Monday, May 25, 2015

test box

I have a new box design based on laminating a number of thin strips of wood to prepare the stock. The lamination was crosscut at a 55 degree angle, and then glued using Gorilla Glue to a piece of mahogany. After trimming on the table saw and squaring the ends, I used a 1 in. forstner bit in the drill press to bore a hole at the center, and used the router table and a custom fence to turn the inside of the lid to fit the hole.

This is one of the boxes I'm making for my book on tiny boxes, and I'm curious what my readers think. You can use the comments function below to provide feedback.

It will be more beautiful when it has been sanded and a finish has been applied to give the natural colors of the wood greater contrast.

With school out for the summer, I am cleaning the school wood shop, getting ready for my ESSA class in making Scandinavian bent wood boxes, and working on school end-of-year conference reports.

Make, fix and create...

4 comments:

  1. Hi - great looking box - can you tell me what the woods you used in your lamination? The colours are very complimentary - even unfinshed

    ReplyDelete
  2. Matt, The woods in the lamination are walnut, cherry, maple, mahogany, sassafras and padauk. It is unusual for me to use non-native woods, but the mahogany and padauk were given to me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Doug, Nice design. The juxtaposition of the laminates with the solid mahogany not only catches the eye but makes it work to resolve the tension. Thank you for continuing to share your boundless creativity.
    Roger Beaubien, Lake Shore, MN

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, Roger. My first inclination was to use the lamination to create a herring bone pattern. But that tends to be so immediately recognizable as a design motif. I at first had questions about the pattern used, which was why I decided to ask my readers. One of my design objectives is to create a sense of "effective surprise." That means taking what is known and comfortable to us, and pushing it in directions that lead us to think or feel.

    My wife also approves of the design.

    ReplyDelete