help me put feet on this box

[Tom Sontag]

Here are some pictures to give you a chance to chime in on my design dilemma. The box has quartersawn sweetgum sides and top with maple burl trim and handle and quartersawn walnut accents. The box dimensions were sort of dictated by the extraordinary piece of sweetgum. Bottom and trays inside are walnut. I probably will carve or shape the feet from the same piece of maple burl that trims the sides. Oil finish will pop and intensify the colors significantly.

The original design sketches (picture 1) are quite preliminary, but enough to know I wanted to do something like them with this wood. This box's top hangs out over the sides instead of the options sketched.

The clunky feet sketched look too dull and boring on the piece (picture 2). Maybe making them a bit taller and beveling the inside edge would help.

I went ahead and tried to reiterate the curve in the handle on the next feet (picture 3). While they block the wraparound flow of the "landscape" in the wood's figure, maybe that is okay. Maybe the figure is strong enough to work through something emphasizing the vertical in a shape that is strongly horizontal and seemingly tall at the same time. Maybe that is the tension that works or keeps us interested. MAYBE. The feet need refining but I don't like these feet much overall.

Next (picture 4) are recent sketches to suggest more prototype shapes. The ruhlmannesque torpedo shape has always interested me. In this case the very rectalinear boxiness of the box with only a curve on the handle might not compliment the torpedo foot; or maybe it is just the thing.

My plan is to make a few more prototype shapes out of basswood and see how they look. But I have stared at it enough to welcome any fresh thinking.

[John Schreiber]

I've got to guess based on that box that you've got far more design sense than I, but what occured to me is to make four smaller versions of the handle, invert them and attach them to the bottom of the box for feet.

[Mike Null]

My thought exactly.

[Tyler Howell]

Beautiful.
I like the side mount.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I'd turn relatively thin round ones with a cove in the middle......IOW...feet about 3/8-1/2" high disk shaped with a cove in the middle of the disk....Contrast the shape of the feet to the shape of the box....

[Tom Sontag]

Thank you Mike and John. I cannot tell why I did not think of that; I will rough out a prototype and give it a look.

Tyler, I am not sure what you meant by "side mount"? Are you saying you like the picture 3 version?

Ken, Are you suggesting a small hockey puck shape underneath the box at each corner with a decorative cove cut halfway up the puck? I am not sure how that would integrate, but since I am exploring, we are going to find out! "IOW"?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Tom.....shaped like a donut laying under each corner....with a cove in the surface.......two thin donuts laying on top of each other......am I making sense?....communicating this?

[Doug Shepard]

John & Mike beat me to it.

[Tom Sontag]

Okay; three votes demands action. So I digitally prepared this example. Is this what you had in mind? What do you think?

[Dan Gill]

I think your newest prototype looks great. Of all the ones that run up the side, I like the first drawing on the second picture--the smallest dark one.

[John Schreiber]

I've been playing with SketchUp and wanted to see how to apply textures from an external source to a model. And I really liked your design, so I used your pictures and your design to draw a SU model. If you aren't comfortable with having these drawings up, please let me know and I'll edit this.

Here is what I was visuallizing.

I couldn't figure out a way to apply the texture to curved surfaces without a huge amout of work. From here, it would be easy to try different foot designs.

[Doug Shepard]

Okay; three votes demands action. So I digitally prepared this example. Is this what you had in mind? What do you think?

I like it.

[Ralph Dobbertin]

I like Schreibers idea. I might make 2 legs instead of 4 and place them inset slightly from the end, perpendicular to the handle, and slightly lower.

[Tom Sontag]

I was thinking that what made the latest digital attempt by me not work was that it was too short along the long side, which would be the problem with your idea Ralph. Maybe. But what about this version? Notice I have it more flush with the side at the joint than John's sketchup version. I see this one mitered at the corner and wrapping most if not all of the end.

Play with it John. I have no problem with a SU expert offering ideas.

[John Schreiber]

Here's some more variations. I'm kind of surprised to see that I kind of like the elongated egg shapes holding up the corners. It's a shame to hide the fine corners that were there before though.

Box for feet3 (600 x 447).jpg Box for feet4 (600 x 447).jpg Box for feet5 (600 x 447).jpg Box for feet6 (600 x 447).jpg