My first simple box #1: Cutting the wood.

Hi all!

What a great reception one gets here at LJ, just incredible :)

First I’ll start telling a little bit about me, I’m a 32 yo man/boy from Linköping Sweden, and wood has always been love of mine. Love living trees, and when they die i love to use them to do something with it, mostly until this time the projects have been more utilitarian and not so fine tuned, except possibly for a guitar neck I’ve made, photos of this will probably come later on as it is currently being re-sanded to remove a nitrocelulose varnish that cracked a bit…

The project I’m currently working on is a small keepsake/jewelry box made from African walnut (related to mahogany) and just for fun I decided only to use handtools while building it, I do love the feeling of creating something by your own power.

The lumber is a bit that is 52mm thick about 300mm wide and 3m long, so it should be with me on several more projects. The top and bottom will be in some other wood which still is undecided.

Lets start cutting :)

First I rip it to width:

And it has been crosscut also:

Some alcohol to check the color:

still a lot of rough cutting marks on the top

First piece ripped to thickness (and planed smooth).

More or less bookmatched pieces:

Crosscut to size:

Test:

-- Jani, a Neanderthal woodworker in Sweden.