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My Journey

5K views 24 replies 13 participants last post by  Woodwayze 
#1 ·
first entry

As you all know, i am new to this wood working thing. so some of you may find this kind of boring and others may find this this a trip down memory lane.

I only have time to work in my shop on my day off and some mornnings, you see i am a Chef and have verry little time to myself. The shop is my little get away from all the things that stres me out, includding the family life. so i plan on using this as a jornal with throughts and acomplishments that only a fellow wood worker might aprecieate.

Here we go!

My son anounced last month that he has joined the Marines. My wife and i don't quiet understand why but what is done is done. So i have decided to make a Stationary box since the only contact he will have to the outside will be by only hand written letter. I am going to make it with popalar and red oak and think it will come out nice. I would like to make all the joint work out of box joints, some thing i have not done yet and only recently acomplished my first dado joints on a bench that i made for my wife. so this is a new challenge for me.
So this mornig i made my first box loint jig for my router table. after much trial and and disapointments i finaly got it together and went for my first tryal run. IT WORKS!!

Monday i begin the project in full earnest so i will keep you posted.
 
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#3 ·
Mark,

One of the gifts that woodworking offers us is the ability to stretch and expand our individual abilities. Doing so opens up entirely new horizons for us as woodworkers. In short Go for it. It sounds like you are having fun with some new techniques and will be making, what I am sure will be treasured gifts. You might want to do a blog on your efforts. That generally makes for an interest read.

I can understand your dilemma with respect to your son. My youngest thought about this in earnest his senior year in high school and went so far as to take several exams at the Coast Guard recruiting center. I couldn't understand his fascination with the military but eventually he changed his mind decided to go on to school. I have two nephews who have decided they want to have a military career. I really don't understand their choices either. but I have come to realize that this is more a reflection of my personal bias against a military career. Even though I am a veteran, I never had any desire to stay in long enough to make a career out of the military. But your son is an adult and part of our responsibility as parents is to let our children choose their own paths in life knowing that we have raised them to be responsible adults. It is hard to let go like this but I am sure it will work out for the best.

Good luck to you and may God bless.
 
#4 ·
Mark,

I'm new at this site as well, Just within the last few days, being here on this site has been an inspiration for me. My one son is in training as I write this for his up coming deployment over to Afghanistan, It is hard for us as parents to accept situations like this but as parents we also can say that is our SON and he has Chosen to serve his country. This alone gives us a feeling of Great Pride knowing that he has become a MAN and has chose this responsibility that lays ahead of himself. My other son two years ago was diagnosed with MS, so at times I wonder what is harder, seeing my one son going off for his country, or my one Falling down every time he turns his head too quick and losing his balance. We as Proud Parents can Say They are Our Children. May God Protect and Keep them out of harm…..your woodworking brother John
 
#5 ·
Hey Mark -

Welcome. You're certianly in the right place when it comes to talking about all things wood, including the often hidden reasons for the things we make.

I come from a military family. My father was a lifer in the Air Force, three of my brothers and one of my sisters also served, my nephew returned from Iraq last year, and my niece is currently serving "over there." Your son is very brave.

Good luck with your project and keep posting - congrats on getting your box joint jig to work.

-Lakey
 
#9 ·
In the Navy, we always made fun of Marines, and the Marines made fun of us. But, deep in the heart of every sailor in the fleet was a profound and solemn respect for what The Marine Corp did, does, and will do to protect the freedoms we enjoy. Were it not for your son and the others of his stature that have stood up for two hundred and thirty-something years and said, "I WILL", the rest of us wouldn't be able to dabble in what is by comparison, the trivial pursuit of making things out of wood! His lot is where the rubber meets the road.

I HONOR HIM AND SALUTE HIM.
 
#10 ·
part 2

i started my stationary box today and it seems to have a few new challanges for me. first i sucessfully made my first box joints that came out pretty tight. i do need to sand them down flush through.



I decided to try another new thing and do some inlay on the outside of the box with some red oak. nothing fancy just some strait line it looks rather nice and i am pleased with the out come. some dado cuts and some oak shelfs to hold paper and it is starting to look realy nice.



i think this will be an item that my wife and i will use quiet often.
 
#15 ·
part 3

ok so it has been a week since i have worked on my stationary box and finaly got some time off. I decided that my box needed a substacial bottom to it so i whent to the only hardwood dealer in houston for the first time. oh my god what a place. you name it they had it. Lace wood, Wenge, Zebra, Cherry Oak The list could go on. They had raw lumber that they will mill to whatever you wanted. any amount it did not matter. After i wandered around this wearhouse of wonderful smells of wood being cut and milled to who knows what orders i finally found what i was looking for. a one and one forth thick piece of red oak that was three feet long and six inches wide. i only wondered what it was going to cost for you see up untill this point i bought all my wood from that , well store. that store would have cost me around 15 - 20 dollars. the cost here 6 dollars. i was so happy i rushed home and began to work on the base and the rest of the box. i put my head down for a number of wonderful hours and got almost the whole thong done. all that is left is to glue up the draw, sand and finish. think i will go start now.

 
#18 ·
It's Done

Yes i finally finished my stationary box and am well pleasede with it. the journey has been fun and i learned a lot of things on it. first that when you make a draw do not measure it so tightly that you spend 3 days shaving it down till it fits perfectly. i learned how to do my first box joints that quite frankly look marvolus. and i learned that toung oil needs a little love to make it shine. ther are some mistakes that i made but i am so sure that on any project that we do there will always be something that we are not so happy about. so take a look at my finished box, the first box i ever made and tell me what you think. it was quite a journy.



 
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