Robert Perry, Murwillumbah, NSW

Pine box
Old radiata pine
200 l x 120 w x 130mm h

I make wooden boxes on a hobby basis, I have plenty of family members who get my boxes as gifts. Maybe when I retire I might try to sell some for a bit of extra cash, to fund my hobby of course.
I use waste, recycled or salvaged wood as the boxes are usually small. The pine for the entry box was from the dumpster at work, old radiata with relatively fine grain and small knots unlike new radiata with big knots and no grain.

Glue
I used Aquadhere glue on the pine. I have used water actuated glue in the past but it can be very messy.

Finish
Matt Estapol, oil and beeswax applied with steel wool.

I have a big Carba-tec bandsaw, a DeWalt bench thicknesser, a Towa router 1/2” and a Bosch random orbit sander 6”. And also lots of sawdust.
I usually place an old coin or something that belonged to the recipient inside the box. eg a small toy, Lego is good, buttons and beads. My brother was born in 1965 so I got a used set of coins with a round 50c coin and placed them into an old tobacco tin inside the box.
There is a photo of a few recent boxes, coachwood from the wood man at Ulmara NSW, rosewood chainsawed from a stump at Terranora NSW and camphour laurel from under my youngest brother’s house, very good grain.

Photos: Robert Perry