Making a pair of boxes in English Walnut

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Pair of English Walnut Boxes
Origin of the Walnut
The English Walnut used to create these boxes came from a tree which grew in the clients garden and had to be felled many years ago due to honey fungus. It was then planked and dried for at least 7 years.

Selecting the planks
Selecting the areas of each plank to use for a given part always plays an important initial step in my work, which guides the vision of the finished piece. With this tree having a strong family connection, the stakes to get this right become higher and is a challenge which I relish.

Marking up & Cutting to size
Next is marking out each part on the planks, which allows me to see the visual balance of the heartwood vs sapwood. From this, the parts can then be rough cut oversize before further machining. Traditionally, not cutting out the sap or the pith was regarded as bad practice. However, this would not have been a realistic approach for this project due to the small size of the tree. I also believe that for certain circumstances, making the most of such a beautiful natural resource, overrides what the textbook sets out.

The Lids & Bases
The approach for the lids was to choose a particular section from two consecutive planks of the log, to obtain a book match effect and arranging the sap to create a diamond pattern. This also allowed more heartwood to be around the perimeter where the holly would be inlaid to enhance the contrast. Once the machining had been done, the edges were hand planed before gluing up and left to dry overnight.

The Sides
The four sides for each box came from one length of timber which allowed the figuring to run all the way round. The heartwood was centred to the width of each side which allowed a little sap in between both the lid and the base. Next, was the sanding and oiling of the insides of the boxes with Odies Dark Butter oil. The sides were jointed with simple lap joints to complement the slight rustic theme, then glued up and clamped overnight.

Finishing the Lids & Bases
The lids and bases were cut 0.5mm oversize, belt sanded and rebated. Bevels were cut to increase the visual separation of the lids and bases to the sides. Next, the bearers were attached to the underside of the lids, and after the boxes had been assembled, were belt sanded to remove the 0.5mm overhang to ensure the lids and bases became flush with the sides.

The Decorative Touches
Holly was also used from the clients’ garden as inlay for the lids. This was quite challenging due to worm having been evident in some pieces, but enough was gained to create the inlay and circular discs required. Reveals were routed for easy lifting of the lids and also on the bases for ease of moving the boxes. Finally, the boxes were hand sanded before oiling and buffing to complete the project.



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Products used in the video.


Odies Oil UK: https://odiesoil.co.uk/
Odies OIl: https://odiesoil.com/
Titebond III: https://titebond.co.uk/products/....
Super glue: https://www.ct1.com/
Festool power tools: https://www.festool.co.uk/
Dewalt power tools: https://www.dewalt.co.uk/
Milwaukee power tools: https://uk.milwaukeetool.eu/
Makita power tools: https://www.makitauk.com/
Felder saw: https://www.felder-group.com/en-...
Shoulder plane: https://www.stanleytools.com/product/...
Scm Planer: https://www.scmgroup.com/en_GB/s...
Buetfering Sander: https://www.homag.com/en/buetfering