jewerly box

[steve bond]

hi all newbie woodworker here first time post but have been reading Sawmill for last few months. I have searched and searched but have yet to find the answer's I am looking for. So I thought maybe someone here might be able to help me with the design. So here goes.

Making a jewelry box for my daughters graduation the box will be about 16" by 11" by 11"H. with a big leaf maple burl hinged top lid. The burl I have is a block about 2" thick that has a moisture reading of 14% now. I bought the burl in oregon and the guy said it has been drying for several years but is not kiln dry. when i received it a week ago the moisture was closer to 20% but i live in a dry climate. I have never worked with burl before so i am not sure what the wood movement will be like. so here are my questions

what moisture content before resawing 8% -12% ????
do i need to have it KD but I would have to send it out to have it KD (no kilns here)
would i need to cope and stick frame it for movement or should I veneer to a plywood substrate

just not sure how to proceed at this point would hate to see the lid warp or crack.
any suggestion would be most greatly appreciated

[Todd Burch]

Welcome!

You'll be safest (word? more safe?) with veneer glued to ply. No need to KD it. I would cut the veneer now to get it drying (it will dry fast) and laminate it to ply / MDF within a couple days. With two pieces, you can make a sandwich and see burl with the lid open too.

[Lee Schierer]

You will want the moisture content to get down to about 8% before you use it. Since it is 2" thick, it will take a couple of years for that to happen unless you resaw it into thinner pieces. You will need to sticker and weigh down the resawn pieces for a couple of months to let the moisture equalize on both surfaces. Check some other wood that has been in your shop for several months to compare the MC readings, try to get to at least that level before using the burl.

[steve bond]

thanks for the insight veneering would be the safest for sure and would have more design options and i had better get to resawing if i want this done by graduation. thanks again.