Another new guy

[Brian Gray]

Hello to all, from southern Wisconsin. I've been lurking for some time and finally decided to jump in after meeting Donnie Raines on Saturday and buying some cherry from him. Thanks for the great deal, Don!

I am an amature hobbiest woodworker, who spends far more time reading about it (and buying tools and wood) than actually woodworking. After making a few projects with handheld power tools I finally decided a few years ago to make the committment and buy the stationary tools.

Hopefully below you will see three pictures of an "Heirloom Box" that I made for our oldest granddaughter. It was inspired by a plan from Workbench magazine, but I varied quite a bit. It is solid ash with the exception of the tray bottom, which is 1/4" oak ply. I used dovetail joinery, but these pictures almost look like box joints.

At the rate I work, these could be the last pics you see for some time, but I hope to pick up the pace as I go. I hope to add some shop pictures as soon as I complete the electrical work I'm doing in there and get everyting moved back from the cluster it's in now.:rolleyes:

Anyway, I'll probably continue to lurk much more than post, but will try to chime in when I can. In closing, I'd just like to add my hope that the Wisconsin guys' tendancy to call each other by a form of their location doesn't continue.

[Norman Hitt]

Hello to all, In closing, I'd just like to add my hope that the Wisconsin guys' tendancy to call each other by a form of their location doesn't continue.


Why's that, Brian, You don't want to be referred to as "Jane"? :D

Seriously, Welcome to the "Creek", and that's a really nice job on the Box. I especially like the Raised Letter Initial on the top. Keep 'em coming.

[Bob Yarbrough]

Nice Box!! The joints look pretty good to me.

Bob from Stillwater

[RichMagnone]

Brian - those dovetails look sweet. What method did you use to make them?

[John Miliunas]

In closing, I'd just like to add my hope that the Wisconsin guys' tendancy to call each other by a form of their location doesn't continue.

Ohhhhh....So, so VERY tempting, but I won't, Ja....errrrr....Brian!:D Hey, 'nuther Cheesehead, and that's a GOOD thing! :) Welcome aboard. As you may have already gathered, 'tis a great place to hang out and we like to have fun with it. Yes, some of that "fun" is often at my expense, with Dale T. (Pesh) as the main contributer, but that's OK. (I just consider the source!:D ) Anyhow, I also see you're right on board with the picture posting thing, as well! Great job on getting the pics posted and the box for your GD looks super!:) I'm looking forward to pics of your shop, as well! Again, a big WELCOME and be sure to stop out often and stay long! Go Pack!!!:) :cool:

[Rob Russell]

Brian,

Nice job on the box and welcome to the Creek!

Rob

[Corey Hallagan]

Wecome to SMC and looking forward to see more of your work. Great box!!

Corey

[Mike Cutler]

Nice to meetcha' Brian, and welcome to Sawmill Creek.
That's a very nice chest you made, it looks as if alot of time and thought went into it. Nice work.
If you ever find the secret to "picking up the pace", let me in on the secret. I'm slower than erosion. :eek:
Once again, welcome.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Welcome to the Creek Brian! It's filled with friendly people and good info. Nice looking box. How did you do the dovetails?

[Chris Padilla]

Janey, Janey, Janey...welcome to the Creek! :D You done good...got pics and everything and a sense o' humor to boot! You'll fit well in here! :D :D

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Welcome to the Creek Brian! Neat place to exchange information! You don't want to take some of these guys to seriously.....(I won't mention Chris Padilla's initials!) Nice box!

[Dan Forman]

Brian---Welcome from a recovering Cheesehead with a similar reading/buying: working with wood ratio.

That's a very nice chest, hope to see more projects down the road.

Dan

[Bill Arnold]

Brian,

Welcome to the Creek.

Great looking box you've made! Is the letter 'A' onlaid or routed into the top?

Regards,

[Donnie Raines]

Glad to see you made it offcial Brian. Glad the cherry worked out for you...that load should keep you busy for a long time to come! :D

[Brian Gray]

Thanks for the warm welcome. Sorry for the delay in posting but I can't/won't do it at work. To answer some of the questions about the box and provide a little more info:


I cut the dovetails using a Leigh D4 after a lot of thought and research on which jig to buy. It was a great experience and I'm very happy with my choice.
I used a router to monogram the raised panel top using the method here: initial. (http://www.homestead.com/DaveWoodshop/initials.html) Its sort of a series of template routing (that I should have practiced a lot more).
(http://www.homestead.com/DaveWoodshop/initials.html)
The finish is BLO, followed by a couple coats of Zinsser Seal Coat dewaxed shellac, then Minwax Polycrylic. The shellac and poly were brushed on and I wasn't too pleased with the overall finsish. In the future I'll try padding the shellac. Since then I've switched from the Minwax product to Fuhr 355, which I've sprayed on using a Harbor Freight HVLP turbine unit and I'm much happier with that.
Anyway, thanks again!