by Neil Scobie
Published in Australian Woodworker March/April ’05, Page 65
A PDF copy of the article is available here.
Usually I am asked to review a machine or tool, but this is a little different — reviewing precut timber kits to suit box-making plans.
Graham Naughton and Sarah Mitchell from Loggerheads in Gympie, South East QLD, are suppliers of specialty Outback timbers. Seeing a need for precut timber kits to service all those woodies who don’t have access to machinery for sizing timber, Loggerheads have teamed up with Roger and Jenny Gifkins from Gifkins Dovetail to supply kits to suit the Gifkins box plans. Since well over 4000 Gifkins Dovetail Jigs have been sold around Australia there should be a lot of people who will benefit from these kits.
Roger Gifkins has eight different box plans available for purchase at the moment and Loggerheads will supply kits to suit any of these.
The Kits
When I was asked to review this new product I requested a kit to suit the Gifkins low jewellery box and the sliding lid box. I also purchased timber to make three of the Daydream boxes from the Gifkins range to be used as Christmas presents (Photo.1).
Photo.1: Three of the finished boxes — the Ringed Gidgee sliding lid box on the
left, the Mulga and Myall low jewellery box on the right, and the Currawong and
Gidgee Daydream box at the rear.
The kits arrived in the mail, well packed in sealed plastic bags with cable ties securing the separate pieces together (Photo.2). Each kit is cut accurately from kiln dried timber which has been dried by a dehumidifying process developed by Graham. As a furniture maker himself he understands how the timber needs to be cut and dried to minimize movement and warping when the boards are made into boxes. Most pieces are quarter sawn which produces the most stable timber, especially for small boxes.
Photo.2: Two of the kits as supplied by Loggerheads
There are a number of different species of Outback Timbers that can be ordered to suit each kit. The main ones are Bendee, Beefwood, Brigalow, Mulga, Myall, Red Ash, Gidgee, Ringed Gidgee, Lancewood, Vinetree, False Sandalwood, Mad Myrtle and Yarran. Other species are being added to the list all the time. All these timbers are very hard and close grained, and machine beautifully so long as you keep your tungsten router cutters sharp.
The low jewellery box kit consisted of all Mulga while the sliding lid box kit had Ringed Gidgee with a Mad Myrtle panel. Both boxes were easy to build and the timber polished very nicely.
Machining, Assembly and Sanding
The Gifkins jig and their box-making set of four router cutters were used to make light work of the dovetail joints. The Gifkins panel raising bit and tenon cutters have negative rake angles which result in a much cleaner cut on the outside of the routed surface.
After cutting the dovetail joints with the Gifkins Dovetail jig (Photo.3), I sanded the pieces ready for assembly (Photo.4). The timber as supplied has been thickness sanded to around 120 grit so I sanded the inside of the box to around 320 grit.
Photo.3: The Currawong desert timber showing the lack of breakout during the dovetailing process on the Gifkins jig
Photo.4: The components for the Daydream boxes with all the dovetail joints machined before assembly
I found that the accuracy of the precut pieces was very good and I didn’t need to adjust any of them. The ends were square and to the correct dimensions.
An additional task in the construction of the low jewellry box was to fit 25mm brass butt hinges. The fine sanding process applied to the exterior surfaces of the boxes started with 180 grit and progressed up to 1500 grit. As you can imagine the wood had quite a natural shine to it after being sanded to 1500 grit.
To really make the surface stand out, I applied two coats of Organoil’s Danish Oil (Photo.1). By polishing the wood with such fine sanding, the main function of the oil is to seal in the shine.
With such dense wood, oil will not penetrate deeply into the surface, so I intend to wax the boxes after the oil has had a bit of time to dry.
Different combinations of timber were used for the three Daydream boxes. One has a Currawong box with a Lancewood frame and a Gidgee panel for the lid. Another is Mulga with a Yarran lid frame and Lancewood panel, and the third has a Whitewood box with Lancewood panel and Yarran frame for the lid. All three were exceptional when finished and the recipients of these Christmas gifts were very pleased.
Kits and Plans
The Gifkins plans are very well setout and easy to follow. The plan for the sliding lid box is included in a book of plans which is also a good introduction to small joinery processes. The plan for the low jewellery box is in the second plan book which includes seven different projects. Both books are only available from Gifkins Dovetail and retail for $25 and $34 respectively.
In addition to the box kits, Loggerheads will take special job orders for smaller projects. Due to the nature of the smaller desert trees from which they are sourced, the Outback timbers are not really suitable for larger projects.
The prices for the kits are very reasonable, considering the quality of the timbers and the work involved in machining the boards accurately to size. The low jewellery box kit is $42 while the sliding lid box is $35. If you’re looking for something more basic for your first project, the kit for the split box plan at only $18 is great value.
I feel that these kits are an excellent idea and greatly complement the Gifkins range of box plans and dovetail jigs.
Loggerheads can be contacted on Ph:+61 (0)7 54862201, Mob: 0429638872 or Email: loggerheads@spiderweb.com.au.
Gifkins Dovetail can be reached on Ph: 02 6567 4313, Fax: 02 6567 4681, Email: sales@gifkins.com.au or visit their web site at www.gifkins.com.au.
Australian Woodworker March/April ’05