| Robert
Towler, Rankin Park, NSW
Valentine Heart
West Australian sheoak (Casuarina
fraserana)
140 x 140 x 32mm
Materials
The West Australian sheoak was part of
a purchase from a well known Sydney woodworking
identity. He had been hoarding timber
for many years and needed to clear some
room for his other passion, restoring
vintage cars.
Method
of Construction
A piece of sheoak was thicknessed and
then cut to approximate dimension –
160 x 140 x 32mm.
I made two ply templates for the heart
shape. One to rout the outside and one
to rout the inside.
A template of the heart shape was made
with 13mm ply by first cutting a drawn
heart on the bandsaw. Then the template
was shaped to the line with rasps and
sandpaper. The template was used to mark
out the heart on the sheoak.
I used the bandsaw to resaw 10mm off the
35mm thick piece of sheoak. About 140
x 160mm. Then I made a small frame to
rout both sawn surfaces flat. Long rods
were put through the router base to span
the frame. A 30mm diameter rebate bit
was used to level the two sawn faces.
The outside template was carpet taped
over the base piece and using a bearing
guided bowl bit routed out the centre.
I left the base about 6mm thick. The heart
shaped isn't symmetrical because I needed
a thicker wall for the pivot pin in the
top left corner.
I used the Ozzie jig to drill a 6mm dowel
hole in the base and the lid. This will
also help keep them aligned when finishing
the outer shape.
Then I put the lid and base back together
with double sided tape and bandsawed the
outside heart shape. The outside template
was taped on to the bandsawn parts and
routed with a top bearing guided straight
bit. This ensured the two halves fitted
flush together.
The lid was shaped with a 6mm bearing
guided roundover bit.
Glues
Titebond III to glue the dowel
hinge into the lid only.
Finish
All surfaces were sanded through the grits
to 400 and finished with four coats of
Livos Kunos oil then polished with Ubeaut
wax.
Concept
The box was a gift for a special friend
on Valentine’s Day. A red timber
was needed for a heart and this WA sheoak
had the right colour and an interesting
net figure.
Photos: Robert Towler
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