Just a little box.. That was the request.

[Mark Marzluf]

Haven't posted lately cause the new baby has had us busy but I thought I'd post about some of my previous projects. Here's one of them..

Some close friends of ours adopted a little girl. For her 1 year adoption anniversary they asked if I could make her a little jewelry box. Most of what I make is furniture so this was a nice change of pace. They said they just needed a little box, but that was because they couldn't afford much.

Well..... Sometimes it's not about cost, is it....? Their only request was that they didn't want it to look like the typical "frilly" jewelry box.. This is what I came up with.

The body is a very small figured lacewood. The accent trim is Bloodwood. The top veneer is a quartered piece of Carpathian Elm Burl. The tune plays "You are my Sunshine" by request. The quote was also a request.

Thanks for looking. Always open to comments and suguestions.

Mark

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1851192/120574553.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1851192/120574558.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1851192/120574562.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1851192/120576036.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1851192/120574582.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1851192/120574590.jpg

[John Michaels]

Beautiful, the attention to detail is extrodinary.

[Kevin Blunt]

One word,

WOW!!!!!!

Kevin

[Bob Noles]

Mark.... That is an astounding piece and you are a nice guy to make that for them. That little girl is going to love it all her life.

Great job!

[Dave Anthony]

Very, very nice. The different woods really compliment each other. I like the bookmatched elm & the double dovetails. How did you make the round indentations (not sure what to call them). They give the piece a unique touch.

[Brad Noble]

V How did you make the round indentations (not sure what to call them). They give the piece a unique touch.

Dave,

Now you're going to find out that Mark is as good a machinest as he is a woodworker. Wait til you see this outfit. I've seen it several times in person and I still don't think I could build one like it.

Brad

[John Fry]

Absolutely beautiful, Mark.

The chosen accents and details, and your attention to them is remarkable. She will teasure this box forever.

[Jim Dunn]

What Kevin said. Real pretty piece of woodworking!!

[Mike Spanbauer]

Mark,

Your work is inspiring... really. That piece will very likely be treasured forever by her.

I've seen your description of the contraption that does the indentations and I can only agree w/ Brad that your machining skills are exceptional also.

Again, stunning piece.

mike

[Mark Marzluf]

Thanks everyone...

Dave, ignore Brad... I'm not a machinist by any means.. I do however have a metal lathe/mill combo machine that I play on from time to time..

The concave circles were made with a jig that I made. Rather than changing the course of this thread, I'll make a new posting about it.. Watch for "The little Jig that could" to show up in a minute..

[Corey Hallagan]

Mark, beautiful work and a kind thing to do. Your ring storage area, did you make that yourself and if so what did you use?

corey

[John Timberlake]

I love the design and you did a great job of execution. Very interesting use of contrasting woods. Wow!

[Mark Marzluf]

Hey Corey.... Yes. I usually make my own ring bars so I can exact match the fabric and have MANY more choices for color.

I start with used sanding sponges. I slice off the used up gritt portion on the bandsaw so that only the sponge is left.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1851192/142854951.jpg


After that... I glue them to a piece of 1/8" hardboard or cardboard and slice them every 1" or so.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1851192/142854936.jpg


Then I cut the fabric 1-1/2 times as wide and 4 times as long and attach to the back of one end.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1851192/142853490.jpg


After that, I use a ruller or in this case, a small square to tuck the fabric into the groves.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1851192/142853499.jpg


Finally, glue the other end to the back and trim away the excess leaving about 1/2" on each side to tuck into the frame.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1851192/142853474.jpg


When you're done, you get a custom ring bar in any size/shape you want and it matches the rest of the fabric. Beats being limited to the 5 or 6 colors and 1 or 2 types of fabric available at most ww stores..

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL96/791874/1851192/144122385.jpg

[Chris Padilla]

Mark,

I think we all hope to see more of your stuff...you could show us a thing or two or three or four.... ;)

[Corey Hallagan]

Mark, thanks for posting that. That is pretty slick way of doing it and looks great!

corey

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Wow...talk about stunning!!!

[Bob Childress]

Great techniques and great workmanship! Thanks for sharing. You're an inspiration.:)

[Doug Shepard]

Shazam! Glad you decided to start wading in the creek.

[Jay Knoll]

Really really nice wonderful work, outstanding! Fantastic beautiful job. Now that I"ve run out of adjectives, thanks for posting, we look forward to more.

Jay

[Richard Wolf]

Beautiful work.

Richard

[Tony Ward]

Mark,

I would also like to join the growing list of those offering their congratulations - well done - inspirational!

[Kent Cartwright]

Very nice job! The wood combo is sweet :-)

[George Robin]

One word....OUTSTANDING!

You make me feel like I'm a wood butcher.

Great work and tutorial
George

[Ron Robinson]

Mark,


Again, this is why I love "The Creek". A hacker like me is exposed to work like this on a daily basis. Beautiful doesn't come close.

Also good to see another central Ohioan. Let me know when you start giving shop tours.

Ron Robinson

[Dennis Peacock]

Absolutely outstanding.....Beautiful and very good execution of attention to detail. Congrats on a piece very well done. I wanna be able to do that when I grow up.:rolleyes: :D

[Steve Wargo]

Excellent Piece. I like it a lot. Nice job.

[Julio Navarro]

I think this place (SMC) has the webs largest gathering of master woodworkers and artists, your work, Mark, bears that out.

[Keith Cope]

Very nice indeed! I'm even more in awe that you have done this with a new baby--mine just turned one and it's been tough to find time to look at the shop much less accomplish anything in it!

[Mike Null]

I usually give my jewlery boxes away as gifts and they're always appreciated. But after seeing your work I think I'm going back to golf.

Thanks for sharing.

[jeremy levine]

Fantastic. In every way. I sang "Your are my sunshine" to my little girl for a while she thought I wrote the song for her. The details are wonderful and seem organic not one "note" to many. What a gift.

Now do the whole project over and photograph every step.:):).

How did you do the details around ( parrallel ) to the dovetails. ?

[Jim Becker]

Mark, that's really lovely!

Honestly, I've been having trouble coming up with an idea for gifts for our girls to commemorate the same anniversary this 22 November. This may be the right way to go for them, too, as they really could use something to keep their personal "jewelry" and other items in.

[glenn bradley]

Just beautiful. A little OT but how do you guys make those cool looking dovetails? I assume somebody has a book on this techique.

TIA.

[Mark Marzluf]

Thanks again guys..

Just to clarify, this was NOT made since we had the baby. I'm just not able to work in the shop right now cause I'm doin some routine maintence on our van while loml doesn't need it. This was made early this year. I just thought I'd share the pics while I'm not able to make sawdust.

Glen, the double dovetails were made on my RT with an Incra jig. They're really pretty easy once you do them a time or two. Nothing super complicated, just a few steps and a fence system that's set up for super accuracy.

[Charlie Plesums]

Absolutely beautiful work. Thank you for sharing your techniques.

[Dan Clark]

Many of the projects that I see on this forum display excellent quality. And sometimes I see true craftmanship. But, you sir, are the rarest of all birds - an artist who is a craftsman.

When I see excellent quality, my mind analyzes and dissects. How did he (she) do that? What was the technique?

When I see craftsmanship, I have this warm feeling of admiration. To see beauty is a wonderful thing.

But when I see "art", something different happens. I lose perspective. My mind and pulse slows. I no longer see the box; I feel something.

Your "little box" shows us there is something far past mere quality and beauty. Your "little box" is the embodiment of art. The end result is much more than the sum of its parts.

Thanks,

Dan.