Spalted Sycamore Blanket Box with Walnut Hinges

[OPJ]

Mike, did you not edge-joint (glue) the boards together for the lid?

Didn't realise you were making a pair of bedside tables with this stuff either - I look forward to seeing the results.

 

[MikeG.]

Yes, they're glued Olly.....with a couple of short loose tongues to aid the alignment whilst clamping.

I'm not sure what the bedside tables are going to look like yet..........I'm making it all up as I go along. The legs are walnut, and the tops, rails and drawer front are spalted sycamore. I'm thinking of using ebonised oak for the drawer sides so that some hand-cut dovetails stand out. There is some walnut contrasting banding in the table tops........not sure whether I will be using walnut pellets for effect in the top (might start looking a bit too fussy on this small scale)......and I'm going to look at sycamore pellets in the legs.

I told my wife that I'm making these tables as a variation on the wonderful "dancing tables" by the Cadmans http://cadmanfurniture.com/tables.htm, but based on runner's legs rather than dancer's legs. I even made a small mock up.......she went very serious and said "no, you're not"......but I was just teasing her!!

Luckily, she still thinks that is what she is getting..........so will be really pleased when she sees what I have actually done! Cunning, hey?!!

Mike

 

[marcus]

Ah, I thought the top was loose tongue and groove. Better not rove it - the screws allow a bit more flexibility for the timber to move....

 

[devonwoody]

I purchased some spalted sycamore (well it arrived spelted) 3 years ago, seven foot lenghts 6"x1" @ £10 per board. plus carriage about the same.

I reckon over half mine was wasted, large gaps in spalting, but can be very decorative. I suppose gaps could be filled in with epoxy resin?

Your chest looks very attractive, (like I once said to a young lady )

 

[MikeG.]

Marcus,

I wouldn't be worried about the stability of this wood at all. The cell structure has broken down so completely that it really doesn't behave much like wood anymore. When I glued the lid up, it was in wind (twisted). I place a damp towel over it, and within 15 minutes the damp showed through on the other side of the lid!!! I clamped it in opposite wind for a few weeks and flattened it out, then dried it (workshop, then garden, then bedroom, then conservatory). At no stage did it expand or contract. The breadboard ends remained perfectly flush with the main boards.

So, I think the boat nails could work. Could you give me an idea of the diameter of the head? I wonder if they might be too large for the small scale of these hinges...... I also wonder whether to just use the nails, and not do the roving (it could look a bit visually confused under the lid). If I didn't rove, then I would have to glue the hinges in place.......but that's OK because of the stability of the sycamore.

Also, where do you get hold of boat nails?

Devonwoody,

I have some other boards with some amazing copper-coloured rot holes in them. Some of the turners told me about a filler you can get that is made from brass filings in a clear gel, and this should make an beautiful repair job!

Mike

 

[devonwoody]

a boat shop,

or a posher name is chandlers.

 

[marcus]

Boat nails come in various gauges - the ones commonly available are 6 through to 14. The higher the number the smaller the nail. I just measured a 14 gauge one and the head is about 6mm across. The wire of the nail is about 2mm diameter. 6mm sounds quite big, but in the flesh it looks quite delicate....

You can buy boatnails from classic marine: http://www.classicmarine.co.uk/prodtype.asp?prodtype=54&ph=cat

You would also need a combined rove punch and dolly. Traditional Boat Supplies do one - the "dinghy dolly" herehttp://www.tradboats.com/toolroving.html, and also some end cutting nippers. You can find something adequate for a lot cheaper than the copper nail cutters on TBS.

You could easily use the nails in a decorative way with glue as you describe - although you would of course then not be able to remove the hinge if repairs were ever needed in the future....

Cheers

Marcus

 

[MikeG.]

Many thanks for all that, Marcus.....I appreciate your efforts. I shall get some of the boat nails, and some brass dome headed screws, and then decide.

Mike

 

[shim20]

awsome like this something diffrent, love the hinges to.

 

[MikeG.]

Thanks Shim......appreciated! At the moment I'm making a hash of the bedside tables which are supposed to go with this box....

Mike

 

[shim20]

Thanks Shim......appreciated! At the moment I'm making a hash of the bedside tables which are supposed to go with this box....

Mike

good good look foward to seeing them

 

[Woodmagnet]

Very, very nice Mike.

 

[MikeG.]

Thank you Kevin.