Couple of yew boxes from locally felled tree.

[RogerP]

Friend of mine gave me some yew from a neighbour's tree. Had nice grain so I made these boxes.

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

That is indeed lovely grain. Very nice Roger, is the inlay hard to get to grips with? I'm very tempted to purchase some inlay toolage in the next few months to have a crack. Can you give me any quick pointers?

Cheers _Dan.

 

[RogerP]

Dan,

I routed (on my homebrew table) the grooves with a small straight bit then cut some beech to size, fitted and planed/sanded to flat. In the squarer box I routed the grooves, fitted some ebony strips, then used a forstner bit to drill the corner circles. Cut some ebony plugs with a suitable plug-cutter to fit the holes and then levelled the whole lot down. Finished with several coats of Chestnut hard wax oil and a final wax polish. They have more depth and gloss than is shown by the photos.

I don't think you need any special tooling for this fairly simple inlay work - just the tools you probably already have.

Have fun, good luck

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

Cheers Roger,

Yep, have got all that kit then . Thanks for the advice. Your work looks so crisp and precise, I definitely want to emanate it at some point. What's the Inlay used on the first box?

Just a quick query on the routing... How do YOU go about doing stopped cuts on the Router Table and do you use a spiral up-cut/ down-cut router bit, or just a normal straight bit?

And finally... do you do any inlay that is more free-hand/ freestyle, like leaves, plants, vines? Curved work that couldn't be done on the RT?

Sorry for all the questions, you seem the guy to ask though.

Cheers _Dan.

 

[xy mosian]

Very nice Roger. <posh> Understated Elegance</posh>
xy

 

[RogerP]

Dan,

The inlay (and the mitre joint reinforcements) on the first box are just a piece of beech I machined to size.

For the inlay channels I used a single flute tungsten carbide router straight bit. I measured the length and positioning of the required channels then set up two stops (clamps over the fence) on the router table fence at the correct place and distance apart. Then simply lowered the box onto spinning router guided by the start stop and moved the box along the fence until touching the end stop where I lifted off the box. Naturally two different stop set-ups are required for sides and ends.

I don't actually do much inlay work except lines etc where required on furniture so I'm not the person to help about advanced inlaying - there's sure to be some experts on here though.

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

Cheers Roger,

Re: The stops, that's how I was thinking of doing it, I've just never lowered material onto the RT before, so was a bit unsure. Great stuff.

I'll get myself on 'Ye Olde YouethTube' then to find some more inlay stuff. I'm very into small decorative details that can add to pieces.

Again, thanks for all the info. Keep up the good work. _Dan.

 

[myturn]

Both beautifully made, and I love the way you've got the knots lined up on the first one.

 

[monkeybiter]

As already said, a beautiful pair of boxes. Not just the fantastic wood but the flawless execution too.

What size are they, and what is the width of the lines/diameter of the single flute cutter? And last question; the diameter of the corner circles, I only ask the latter because from the photo they look too small for a Forstner.

 

[RogerP]

As already said, a beautiful pair of boxes. Not just the fantastic wood but the flawless execution too.

What size are they, and what is the width of the lines/diameter of the single flute cutter? And last question; the diameter of the corner circles, I only ask the latter because from the photo they look too small for a Forstner.

Thanks very much for your nice comments

The first (longer) box is 300/90/80mm, the second (squarer) box is 190/150/80mm. The router cutter was 3.2mm and the Forstner drill bit 10mm. http://www.axminster.co.uk/clico-clico-543-forstner-bits-prod22037/

I used a Wealden 3.2mm groover* in the router table to cut the mitre joint reinforcements - outside on the first box and inside on the second.

*http://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Groover_134.html

 

[Ian]

Yes I agree very nice grain and workmanship - the red lining is perfect.

Ian

 

[woodbloke]

Nice boxes...I 'specially like the dark inlay on the second one. Unusual and very effective - Rob

 

[Ironballs]

Great work, did you have any issues with the yew moving or splitting? It can be a real bugger for that

 

[devonwoody]

I like the boxes as well.

You have inspired me to get cracking as soon as gardening and house maintenace done :wink:

 

[RogerP]

Great work, did you have any issues with the yew moving or splitting? It can be a real pipper for that

No. After felling the tree was sliced into 3" slabs and air dried for a year or so before I was given a large (just about liftable) slab. I ripped it into manageable plank widths and then re-sawed those down to 1" or so (getting 3 nice planks from each). After a month or so machine-planed these down to the size I wanted. The final sized planks have not moved or split.

 

[woodbloke]

Great work, did you have any issues with the yew moving or splitting? It can be a real pipper for that

No. After felling the tree was sliced into 3" slabs and air dried for a year or so before I was given a large (just about liftable) slab. I ripped it into manageable plank widths and then re-sawed those down to 1" or so (getting 3 nice planks from each). After a month or so machine-planed these down to the size I wanted. The final sized planks have not moved or split.

It's not clear here Rog, how long the total seasoning time here was...I make it around 13 months? If that is the case, you may find that the yew will still split in a warmer environment, especially if it was left as a 75mm slab for a year...it would normally need much longer. It's great stuff, but needs careful handling and seasoning - Rob