Graham Sprott, Eatons Hill, QLD

Log Box
New guinea rosewood, mahogany
310 H x 105mm Dia

Materials
New Guinea rosewood was acquired from an industrial waste bin. It was the rough outside flitches from logs being broken down by an importer for sale to furniture manufacturers. All pieces collected needed to be thicknessed and dressed. The feet and handles were cut from mahogany floor boards pulled up from an old scout hall.

Method of construction
The main exterior consists of 50 individually cut 6mm diameter semi circular sections glued to calico to form a tambour as used in a roll top desk. As there are no hinges, four circular sections were used to form the ends, two in the top section and two in the bottom.
Between the lower discs, a semi circular support was added to allow a tray with 15 degree sides to be included. The tray, made with mitred corners and with the base routed into the sides and ends, was divided into compartments to permit rings and jewellery to be stored. Outside the box it was essential to add feet or supports, these were matched by extending the theme to the top handles. Both the feet and handles gave the box lateral strength and circular regularity, given that the tambour slats are only 3mm thick. Finally the whole box, including the tray, was lined with green felt.

Glue
Contact cement was used to glue the individual tambour slats to the calico and to glue the felt in place. The circular ends were glued to the inside of the tambours using single pack polyurethane. The same glue was also used to fix the feet and handles to the box.

Finish
Sanding sealer was applied to each slat of the tambour before gluing to the calico and then again to the whole box when it was assembled. Several coats of Danish oil was rubbed and polished into the timber sections, both inside and out.

Concept
I wanted the box, to represent a log with the slats giving an uneven exterior like bark. The large number of slats were used to reflect the many furniture pieces cut from the log by the importer. The jewellery tray was incorporated to emphasise that from something that was to be dumped you can design a box to hold something of value. The feet and handles give the box a focus, and add colour and contrast.

Photos: Graham Sprott