Graham Sprott, Eatons Hill, QLD

Piano Box
Jacaranda, ebony
320 x 210 x 110mm

Materials
The jacaranda was sourced from a backyard tree which had been felled. The tree was then cut into lengths and a chainsaw used to slab it into suitable sizes for cutting on the bandsaw. Boards 12mm thick were then cut and placed in a drying rack to dry. After drying for months it was passed through a thicknesser and sander to produce the final 9mm thick boards used for the exterior and 6mm for drawer frames and 3mm used for the box and drawer bases and dividers. The feature burl lid insert was given to me by a friend. The ebony was purchased by us when we toured the Californian Redwoods area in America.

Method of Construction
The exterior boards were cut to size and stainless steel dowels were used to fix the sides and ends to the ebony posts. The lid was made as a mitred frame with a rebate cut to accept the burl insert. The drawers were made using a Gifkins jig to cut through dovetails. The bases were rebated into the sides and ends. A false front was added to each drawer to cover the dovetail. Runners were installed for the drawer and ebony drawer pulls attached with glue and pins. The top section and the top drawer were fitted with dividers, and finished with felt. Feature ebony blocks were mitred and glued into the corners of the lid insert.

Glues
PVA was used throughout.

Finish
Sanding sealer followed by many coats of Danish oil and lots of polishing.

Concept
I saw a photo of a box incorporating piano keys. The contrast of the black and white was enough inspiration to design a two drawer three compartment jewellery box. Without piano keys, I decided to use jacaranda and ebony. To provide balance to the drawer handles ebony was added to the lid insert. The burl insert and black ebony provided the focus for my piano box.

Photos: Graham Sprott