WW2 medal case

[gasman]

I was commissioned to make this by a friend
His uncle had a DFC and bar from Bomber Command and he got hold of the medals, logbook, photos etc etc and wanted a presentation box to put them all in.
It is 3/4" thick English walnut heartwood, dovetailed all round, with a fielded panel for the lid under which is mounted the King's certificate (with a 2mm perspex cover). The lid was parted from the base using a Proxxon table saw with a 1mm kerf blade - couldn't be any more then that or the dovetails would have looked wrong.
There is a drawer which contains the photos. The front piece was cut up then reassembled so that the drawer is almost indistinguishable and the grain flows through it.
The medals and boxes are all in 5-10mm deep depressions taken out using a router - then I used flocking from Turner's Retreat for the first time - very impressed with it.

Sorry meant to do a WIP but never got round to it
The hinges are from Ian Hawthorne - very neat!
Finish is 4 coats of Danish oil then 2 coats Briwax
Cheers
Mark

 

[Spindle]

Hi

What a wonderful heirloom - =D> =D>

Regards Mick

 

[gasman]

Thanks Spindle
Also I found one more photo of the front showing how the grain is continuous across the drawer front. Just in case anyone doesn't know how to do this, it's very straightforward but I will explain.
First I cut the front about 8mm wider and longer than required. Then I cut it longitudinally into 3 pieces and planed the edges carefully so the middle piece is the final height required for the drawer front. Then I cut this middle piece vertically into 3 pieces, and planed the end grain carefully so as to define the width of the drawer front. Then the whole thing is reassembled, moving the 2 side pieces closer to the middle and glueing them to the top and bottom pieces so the drawer is a snug fit. Apologies if this is obvious but when I had it explained to me it seemed a neat trick.

Best wishes
Mark

 

[xy mosian]

Trick or not, that is very well executed Mark. In fact the whole thing presents itself very well.
xy

 

[gasman]

Thank you XY
I must also 'big up' Ian's Neat Hinges even more. My first time using them and they are a joy to fit and look so professional. So Ian well done for bringing to the market such a gem
Kind regards
Mark

 

[Ian]

Great work Mark - very crisp and clean, also thanks for the kind words on my Neat hinge but I have to mention that it has had its stop system re-designed and no longer needs the small undercut - all will be revealed in the next few weeks when I launch it.

Keep an eye on my news page

cheers

Ian

 

[devonwoody]

Gasman, that is a super piece of work and workmanship. Thanks for telling us how you did the drawer. (I had to make a false front for a drawer on one of my boxes this year and would have used your method if I had known that one)

I am sure the original recipient of the medals would have been proud to have kept his awards in your box.

 

[gasman]

Thank you DW and Ian for your kind words
I will be interested to see your new hinge design Ian as it is already outstanding! I was initially quite worried about using such 'small' hinges as yours - as this box is 450 x 350 x 125mm roughly, and is 19mm walnut sides so with the contents it weighs several kg. Yet the stop hinges are definitely strong enough and complement it entirely. Had it been mine I would have used nickel hinges but the customer wanted brass
Cheers
Mark

 

[Max Power]

Lovely job =D> I bet the owner is extremely happy.
The way you've done the drawer would have been even more impressive with a push to open mechanism instead of the knob though.
Very nice hardware, but the price of those keys :shock:

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