Noel Rieusset, Murwillumbah, NSW

The Sunburst Box
Queensland maple
300 l x 185 w x 116mm h

Concept
The idea of the box came from a form of decoration used throughout the ages on furniture items; it has been carved on just about everything and has also been seen in marquetry. Every time I have seen it, it has been in its standard symmetrical form known as a Sunburst. I have liked this form for a while now and came across it again in my book on marquetry by Pierre Ramond. It was here I found it is a very old French design known as… 'Frisage' in fan shapes and sunbursts. I thought of producing this shape in my box, but thought, if I produce a sunburst on each face what am I going to use to fill the remaining space, it finally came to me designing this thing over and over in my mind. BING…!!! I know. Instead of making the usual sunburst in the centre, I can make the centre point come from one corner, yes that sounds good, after rushing to a pencil and paper I drew my idea and thought fantastic.
I haven’t seen it done before, looks great, so then after many calculations on size to fit the rays in (one edge always finishing in the opposite corner) away I went.

Method of Construction
I decided to produce the Herringbone Sunburst as this is the most beautiful type, but also the most difficult to create due to the fragility of the points, the axis of each section is cut 45 degrees to the vein of the wood.
To obtain the best match between the veins, it is necessary to use veneer that has been quartersawn. All the sections are cut head to toe next to each other, the sections must be all consecutive otherwise the pattern will not flow, this means if you cut 19 out of say 23 pieces and make a mistake you must start again from scratch, otherwise the gap will be seen in the flow of the grain.
For the main carcase I chose marine ply screwed together with brass screws and bonded with Titebond. The box was made in one piece and covered with Queensland maple, as the variety of figures produced by this timber is outstanding.
For the edges I chose veneer from the root of the tree as this is so heavily fiddle backed it contrasted so well to the crossfire figure, I used as the rays, this figure comes from the trunk of the tree.
After finishing the outside I set the box up on a bandsaw and cut it in two to form the lid and main carcase. I then finished the inside of the lid and edging using the root cut veneer once more, this I also used in a mirror matched panel inside the lid. The inner base is veneer cut from the base of the tree where that beautiful open wavy figure comes from.
The hinges are made of solid Queensland maple and turned on the lathe to 6.5mm diameter. There is a brass pin up the centre to provide the hinge action and each piece is fixed to a quarter round section cut into the desired position, the hinge is fixed with brass screws with a thread diameter of 1.6mm and drilled at 45 degrees.
To keep in the closed position there are magnets under the veneer in the front edges of the box.
A miniature chain is 24 ct gold plated and fixed with dress makers’ pins cut to desired length also gold plated. The pins are forced into a pre drilled hole of 0.6mm.
The box is finished with automotive clear and rubbed back with 0000 steel wool, wax and orange oil.
This is my very first attempt using veneers which I purchased some time ago from Peter Scott-Young Veneers.
I hope Mother Nature forgives my feeble attempts at trying to show off her beauty.

Photos: Noel Rieusset