Wedding gift for a friend

[brian zawatsky]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

[brian zawatsky]

That is going to be spectacular when finished.

Open Question: In the photo where Brian is selecting the panel for the top, that board has a diagonal streak of figure in it. What causes that? Specifically, is that where a branch joined the trunk? Was that tree leaning over? Is that the sort of thing that a sawyer can imagine is going to appear? How unusual is that? Thanks.

The figure in that particular board occurs at a crotch, where two large branches or trunks split off the main trunk. Walnut is especially known for its beautiful crotch figure

[michael langman]

Thankyou for posting your work Brian.
The box is beautiful workmanship, and the recipients will be delighted I am sure.

[Rob Luter]

Loving the figure on the top! I have a number of slabs of walnut crotch wood like that and hope to use them as well as you did here.

[Christopher Charles]

Beautiful work that honors a beautiful piece of wood! I doubt it is often that blended moldings are left straight off the plane; that's to say no shame in a scraper. And I too think blue tape is super helpful, especially for dark woods.

Thanks for posting and will look forward seeing the finished piece-your friends will be thrilled.

Best,
Chris

[Mark Rainey]

That is a beautiful box and quite a wedding gift. What are you thinking of using for a finish Brian? I have used boiled linseed oil in the past but thought it made my walnut too dark.

[Kris Cook]

That is a beautiful box, and will be an awesome gift.

Thanks for sharing.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Your wood selection and grain placement is magnificent! Oh, and the other stuff (that assembly thing) is pretty good too.

Recipients will be proud, I'm sure.

[brian zawatsky]

Thanks a lot guys, I do appreciate the comments!

[brian zawatsky]

That is a beautiful box and quite a wedding gift. What are you thinking of using for a finish Brian? I have used boiled linseed oil in the past but thought it made my walnut too dark.

Thanks Mark. I’m not 100% sure on finish yet. At the moment I’m leaning towards Waterlox XL-89, thinned 1:1 with turpentine and wiped on. May or may not put a coat of dark walnut danish oil underneath it for depth. I’ll make a couple samples before I do something irreversible lol

Any suggestions?

[Steven Mikes]

Really nice work Brian, the moulding work is impressive. I just finished another dovetailed toy storage box a few minutes ago, so far have not tried using blue tape. Maybe I'll try it next time, your dovetails certainly look crisper than mine. I took a basic joinery class with Roy Underhill a few weeks back and he made a derogatory comment about blue tape users though

[brian zawatsky]

Really nice work Brian, the moulding work is impressive. I just finished another dovetailed toy storage box a few minutes ago, so far have not tried using blue tape. Maybe I'll try it next time, your dovetails certainly look crisper than mine. I took a basic joinery class with Roy Underhill a few weeks back and he made a derogatory comment about blue tape users though

Thanks Steven. The blue tape makes it much easier to see your cut line, hence much easier to saw straight and get a tight fit right off the saw. Looking at computer screens all day at work has destroyed my near-vision, so I’ll happily announce that I am a blue tape guy. Maybe I should just get a script for glasses lol
As far as Roy goes, there’s a saying that has to do with opinions, how they are very similar to a certain bodily orifice that is responsible for the excretion of (ideally) solid waste, the proliferation of this orifice throughout the species, and the olfactory essences of said orifices.

[Jerry Olexa]

Nicely done, Brian and I love the wood you chose....Great work!!!

[Andrew Gibson]

Beautiful work! Gifts like this will be the things that mean the most when the toaster dies, and the towels are worn out. My sister loves to cook (and is good at it) for her wedding I pieced together a set of vintage Wagner ware cast iron skillets, and made her a cutting board. As an afterthought I made a crate to transport the Gift from Florida to Indiana for the wedding and then on to Wisconsin a couple months later. She kept the crate and uses it as a hope chest. She also uses the cast iron and cutting board as intended.

[Tony Shea]

There is def nothing to sneer at in terms of the blue tape method. I personally have not used it yet but I think it's an amazing idea. I have been meaning to try it out specifically for transferring the tail board to the pin board. Instead of cutting a small rabbet on the inside of the tail board I have been meaning to use blue tape instead. Slap a piece of blue tape on the inside of the tail board before scribing the baseline and leave the tape on the outside part of the line to act as a tiny ledge when lining up the tails to pin board.

BTW, the box is stunning. I love the wood choice and the execution of those mouldings is amazing. I typically don't like this style of box but this is an exception. Great work and look forward to seeing the finished piece.