The first curved-top chest that I made a few years ago, was quite a challenge for me as a woodworker... That box was given away and I'll never see it again... I liked it, a lot, and decided old pictures weren't good enough to remember it by! So in late March, I started another, similar box... been working on it in my spare time ever since... It was a challenge again, and it fought me along the way, particularly the hinges... Tried a different kind of lid stop cut into one of the hinges which didn't work out, ended up splitting the top half of one of the hinges... That was removed, and redesigned, and a devoted lid stop was added in the middle to catch the lid from flopping over... When the inside tray was built, a mistake was made centering the cut-out "handle"... I could have made another, but oddly enough liked the funkiness of the way it worked out and felt... Every once in a great while, what's wrong turns out to be what's right!
The sides of the box were made from a slab of Tigerwood I bought several years ago and used for the first time... Nice Stuff! Machines real well, though it's very hard and dense... The box and tray bottoms are Mahogany, along with the "Banding", which comprised the hinges on the back, the latches on the front, "Feet" on the bottom and stabilizing strapping on the top... The handles on either side were also made from Mahogany... The top pieces, latches, and tray sides were all made from Yellowheart, which I had forgotten that I had... It is a dense, hard Wood too, but rather splintery... As per usual, a ruler was not used, the scraps themselves designate the size of the outcome... This time, the box came out roughly 11" x 7" x 5"... Though three calendar pages were removed during the construction, the actual work time was about 53 hours, but that did not include the original milling of the Tigerwood and Mahogany... It was a Fun Build, even if it did fight me most of the way... (Maybe it's me who's starting to fight with the wood?) Thanks for your time and interest, comments and/or questions are always welcome!
11 June 2024
Mike, in Concord, NH - A candle loses none of its flame by lighting another candle...
Thank you to one and all! Though it was a struggle, it is a bittersweet feeling completing this one... Happy I am to have finished it, but also a little sad... because I finished it, and there's no more left to do on it... Guess I'll have to start another one Lol
Mike, in Concord, NH - A candle loses none of its flame by lighting another candle...
