Only a small amount is mixed up at once because it hardens fast. I push it into the gaps with a small spatula, and let it dry in the press. This is the first time I’ve used holly mastic, and I was impressed with how light it stayed when mixed. I’ll see what it looks like when it comes out and gets sanded back.
The new technique for this build is the cracked ice pattern veneer on the front. I was first exposed to the design by seeing the work of David Lamb and Tim Coleman, though I know it has been used elsewhere. That, combined with silver metal for the inlayed lettering and the reddish fir that will be the interior dividers should give this a wintery feel. That's the goal anyway. The impetus for this project is Christmas gifts. I'm also attempting to make two of them in tandem to (I hope) realize some time savings by batching some of the parts.
The pattern is proving slightly more difficult (i.e. time consuming) than anticipated. I tweaked the layout of the shards after cutting out a first batch to remove any inside corners. The workflow involves gluing up 2-3 adjacent shards until I get what should be a clean straight line; plane that smooth so it is truly straight; add more parts onto it until I get to the next straight part. Inside corners were not plane-able. The chisel and file work to get them true was possible, but was going to add too much time to the build. As it is it looks like each veneer panel is about 3 hours of work from sawing the veneers to gluing it on to the solid substrate.
