. The Shellac gave it the gloss finish that the client wanted. I gave the oil 48 hours to dry after burnishing and before using the Shellac. This really was a lovely piece of cedar.

Regards,

Rob

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__________________
http://www.damnfinefurniture.com
I don't have as many tools as most people here...but Gee I've got some pretty hardwoods!

Looks stunning, Rob
I haven't seen any cedar that nice around these parts, where's it from?

Forgot to mention ( was too busy looking at the cedar) I noticed you chose not to mitre the corners as you usually do, from memory. Any reason for the change?

Hi Okami,

The Toona calantis is, I am told, from the Philippines and is a managed resource there. We also get Surian from Malaysia and while I have seen some nice figure in that also, nothing like this.

As far as the joinery goes, there are two reasons I chose to go for half Blind Dovetails. (actually, three).

I felt that mitres would allow the figure from each side to impact on that on the others and that this would make the whole box look confusing and a mere exercise in trying to show off some beautiful timber. Not a good idea.

Red Cedar (Toona australis) was a furniture making timber used extensively in Colonial Australia and I felt that this joinery was sort of an homage to those days.

I used half blind dovetails because...I cant stand through dovetails. Would rather use finger joints any day.

Regards,

Rob

__________________
http://www.damnfinefurniture.com
I don't have as many tools as most people here...but Gee I've got some pretty hardwoods!

Nice work as always Rob - do you cut the half-blind dovetails by hand or prefer one of the jigs, and if so, which do you like?

Hi Paul,
Thank you for the kind words.
I'm afraid that hand cut dovetails are a little beyond me, so I use a Leigh D4R jig
with a Festool OF2000 router and, where possible, Leigh 8mm shank bits. The CMT bits are my next choice, but the 8mm shank bits give a nicer result and are not so jarring in use.

Regards,

Rob

__________________
http://www.damnfinefurniture.com
I don't have as many tools as most people here...but Gee I've got some pretty hardwoods!

Thanks for the info Rob, always nice to know what the experts are using. I have the same jig, although my joints don't look as great as yours, my equipment must be defective, or maybe there is another reason, ...