Truely Invisible Hinged Box With Bumblebee Topping

Coincidence brought me a large supply of various pieces of leftover veneer. At first neglected, they found a less glamorous existence in the shallows of my cellar. In lockdown, I remember that basement treasure, there was also an important birthday and associated with it a fitting present. Before that, I had already realized a number of projects with solid wood, but I was quite unfamiliar with veneer work.

A simple veneered box did not seem attractive to me. On the one hand, I wanted to creatively implement the usual hinge mechanism. On the other hand, I had access to magnets, but not to standard hinges. As much as the women like a simple design, they also value personal details. I was thinking about possible marquetry work on the lid of the can. An image of an animal seemed a good idea. Bumblebees stranded in false, stone front gardens or made difficult by an excess of nectar regularly got recued form the recipient of the soon to be box. The motif was therefore clear: a little chubby bumblebee.

Supplies

List of tools used:

- Box cutter

- clamps

- saw

- Disc sander

- Scissors

- General measuring tools such as set square

List of materials used:

- veneer

- plywood

- glue (glue and two-component glue)

- washers as weights

- magnets

- Duct tape

- Shellac and beeswax for surface treatment

- stainless steel wire

- Transparent drawing paper

Step 1: Cutting

First I started to cut the plywood sheet to the required dimensions (see
table, which is only applicable for 6 mm thick plywood). Unfortunately, I only had a band saw at hand, if you have access to a circular saw, you can use it conveniently. Using the band saw meant that it was necessary to rework the disc sander. Hand sanding gives a similar result and is a good alternative.

Step 2: Insert Magnets

Now comes the work with the magnets as the real novelty
I think, the magnetic hinge. First I made cutouts with the knife in the two rear walls, in which the magnets will later be embedded. When arranging the magnets, the following should be considered: I used 10 magnets per wall and glued them in pairs in a cutout. The polarity of the magnet pairs must be selected so that they attract each other. The following pair should be glued upside down as illustrated in the picture. This arrangement is intended to cause the magnetic field lines to spread apart from the axis of rotation of the hinge.

Step 3: Inner Veneer

I conveniently glued the inner veneer to the cut plywood surfaces before
putting them together, as this would require an exact fit into the interior. If the inner veneer is glued on beforehand, a generous overlap of a few millimeters can eliminate problems. Easy slipping or fiddly small work is thus avoided. After gluing, the excess can easily be cut off with scissors or a knife.

Step 4: Assembly

The plywood surfaces, which are now internally veneered, are now glued
together to form two halves of a box. So that everything is right-angled in the end, the edges can be glued using a right-angled object that is at hand. For example, I used an aluminum cube. In addition, I put the weights in the holes in the base plate of the base.

Step 5: Outer Veneer

Since the inside is now superbly veneered, this should also be transferred to the outside. In order to create a nice contrast, I opted for a lighter wood for the inner veneer and a darker one for the outer veneer. When gluing, the sequence of the surface must be observed. It makes sense to start with the contact surfaces between the lid and the base. First the rear side, which contains the magnets, should be veneered.

For this I softened a piece of veneer in water to gain more flexibility. I then rolled it up. After a day of drying, I glued this piece of veneer to the respective rounded edge with the magnets. I fixed the two magnetic edges with a clamp and a straight piece of wood and then pulled them around the curve. So that the veneer lies tightly around the curve, I tightened (as tight as possible) it and then additionally fixed it with adhesive tape.

Now the remaining contact surfaces are covered with veneer. Then you can continue with the outer surfaces, except for the top and bottom. It should be noted that the grain of the adjacent pieces of veneer flow into one another. You should also make sure that this also applies to the transitions between the lid and the base. Then the underside can be glued on. For all gluing, the following applies that you should always apply evenly and sufficient pressure.

Step 6: Bumblebee As an Inlay

First I thought about the design of the bumblebee. This point does not apply to you if you feel like working according to the picture below. When choosing a veneer, I thought about the following: the body of the bumblebee should be made of the same wood, namely oak. The dark pieces were ebonized with an iron vinegar solution and the light oak pieces were left natural. It is important to use the same wood so that the structure of the bumblebee fits each other over the entire body and looks harmonious.

The wings were made of a different wood, here you have to pay attention to the grain (see the picture). First you put the parts of the bumblebee body with the wings together and fix them with adhesive tape. Then the body is placed on top and fastened. Then cut out the outline as precisely as possible with a knife. Now you fix the bumblebee body in the resulting cavity, once again you can make do with tape.

Now all that's missing is the little bumblebee's legs and antennae. Their outlines are cut out of the base veneer on the top with a knife. The resulting windows / small cavities are then used to cut out darker wood in the exact shape and then to embed it. So you put the basic veneer with the bumblebee on a darker piece of wood and transfer the shape of the window to the lower veneer, which is then cut out and inserted. Now for the last step, the entire upper veneer, which is connected by adhesive tape, is then glued on.

Step 7: Finish

I like to use shellac for surface treatment. I applied two coats of shellac. In between, the surface is sanded smooth and then two layers of beeswax are applied. In principle, a layer of beeswax would also be sufficient.

Step 8: Gifting

Choose the right moment or an appropriate occasion to hand over the Bumbel-box, the maximum achievement of your previous veneer work. Make it clear to the recipient how much work and dedication there is in this box. And that a unique hinge mechanism has been installed that is not commercially available anywhere. If the recipient does not appreciate the above, reconsider the relationship. Or maybe you just made a mistake with the veneered animal, who knows ...