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Shane Margetts,
Flinders View, QLD
Silky Oak Jewellery
Box
Silky oak
400 w x 300 d x 140mm h
Method
of Construction
This silky oak jewellery box has been
constructed using recycled silky oak from
the early 1950s, which was once an old
toilet door from an electricity substation
at Postman’s Ridge at the foothills
of Toowoomba in Queensland.
The body of the box was made using a Gifkins
dovetail jig. The lid was made using small
biscuit joints in each corner of the solid
silky oak frame and a small round over
router bit for the edges. The centre of
the lid is silky oak veneer which has
been rebated into the frame with a straight
bit router. The facing of the veneer was
then carefully chiselled to incorporate
the inlay strip and marquetry centrepiece
outside, with a similar process to the
inside for the mirror and inlay strip.
The base of the box incorporating the
legs was cut with a scroll saw and finished
with a round-over router bit. These four
pieces were then butt-jointed and held
together using buttons underneath. The
hinges and box lock were meticulously
rebated into the solid timber body and
lid frame.
The box insert was made using dovetail
joints on the main frame and glued butt-joints
on the inside framework. This insert,
together with the base of the box were
carefully covered with high quality black
felt, and the earring and ring section
is made of 20mm foam tubing wrapped in
black felt.
Solid brass hinges, locks and screws from
England were supplied by Goods & Chattels
at Woolloongabba. Inlays and marquetry
were supplied by Lazarides at Banyo. Weldbond
PVA glue was used for all joints and felt
work. The 3mm thick mirror was positioned
using high grade neutral finish Silastic
to avoid silver corrosion.
Finish
To achieve the high standard of finish
to the box, which enhances the attractive
grain of the quarter cut silky oak, a
1200 grit sandpaper was used for a near
mirror finish to the timber. This was
then spray-sealed using a low pressure
Spears & Jackson spray gun set at
20psi using seven coats of Feast &
Watson tung oil.
Concept
The box was a special gift for my wife
Karyn, in celebration of our twenty year
wedding anniversary in September 2006.
Photos: Shane and
Karyn Margetts
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