Woodturning Cross Grain Box – This One Had Other Plans
For convenience, this video is also posted on YouTube and FaceBook. Best Right Here!
Recently, our club had a remote demonstration of turning a cross grain box. The demonstration was not so remote for myself since our club president came to my shop to do the demonstration. After a great demonstration, I usually want to turn the same or similar project myself.
A cross grain box is defined by the grain of the wood running perpendicular to the turning axis. This results in a very different grain pattern than and end grain box. Taking advantage of the grain orientation, a cross grain box is often larger in diameter than in height.
However, the seasonal movement of wood is also different. With humidity changes, an end grain box will grow/shrink uniformly at the joint between base and lid. In this case, the lid can be tight if desired. Cross grain does not grow/shrink uniformly. Consequently, the joint must be more loose so that the pieces do not lock together.
Another advantage of a cross grain box then is that the material for the lid may be different than the material for the base. Different species of wood grow/shrink differently. A cross grain box with different wood for lid and box leverages its tolerance for different expansion rates.
In this case, the box base is walnut while the lid is plum burl. It is 5 inches by 3 inches overall and finished with beeswax and mineral oil. The beeswax leaves a pleasant scent to the interior of the box.
Enjoy!
No video?
My bad – it should be fixed now.
Thank you for letting me know.
Alan
Am I missing something? I have tried to find the video for this but I can’t find the link. Is there one?
Don Rayner
Author of ‘Winter Is My Middle Name’
My bad – it should be fixed now.
Thank you for letting me know.
Alan
Another interesting and instructive video. I appreciate that even you run into problems I have seen more than once. Thanks for the excellent narration, especially on you MineralSpirits&Beeswax sanding medium. Thank you for taking the time and doing the effort to make this available.
Your easy way to make beeswax/mineral oil finish got me to try. I purchased beeswax pellets, put them in a jar and added equal parts of mineral oil. The next morning I had intended on putting the jar outside in 90 degree heat but the mixture became solidified and ready to use on its own. Must be the pellets (size and consistency) that did the trick. Thank you for getting me started. As always, I enjoy your videos.
Comment on previous post. I am getting senile. I noticed that I added mineral spirits to the beeswax, not mineral oil. Boy did it work, but will have to try it out as a beeswax finish.
Two thumbs up.