Soul of Bespoke Cabinet Furniture Artistry

Soul of Bespoke Cabinet Furniture Artistry Benjamin works on both his own designs and client commissions.

Benjamin crafts unique cabinetry, furniture, jewellery, boxes, home wares and stand alone artworks in his small workshop studio in Healesville, Victoria, Australia.

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett Build on from previous post. O...
12/09/2026

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett

Build on from previous post.

Outer veneer sections trimmed and grouped with rest of laminations.

Pressing pieces together with polyurethane.

Machining up wenge pieces for edging stock for the plinth panels. I don't have enough long wenge stock for the really long edging pieces ( can only cater for half)

So the base edgings will be the full long pieces but the top sections will have a joint. Wenge is extremely forgiving in hiding joints so you wont even notice this. I wouldn't go this approach for edgings that are seen on side or top panels but for a plinth it won't be noticeable. The only seen joint sections would be on the edges and you would need to look very closely.

Once all the wenge edging strips got broken down they got sent through the drum sander. Sanded to an oversized thickness as they will be further drum sanded once attached to the plinth panels after edge trim.

Once the plinth panels are trimmed to final width I'll glue these wenge edgings on with Tight Bond 3.

Making more progress. But more to come.

Stay tuned for further updates.

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett Veneer leafs for the plinth pa...
12/09/2026

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett

Veneer leafs for the plinth parts are book matched and seams cleaned on the seam cleaning jig on the table saw.

Glued together with Tight Bond 3 and taped together with masking tape.

Once glued was cured. Tape removed and faces scrapped with a razor blade to remove glue squeeze out and tape residue. Veneer pieces cut down to size for specific parts and grain / colour matched.

Band sawed the middle ash sections and drum sanded them. These sections are sacrificial and are simply added to create even lamination clamp pressure between the walnut veneer leaf sections when being pressed to the ply lamination substrate pieces. Once the wenge edgings are added these sections will be machined out and the New Guinea Rosewood inlay veneer pieces will be added.

To prevent slipping these ash pieces are glued to the Walnut veneer leaf ends. It is an end grain to end grain joint which is weak but strong enough for the task of staying in place till being pressed as a whole to the substrate ply lamination panels.

Before being pressed these edges were trimmed on a saw trimming jig ( same jig which will be used to trim the lamination edges when pressed together) This is so the edges are running parallel and will be the same width as the ply laminations so its easier to keep the lamination as a whole together when being taped/ glued together. ( preventing lamination slipping)

More details in the next post. :)

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett Machining the substrate materi...
08/09/2026

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett

Machining the substrate material and walnut veneers for the main plinth boarder structure.

A mix of processes. Breaking down ply, machining up walnut billets, slicing into veneer leafs, drum sanding, grain matching.

I decided to slightly up the thickness on the plinths from 8mm to 10mm. The 8mm version had ash veneer laminations matched with a ply core lamination alternating in grain direction than outside walnut veneer. Where as the 10mm had x3 ply laminations ( grain alternating)with outside walnut veneer.

I found the weight difference ( after some quick maths) was only about 120 grams roughly. So 2 1/2 eggs šŸ„š :)

The 10mm thick plinths would be quicker to machine due less processing plus stronger. I'll just update the digits on the tech drawings.

The walnut veneers will be book matched/ have a wrap around grain match between plinth parts. The corner sections giving off a diamond match look.

Im using shorter walnut stock due to the New Guinea Rosewood middle inlay. Though the inside plinth faces the walnut veneer will have a seam in the middle. ( longer pieces)

I'll need to make a seam clean up jig for the table saw to clean the seams for these veneer leafs. Ill show this in the next post with more process updates.

Stay tuned for further updates.

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett Playing catch up again behind ...
08/09/2026

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett

Playing catch up again behind on posts.

All tech drawings finished for plinth connection to base panels for tool carry cases.

Mid inlay section on all plinth sections will be New Guinea Rosewood. Wenge boarder edgings.

Cutting lists finished for the drawer box guides. Need to order some New Guinea Rosewood for the main bulk of guide. ( only a little bit) I do have left over billets from the veneering but I dont want to use them for this as they have heaps of Burl figure in them .

I can now start machining the Jarrah stock for the drawer box guide top laminations as well. Ill do most of the machining on the bandsaw.

I need to make another mortise jig which will be used to machine mortises / spline housings on the length of the panel. ( similar to the jig thats machining mortises on the width of the panel.) I'll use this jig to machine in the bulk mortises for the plinth connection into the case bases.

Next post ill talk more about machining the parts for the plinths.

Stay tuned for further updates.

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett Slow one today in shop was out...
03/09/2026

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett

Slow one today in shop was out and about most of the morning due to car repairs.

Tech drawings completed for the plinth mortise locations for the gold leaf case now onto the painters case ( about half way through)

Painters case abit different since some locations of the cabinet buttons had to be shifted from old drawing ( which I previously noted)

You can see in some of the photos the error division rib which I talked about a few posts back. Mistakes happen. Just find a solution and move on :).

The side floating tenons on the plinths will chew into abit of one of the floating tenons that runs from the side panel into the base panel but not by much. ( nothing crucial that will effect structural integrity)

The cabinet button mortises in the plinth sections are 4mm wide but will be changed to 3.2mm ( current close enough spiral cutter available on me)

I can move on to machining these parts now when the tech drawings / planning is finished. The feet may slightly change in height once the fold down door thicknesses and handle widths are finalised which Ive accounted for. So I wont make these till abit later on. ( also a few construction points still need to be resolved)

The example torsion box frame looks abit franksteiny due to some unwanted warp / increased sizing. Though still usable and will be used in the next run of cases.

Heaps going but making more progress. Stay tuned for further updates.

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett Mortises for the floating teno...
01/09/2026

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett

Mortises for the floating tenons machined into the painters top tool pull out tray cavity frame plus pack out rail.

Change of gears and now working on the plinth sections for the cases ( gold case first) . A few tech drawing updates since some cabinet button locations needed to change. Having a reference torsion box frame to reference to helps out heaps. This base torsion box frame has ply sections for the cabinet button screws to screw into. ( horizontal lamination sequence not vertical which the other torsion box frame parts are. ( core sections which are veneered over. )

Now the cabinet button ply sections in the torsion box frame on the ends are offset ( not central) but the cabinet buttons on the plinth are central. This is because the plinth does not sit central to the base. There is more over hang at the back due to the exit/ entry point for the sliding back panels. Some of the cabinet buttons on the longer sections are offset to avoid running into some of the torsion box ribs.

I needed to work out all the final cabinet button locations before I worked out the connection mortises for plinth which will run into base panel. The cabinet buttons sit into mortises in the plinth structure.

The mortise plinth connections into base panel are a dry fit only in the base. They will be glued into the plinth. This means the floating tenons will be half fluted. This is to increase strength to plinth/ base connection but also acts as a precise alignment concept. This means I dont need to worry about clamps / taping things into place thus potentially causing damage to get plinth in the correct position before screwing in cabinet buttons.

One mortise will be longer than its connection mortise to allow for alignment tweaking. The long mortise will be in the base panel.Tight fit in plinth.

Ill be using a 2.7mm dia cutter for the mortises. Iron bark floating tenons will be used.

The last few photos show some of the central inlay detailing in plinth. Some elements still need to be finalised.

Stay tuned for further updates. Ill be starting to machine these parts soon

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett Change of construction connect...
30/08/2026

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett

Change of construction connection with the pack out rail to top removable tool tray cavity frame for the painters tool carry case.

Im not ready to cut this cavity frame to final width / length yet because the panels need to be finalised in sanding. Because if I final trim now it will effect its measurement later on.

So this means that instead of having the mortises for the floating tenons running horizontal I'll have them running vertically. This will mean I'll have adjustment play forwards/ backwards with this pack out panel. I just had to cut the pack out panel to the cavity frames oversized length which is 1mm each side.

For the mortise router jig both cavity frame and pack out rail have their mortises at the same centre point. So I could use the side stop fence for each joint. However they don't share the same mortise length. ( on purpose for adjustment play in final assembly) This meant that I needed to make different screw adjustment stops x1 front and back for both the pack out rail and cavity frame. ( labels added to prevent mistakes)

Labels are placed on parts to ensure I'm machining the mortises on the correct face / orientation.

Last image shows the drawer box guide rails which the x2 internal faces ( facing pull out drawer box) will be Jarrah laminations. These laminations sit over the main New Guinea Rosewood body. I talk about my reasoning for this in more depth in the previous post.

More updates to follow. Heaps going on and still playing catch up. Stay tuned for further updates.

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett Continuation from previous pos...
30/08/2026

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett

Continuation from previous post.

All the guide rails mortises are machined into the drawer box cavity frames both for the Gold Leaf and Painters cases.

The floating tenons will be iron bark.

Frames weighed to give an idea of weight towards the whole case build. Though not including magnets, edgings, stops, guides etc. All under 1/2 kg currently.

The drawer box guide rails are going to be New Guinea Rosewood ( to drop weight plus great movement properties ) but lined with thin Jarrah laminations due to a good Janka rating similar to Wenge ( as Wenge will be running up against it). The Jarrah laminations will be glued to the main guide rail body with fish glue. So years down the track can be replaced if needed easily.

The reason for this design choice on the guide rails is because I still need them durable not just light in weight. Ok so the drawer boxes aren't going to be holding massive amounts of weight but its the constant opening and closing on a daily basis I need to be aware of.

Stay tuned for further updates. More to come still. :)

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett Machining the mortises for the...
30/08/2026

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett

Machining the mortises for the floating tenons into the drawer box cavity frames for the drawer box guide rails. ( more photos in the next post too)

These mortises are spaced between the main construction mortises. The mortises are 3.2mm wide.

I was able to use alot of the screw adjustment spacers that were used when machining in the mortises into the main case panels with these jig.

Ill be gluing these guide rails in with fish glue. So if down the track they need to be replaced or repaired they can be taken out.

Its important that these can be removed down the track for replacement or repair because these drawer boxes will be opened / closed heaps on a daily basis so ware and tare will occur. But we are talking years/ years down the track. Most likely decades.

Ill talk more about this guide rail design in more depth in a near future post.

I couldn't use screws as my tolerances were too tight for assembly/ joinery attachment.

Stay tuned for further updates. Still playing catch up one posting.

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett Continuation from previous pos...
27/08/2026

More updates on the gold leaf and painters signwriting tool carry cases for Lance Corlett

Continuation from previous post.

All magnetic housings machined for the caps in the drawer box cavity frames.

I'm now working out the last placements for the mortises for the drawer box rails that connect into the drawer box cavity frames. Ill be able to use the same jig I've used for the magnet catch housings just setup modified.

The floating tenons will be able to move with play in the mortises in the drawer box rails when coming to assembly. Front and back play.

One of the photos shows how far the drawer box comes out before it hits magnet lock ( safety stop to prevent box from fully falling out) extra pull pressure will fully release drawer box. ( just showing it with drawer box base. The magnet caps are installed into the drawer box base frame from underneath).

The magnet catch stop also allows a stop point if your just wanting to quickly grab items or put back if not wanting to take the box fully out. Though for certain items the box will need to be fully taken out due to size of item. Originally I was thinking of including an extension carriage system but it was over complicating things.

From the original brief these drawer boxes were meant to act independently to the case. Acting as mini tool tray boxes.

In the next post ill show tech drawings from birds eye view / side view of the drawer boxes at full open in connection to magnet catch systems.

More to come stay tuned for further updates.

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Melbourne, VIC
3777

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+61403732849

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