28 Australian Wood Review
radius (^165)
Fig.1 Side and top view, mm not to scale
blank:
100 x 85 x 25
curved
external face
curved
external face
top rounded
to inside
100
85
Box interiors
My plan was to gild the insides with copper leaf and use
copper posts to support the lid. Holes were drilled for
the copper rod on the drill press, cradling the parts in an
offcut and registering them against a fence with stops on
either side (photo 8). The inside faces and round-overs
were next sanded as these would be difficult to sand once
glued together.
Gilding a surface with metal leaf is a technique that
dates back to ancient Egypt. For my project I chose
contemporary techniques and art store materials. Prior
to leafing I masked off the mitres and top and bottom
edges and then sealed the inside surfaces with two light
coats of shellac.
Oxide red is the traditional colour used for painting under a
gilded surface however I chose a more contemporary charcoal
grey. I used a water-based gilding size, the special adhesive
that is used to attach metal leaf to a substrate. Once the size
was ready I applied the copper leaf and burnished it into the
surface. Lastly, I sealed the gilded surfaces with lacquer to
prevent them from tarnishing (photo 9).
Once the gilding was done I cut the copper rod to
length, chamfered the ends and glued them into the
sides of the boxes using E6000, an adhesive that is good
for bonding dissimilar materials.
2