Small project - 18th century reproduction pipe box

[Roger Myers]

The latest project is a reproduction of an 18th century pipe box, as originally used to hold clay pipes and store tobaco. This design is straight from Lonnie Birds article in FWW although i am also making some additional ones inspired by Rob Millard as well as ones I have been looking at in collections.

They make a nice project and great gifts - this one is going to be one of the raffle prizes at the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers raffle at the Craftsmens Fair in Sunapee, which opens on Saturday and runs through the following weekend. We have demonstrations at the fair, and conduct a raffle of several items to benefit our education fund. If you are in the NH area, this is a must see....lots of great woodworking and other crafts, in a wonderful setting.

The box is made from mahogany, sides and front/back resawn and matching. Secondary wood in drawer is white pine. Primarily hand tools, except for the resawing and the scroll work. Surfaces all hand planed followed by hand scraper... Finish is quite a few coats of garnet shellac, rubbed out and followed by a dark wax.


Roger

[lou sansone]

real nice.. could you post a couple more photos showing the top?

lou

[Dave Anderson NH]

Looks good Roger. I will enjoy seeing it Friday when we do the setup for the League of NH Craftsmans Sunapee Fair. Like Lou said, a picture or two taken from further away and showing the whole box would be appreciated.

[Richard Wolf]

Nice job, we often overlook these small projects which can be very rewarding.

Richard

[Jim Becker]

Lovely work, Roger! That's a very attractive piece. I hope you'll share the alternative version(s) you mention, too.

[Roger Myers]

Lou / Dave,
more detail of the top. If there is another detail you want to see, let me know and I'll try to get a pic tonight....

Jin,
As the others get completed, I'll post pics of those as well. It's been fun doing some research on the various styles that were produced, and they got the whole range from very utilitarian to some that are much more refined.

Roger

[Jason Tuinstra]

Roger, looks great. I recall seeing this one in FWW. You did a nice job with it. I'm sure that scroll work was a bit of a challenge, but you did a great job.

[Tom Stovell]

That's really a nice little project. Good work from scroll-to-drawer.

Tom

[lou sansone]

thanks for the extra pictures. these little projects are nice because they don't seem to take for ever and you can them out of the shop quickly.


nice work
lou

[Paul Canaris]

As I understand it Pipe boxes are an interesting part of our history. In colonial days you might have one in a tavern (in addition to one in your home) that contained a number of pipes provided by the establishment. When you walked in, you just took one out of the box/rack, broke off the tip for hygiene (or not) and used it, returning it after you were done. The concepts of togetherness have changed a lot over the years.:D

[Carl Eyman]

That's right, Paul. If you stayed the night at the tavern, you probably had three other guys in bed with you. Roger's pipe box is a beaut. Hope it brings a big price.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Hi Carl- Our Guild raffle at Sunapee sells tickets ($1 each or 10 for $5) and folks put them in jars in front of the prizes they are interested in winning. We typically raise between $3000-3500 each year for our scholarship fund this way. This is done over the 9 days of the fair and requires a lot of ticket hawking by our folks. We also run continuous demos in woodcarving, turning, and general woodworking all day each day for the 9 days. Over 40 members donate their time to this effort each year and it is always a great success. This past year we made a grant to Pinkerton Academy in Derry NH to bring in Beth Ireland as "artist in residence" one day per week for the whole academic year. Almost 300 students in the woodworking program benefitted from this grant.

[Ray Petri]

Box looks great. I made three several months ago, but couldn't figure out how to post a picture of them. However, if you go to the Curly Woods site you will find them under the customer gallery. Again congrats on your pipe box.

[Martin Shupe]

Very nice, Roger, but I expected nothing less.

[Alan Turner]

Nice work Roger. How did you attach the bottom?

[Lou Morrissette]

Roger,

Saw your box at the Fair on Saturday and it looks real great . Had to throw 6 tickets in the jar.:D Sorry I missed you. Maybe next year.

Lou

[Roger Myers]

Alan...
The bottom is attached with cut nails (really brads...smallest size they make) from Tremont Nail, as is the "inside bottom" (above the drawer). The bottom has 4 cut nails into pre-drilled holes in the sides, and the inside bottom has 3 cut nails from the front (hidden by the drawer lip when closed, and two more from the back. If thats not clear, I'll do a sketch or post a photo showing it.... Also made up a simple fixture to help keep the sides and front/back aligned during glue up. No nails in the glue up of the sides as they are all long grain. So just the 9 cut nails holding the two bottoms in place....


Lou,
Thanks for the compliment...and the raffle ticket purchase. I just missed you I think - I saw Dave right after you did, and he told me you were there. I was with my daughter then and we spent all day at the fair, but she spent more time at the jewlery and textile booths (go figure) but I was keeping an eye out for you... Next year for sure!!

Roger

[Dan Forman]

Roger---Very nice project. The wood simply exudes warmth, nice contrast with the dovetails into the pine drawer.


Dan

[Aaron Koehl]

Nice job yet again Roger!