Small box using 5 different timbers.

Small box using 5 different timbers.

This my first attempt at a small square box. The box is 4 1/4 square and 2 1/4 high. The sides are probably sapele mahogany. They are made from some office skirting boards recovered from a skip (dumpster). The top has an oak top onto which I inset 2 pieces of very old teak rescued from an agricultural implement, a piece of maple rescued when a house floor was replaced and two small pieces of another hardwood that looks like a type of mahogany but is slightly pink in color. The box is lined with the same maple as I used on the top.

The maple lining was ripped with my band saw and then attached to my bench top with double sided tape so I could plane and sand it to thickness. I find this woks quite well when working small pieces.

I initially finished the box with Danish oil but I was disappointed with the dull color. So I sanded it off again and finished with a clear satin polyurethane water based varnish. This allowed the grain to show much more clearly. Sadly the Danish Oil did leave some staining on the dovetail endgrain and joints.