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John Overend,
Springwood, QLD
Music/Jewellery
Box
Satin sycamore, Queensland walnut
400mm L x 245mm W x 200mm H
Materials
The timber used in this music box is satin
sycamore and Queensland walnut with the
base being hardwood ply. The ply works
well as a sounding board for a music box.
Satin sycamore is found only in North
Queensland rainforests, particularly on
the Atherton Tableland. It is closely
related to coachwood which, with Queensland
maple, were used as rifle butts of the
old 303 rifle. It has also been used as
a supplement for coachwood in furnishing
the new Parliament House in Canberra.
Queensland maple is a North Queensland
timber as well. Both are now preserved
in heritage listed rainforests.
We were housesitting in Cairns for friends
and he had a shed with a lot of timber
stored in it and allowed me to use some
for this box.
Method
of Construction
The legs were shaped with a jigsaw and
sanded on a belt sander. The side and
end panels were made and then doweled
and glued to the legs. The Chinese symbols
were cut and glued to the panels. The
lid was cut with a combination saw. It
was then assembled and shaped to resemble
a Chinese roof. The ridge and hips were
then cut and inserted into grooves. The
glass lid inside is to stop dust from
settling on the movement. One tray was
made and lined for jewellery.
Glue
Glue used throughout was Triton Premium
Woodworking adhesive.
Finish
The finish is two coats of sanding sealer
and U-Beaut Traditional wax. The timber
was sanded to 800 grit.
Concept
I wanted this box to have an oriental
look. The lid was modeled from a photo
of the worlds largest wooden structure.
It is the Daibutsu-den Buddhist Temple
at Todai-ji in Japan. The symbols on the
front and back are Feng-Shui and are wind,
water, wood, fire, metal and earth. The
end symbols are the eight Trigrams Li,
K’un, Tui, Ch’ien, K’an,
Ken, Chen, Sun.
This box is for one of my grandchildren.
The movement to go in this box is a 50
note Sankyo movement which is Japanese
made and which I have to purchase from
America.
Photos: John Overend
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