View Full Version : A box for my dad's beam compass
Tom Sontag
02-28-2007, 8:16 PM
My dad only left me a few drafting tools (he was a structural engineer). One of them was a quite nice beam compass made by Keuffer and Essel of stainless steel. It fits together like the finely made machinery it is and no doubt would draw a nice round circle, although I have not had the need. Still, it sat in this pathetic plastic box made worse by several half hearted tape repair jobs. So, I made a new home for it.
I had a cool piece of 8/4 soft maple with ambrosia stains and wild inconsistent blistery curl that gave me a chance to try my hand at a wooden hinge. I used African Blackwood accents, a piece of aluminum (did not have any stainless around), and black acrylic paint. I kept the bottom from the original 'box' primarily because it reminded me that the K&E Beam Compass' "quality is professional and its price is moderate".
First is the old and new boxes side by side. The new one is on your right. :rolleyes:
Next is a shot of the bottom and wooden hinge, followed by the contents.
Tom Cowie
02-28-2007, 8:25 PM
Beautiful work Tom!!
I have some maple that looks similar I hope that I can use it as well as you have .
A fantastic piece of wood like that deserves to be made into something special....
Tom
Pete Brown
02-28-2007, 8:28 PM
Beautiful box, well executed and beautiful wood.
I'm building my kitchen cabinets out of that type of maple, but the piece you have is an especially eye-catching piece. I love the swirl of figure on the top
That beam compass definitely has a better home now :)
Pete
PS. What was your finish? Looks water-based by the overall clarity and the fill in the worm holes. Very nice.
Roy Wall
02-28-2007, 8:30 PM
Tom - Beautiful work.....nicely done.... a very satisfying project no doubt!
Mike Henderson
02-28-2007, 8:33 PM
Wow - that's *really* nice. A wonderful way to preserve your dad's beam compass. I really like the way you inlaid the tools and the wooden hinges.
Mike
Howard Rosenberg
02-28-2007, 8:36 PM
And what a fitting tribute to your Dad's gear!
Howard
BTW - care to fill us in on some of the techniques related to the integral hinge?
Doug Shepard
02-28-2007, 8:44 PM
Ausgezeichnet!
Tom Sontag
02-28-2007, 8:52 PM
Pete: just a little Bartley's gel varnish. I love that stuff.
Howard: the hinge is simply a brass rod buried in a hole drilled through the side supports and the protruding portion of the lid (the hinge itself). That reads terribly; just drill a starter hole, line up the second piece, and drill through to the other side. Slide in a rod and cap the end.
Doug: Gesundheit
Jim Dunn
02-28-2007, 8:57 PM
Tom that's just beautiful. Where was that piece of wood when I was by to look at your stack. Hidden I'll bet:) As it should of been.
Gary Herrmann
02-28-2007, 9:04 PM
Ambrosia and curl. Dang, I need to get back down there.
Very nice job on the box. Probably felt as good as it looks to make it. The hinges are a great touch - I've been meaning to try that.
I think you should turn the next box you make. :D
Frank Chaffee
02-28-2007, 9:23 PM
Tom, that is an extraordinarily beautiful case for your inherited compass. While I hope you find a need to use it someday (drafting is to CAD as Neander tools are to CAD-CAM), I am glad to see that you revere it so.
Corey Hallagan
02-28-2007, 9:40 PM
That's great Tom, beautiful work!
Corey
Tom Cowie
02-28-2007, 10:28 PM
Hey Tom
Here is some of the Maple that I was posting about.
5918759188
5918959190
this was a " trial and error " project. I won't use the "purple heart" with this combination again . I can't get the pix's to show the figure in the wood. It is very good...
Tom
Tom Sontag
03-01-2007, 12:50 AM
Hey Tom, That is awesome wood. I know the feeling! You did a nice job wrapping that figure around the corner. What's in it?
Don Bullock
03-01-2007, 8:14 AM
Both boxes are beautiful. The wood choice is excellent. I guess one of the main reasons I'm getting back into woodworking is that I love the natural grain patterns and enjoy trying to incorporate them into a project. It's such a relaxing change from our "plastic" world.
Ted Miller
03-01-2007, 9:53 AM
Tom and Tom, nice work both of you...
Mark Valsi
03-01-2007, 12:11 PM
NICE JOB !
I think proportions are the utmost in design theory, and you have hit the nail right on the head !
Rich Torino
03-01-2007, 1:01 PM
Tom,
that's just a wonderful piece of work.... I'm sure your dad would have been proud....
John Timberlake
03-01-2007, 1:06 PM
Great job. Your dad would be proud.
Jerry Olexa
03-01-2007, 4:08 PM
Nice work on both!!!
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