#sailor's

First seen Here

This miniature (5×5 x 3.75 inch) box was inspired by the sailors’ valentine designs of the late 19th century. The sailor’s “valentine” was a form of shellcraft made using a large number of seashells from local beaches. These were originally made between 1830 and 1890, and were designed to be brought home from a sailor’s voyage at sea and given to a loved one. An actual sailor’s valentine was created in a typically octagonal, glass fronted, hinged wooden box ranging from 8 to 20 inches across.

My “valentine” was created as part of the top to a small box. The design was created in the following manner:

1. A Forstner bit was used to create a hole (2 1/8” diameter) in a small piece of MDF material to be used as the top substrate;

2. A thin sheet of wood (~ 1/16” thick) was then used as a backer to create a cavity for the shell design. The difficulty here is that, when applied as a single sheet of veneer to the MDF, the MDF has a tendency to curl (with a counterbalancing top layer, this would not happen, however a second layer cannot be applied until the shells are inset), so the sandwich is kept in a small press when not being worked on;

3. The shell design is inserted using white glue which dries transparently;

4. To protect the shell design from accumulated dust, a very thin (0.005”) plastic film was cemented over the shell inlay. I used a product called Grafix Clear-Lay Plastic Film, explicitly made for protective coverings. It is sturdy enough to stay rigid over the opening, yet thin enough so as not to “telegraph” through the thin layer of veneer that will be placed on top. I originally considered a thin glass covering for the shell design, but the necessary support structure would have made the top much too thick for such a small box.

5. The final part of the “sandwich” is created by adding a thin piece of veneer to the top surface. Unlike the MDF, the hole in the top veneer is not created with a Forstner bit which would chew up the veneer pretty badly, but rather with a Lie-Nielsen radius cutter which provided a very clean edge.

The box itself is made of Hawaiian koa, and the veneers for the top were of burl maple. I used shells which I purchased at a small store in Captiva Island, Florida, although there are many eBay sellers of such items.

Woodworking Projects at LumberJocks.com