UMS - A Box #1: So the Story Begins

This is a real-time blog, that is I am blogging as I am working on the project. As it is my own design I respectfully request that anyone wishing to copy it waits until I have posted the finished project.

I am not showing the pattern, up front, that I’m using for this box. That mystery will unfold as I build it. Suffice to say that
1. I have a fully dimensioned drawing, on the wall board, in the workshop which I am working from.
2. It will be a shell, EZ Mitre box. Therefore I am going to be making up a board for mitring.

Here’s the wood

These are Cherry, Ebony, Holly, Bloodwood and the 3mm Birch ply I use for the backing board. The two layer approach that I use for this and many of my recent boxes is not strictly speaking veneering. The pattern pieces are 3 mm thick. The closest I can come to decribing it is Intarsia without the rounded edges to all the pattern pieces.

Anyway the first thing to do is make a sort of chess board pattern using the Ebony and Holly.

These pieces are 12 mm wide and 25 mm deep. Glued together they are then chopped into seven 12 mm slices
(yes its not a full chessboard) and every other one rotated

and re-glued

When dry this is slced into four, two row patterns. Glued (using CA glue) and the eigth row sawn off to give

The only other clue as to what’s going on I will give for now is this image

-- Martyn -- Boxologist, Pattern Juggler and Candyman of the visually challenging.