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A couple of years ago I built a reversible marquetry box. It was, as many of my projects are, a prototype to see if I could do it and as such was a little rough around the edges. These four may not be a lot better but they were built to a schedule.
In my neck of the woods if you hold out any hope to sell the things you make they better be ….. let’s say inexpensive. With that in mind, I set out to see how quickly I could make passable reversible boxes making use of Boulle style to cut multiple sets of marquetry at once. They took 22 hours, complete (5 1/2 hours each). (There are 32 separate marquetry motifs in the four boxes.)
As for the motifs, I have always thought that the Yin Yang symbol was made for Boulle style, representing as it does opposing but complementary forces. It also perfectly suits a reversible box. The anthemion is a classic and a favorite of mine for the wonderful way it comes to life when sand shaded and the front heart and ribbon was just something I sketched up.
To improve the strength of my signature integral hinge I replaced the 1/8” hinge pin with a 1/16” pin and cut the rebate for the pin with a 1/16” thin kerf circular saw blade. I also have the grain oriented along the faces of the sides at right angles to the hinge pin. This makes for a sturdier unit.
The photos show the four boxes, close ups of the motifs, the removable pin and the “studio” in front of my chevalet where the following dramatic presentation was filmed. This was a ton of fun and it was unbelievably easy to do. It only took a couple of hours including editing in Movie Maker and it’s my first try. You just gotta love the technology we have to play with these days.
edit: The link works now
http://youtu.be/Prvb7QpOUbU
Thanks for looking,
Paul
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Originally Posted by Art Mann
