Masur birch box

Masur birch box

I love masur birch and have wanted to make a larger masur birch box for quite a while now but I cant seem to find masur birch spindle blanks in sizes larger than 65mm square. 

So I recently bought a 60mm thick by 180mm square cross grain bowl blank from Feines Holz in Germany.

I knew that cross grain boxes can be a challenge but masur birch cuts so cleanly I hoped I could make it work.

I cut the blank into quarters, to give me four pieces 90x90x60mm

I turned some scrap wood and attached them to the blanks with epoxy glue.

I cut the blanks on the bandsaw giving the base of the box 5mm extra than the top to allow for the tenon 

At this stage I set the wood aside for a week or so in my house to settle, i knew it wouldn't take too long as the wood was already at 9% moisture content when i bought it.

once happy that the wood was dry and stable I then turned the clam shell style box.

The glue blocks worked well and allowed me to use this thinner material to its full depth.