Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 25

Thread: Some cross grain boxes

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Northern MN
    Posts
    388

    Some cross grain boxes

    Posts about tools and lathes and sharpening are an essential part of a turning board, but I really like seeing pictures of what people are making, and it seems like there's less and less of that (with a couple notable recent exceptions).

    I've been playing around with boxes with lids and bases out of different woods. These are kind of at the other end of the turning spectrum from Bruce Jones, super simple, very basic turning, just showcasing some pretty pieces of wood. This has enabled me to use some nice pieces of wood that aren't well suited to make a box from a single piece, and they're also good for figured wood that wouldn't show as well in bowl form. They are straight cylinders, though the camera makes them look otherwise. All 5-6" in diameter and 4-ish inches tall. The second two haven't been buffed yet, they should gain some shine and depth with buffing.

    I like the clean look of a flush joint between lid and base but when using mismatched woods they just don't stay flush, so I've resorted to putting a small chamfer on lid and base to obscure small differences in diameter that occur with the seasons. Piston fits on the lids are not a great idea either, for the same reason. I'm a little leery about whether I've left enough room; worst case I'll remount the base and cut the rabbet back.

    In order, black ash burl and beech, crotch walnut and cherry, spalted "near crotch" maple and walnut. The ash burl was collected off our land, the maple was in the firewood pile, the walnut crotch was a gift from someone on this board (thanks again!).

    Best,

    Dave

    Capture 215.JPGCapture 216.JPGCapture 217.JPGCapture 218.JPGCapture 219.JPGCapture 220.JPG
    Last edited by Dave Mount; 05-05-2022 at 5:22 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Northwest Indiana
    Posts
    953
    Great work!! i need to do some mixing--not just in turned boxes, but in the rectangles too. Might be a weekend inspiration to get back out to the shop.
    earl

  3. #3
    Really nice, great job and its always fun to save save a piece of wood from the fireplace.

  4. #4
    I like the mix and the way you're addressing the fit, very nice!



    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Mount View Post
    I really like seeing pictures of what people are making, and it seems like there's less and less of that
    .....be careful what you ask for


    I made this bowl to fit the Walmart styrofoam throwawaybowls so Fester my mouse killing barn cat wouldn't have to eat out of a dirty dish. I have no idea where I got the piece of cherry...If I remember correctly it was about 5' long and split pretty bad. Ive got 2 garbage cans full of drops 2x2 and up waiting to be glued up and become something..

    .1684A75F-6821-4084-B01D-C030E06A1E66_1_201_a.jpg 9FC9C8DC-7605-4730-A779-B3D1DB344A0D_1_201_a.jpg
    Last edited by Lawrence Duckworth; 05-05-2022 at 9:16 PM. Reason: 5'...not 5"

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Lewiston, Idaho
    Posts
    28,490
    All very nicely done!
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Northern MN
    Posts
    388
    Now that is a high class water dish! Not sure I want SWMBO to see that...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    1,349
    Beautiful boxes. I really enjoy these posts.

  8. #8
    Attractive boxes, nice work

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Hayes, Virginia
    Posts
    14,759

  10. #10
    Wonderful work. I like the plain, simple but elegant shapes that let the gorgeous wood take center stage.

    At the risk of showing less than stellar work, here's the latest piece from the lathe.

    Back story: Some years ago a 150 year old pig barn on my step-father's farm that had been in the family for three generations was torn down with him keeping some of the wood. I didn't start woodworking til 15 years ago so was late to the party to acquire a few remaining chunks of hand hewn chestnut from the barn. Chestnut responds to ammonia fuming similar to white oak so with years of exposure to pig urine fumes the surfaces were well darkened. When he passed away I had very little left but wanted to make a gift for my step-sister that would celebrate the dairy farm and the hand hewn fumed chestnut. At long last I came up with the plan to make a scale model of a milk can that was used to ship milk from the farm to the Sealtest Dairy in Baltimore. Presented this to an appreciative girl the weekend of his service.

    Gary

    20220421_141754_resized.jpg20220421_141840_resized.jpg
    I've only had one...in dog beers.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Northern MN
    Posts
    388
    Jeez Gary, who couldn't get behind that story! Nice work as well as a fitting tribute, I wish you'd put it in it's own thread so it didn't get buried.

    When we moved to Minnesota from Missouri, we built our place from scratch and it took me a few months to get a workshop built (hats off to SWMBO, she agreed that getting the workshop up was more important than starting the house). In the meantime my white oak workbench went into storage in my father's barn. The ammonia from his draft horses did the same thing to my workbench, fumed it a really pretty medium brown. The exception was a little "tattoo" it got where the mover's inventory sticker was -- it protected that little rectangle of wood from the ammonia and it's a little light patch to this day.

    Best,

    Dave

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2021
    Location
    Mid West and North East USA
    Posts
    2,796
    Blog Entries
    2
    Wow! The OP and others sure are pretty. I love the burl, the figure, and the near crotch = figure! spalt.
    Best Regards, Maurice

  13. #13
    Dave,
    The workbench story is just too cool, especially the tattoo!!

    Gary
    I've only had one...in dog beers.

  14. #14
    Great story Dave.



    I made this for some friends that lost the tree to bugs. The oak was huge when they bought the house some 30+ years ago so the tree was pretty special to them.

    7055AC4C-A102-4CEF-B22F-56AB5F196F08_1_201_a.jpg

  15. #15
    Gary, Love the milk can!
    great story too!

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •