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This is a bank that is constructed of Oak for the top, and a wood that I had never heard of before, called Burned Maple or Cooked Maple. They literally, from what I was told, cook the maple which crystallizes the sugars in the wood turning it this rich dark brown. It is however a very brittle wood. This bank was inspired by the banks that closetguy Dennis has made and sells. I would like to thank him for answering my many questions that I PM'ed him and his willingness to share his experience.

The construction is box joints (finger joints) and then finished with 4 coats of lacquer and then waxed. It is 4 3/8" wide 5 3/4" tall and 5" deep. The door is a 1961 Grecian style door that I cleaned according to closetguy's formula of coke and ammonia. I have constructed more of this style in different woods but am only posting one of them. Thanks for looking.

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Neat idea using the post office pieces. Would make a great gift for anyone.
 

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Dan, They would make great gifts.

John, Thank you for the compliment, I appreciate it.
 

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Beautiful love the contrasting finger joints and how the metal complements the wood. Thanks for sharing.
 

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Nice.
Cooked maple is a new one to me. It sure is pretty.

I have a stack of PO box fronts from many years ago. I took the locks off (dumb) so I would not lock myself out. They would make cool banks that you could rob easy.

Steve
 

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Will, thank you for the compliment.

Steve, It was a new one for me also. It is a very brittle wood. I dropped a piece of it on the floor and it cracked, even across the grain.
 

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It's good to see the final results Max. Very nice job!
 

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Dennis,

I appreciate your compliment and your answers to all my questions. Now to make a different style.
 

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Outstanding Max! What finish did you use?

I have done some things with postoffice box doors. I have an order to do some for all the grandkids. But don't think I have enough doors left. Where did you get your doors? I got the last bunch off ebay but the prices seem to be going up.

Never mind the question about the finish, I just didn't read far enough.
 

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John,

Thanks for the kind words. I got my doors off of eBay, and yes the prices are going up..
 

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nice project. great box/finger joints. the woods have a nice contrast
 

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Great work on this.

Lee
 

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Roger, I appreciate your compliment, thanks.

Lee, Thank you for you compliment.
 

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Perfectly lovely finger joints on a grand scale and an adorable finish. Very nice indeed.
I had occasion to work with a boatload of cooked oak last winter and it was truly a disaster. The material had no strength, was as light as a feather, blew up on the shaper and had noxious dust. And yes, any board dropped would break. What was interesting was its behavior on the rip saw. The kerf remained at blade thickness perfectly over an eight foot length with no movement up or down either. All tension in the wood was gone, it had given up the ghost. Beautiful appearance though.
 

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vipond33,

Thank you very much for the kind words. This cooked maple reacts that same way. I do like the look of it though.
 

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Max,

This one is beautiful, I also have never heard of Crooked or Burned Maple sure would like to get my hands on some however. Where did you get your doors? You always do an amazing job on everything you make!

Thanks for sharing….
 

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Chuck,

Your compliments are far to kind but very much appreciated. I had never heard of the burnt maple either. I got the doors off of eBay.
 

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I remember this (as I child) when my Mom went to get the mail. Sweet!
 

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Has anyone done any research on that Cooked or Burned Maple? That stuff looks beautiful.

Someone microwaved a bowl blank on youtube, but it did not turn it colors, I am very curious to know how to get the darker color, it'd be nice to be able to obtain some of this for my stock. I can see that it would have all sorts of neat applicable projects it can be used on, like inlay and such.

Wonder if its to brittle to turn on a lathe.
 
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