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************************************************** is created from a very old piece of Sinker Cypress from Bayou Sorrel in the Louisiana Swamps.
This box has very limited sculpting because some pieces of Sinker Cypress have so much resin in them …making it almost impossible to sand since it gums up sandpaper after less than a minute of sanding…

Usually I cut a sample piece from the cypress board I am using to make a box and give it a test run on the sanding before cutting, fitting and gluing the box together…but I got complacent on this since the last few cypress boxes were not as resinous.
Anyhoo, I like the way it came out. 12×8x5 1/2 with lacqueer finish and alligator bottom.

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The whole thing is just beautiful. I really love the wood. Different style of lift . Tastefully done.
 

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Well done Greg! I like the sculpted boxes, but every once in awhile it's refreshing to see one that is not sculpted. Beautiful!
 

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Monte…thanks…!
I wanted to do a different style of lift for a while but this style wouldn't work with the boxes I make that have the lid inset into the box. It works better with the lid sitting on top of the box. I remember seeing this style of finger pull used on some cabinets many years ago and seemed like a good time to use it. Nothing innovative…just a recycled idea.
 

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Really noy to shabby for a lazy guy…LOL! Nice integration with the design of the handle and the grain.
 

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Hello Bill…How have you been? I agree, a little change of pace for the box design is good…but for me the sculpted boxes are by far the most enjoyable to make.
 

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Thomas…I have only done a few boxes with the recessed handle design but I am really liking the way it integrates into the top.
Now, I an going inside to get lazy and have some homemade cornbread and gumbo….mmmmmm
 

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When I was down south I had my first gumbo made by a guy from Louisiana. GOOOOOOD! Speaking of southern food, made some pulled pork BBQ. Eatin "High on the Hog!" LOL!
 

· In Loving Memory
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I really like the lid lift and the grain on the box body is spectacular. I wondered how resinous cypress was. I still haven't cut into any of my cypress logs.
 

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That's a really nice box. Having been involved in recovery of Sinker Cypress, and sawing it up, I can relate to everything you said about the wood. We were constantly amazed by the color variations. Sometimes the grain is very intertwined and, we were very surprised to saw a "Birds Eye" sinker log.
 

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Greg; you can take any piece of wood and transform it into a work of art. I also have used sinken cypress and you are so right about the resin, but the growth rings are amazing when finished.
-don
 

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Greg
That is some nice looking lumber and the lid lift is a very nice design but I also like the corner treatment which looks like a double round over in the pic ,is it a mitre or rebate joint ?
 

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Beautifully done!! Very Unique!
I like this one a lot!!
Great job!
 

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Andy…thanks..it amazes me how just a suttle little thing like a different lift design can make such an impact. That grain on the cypress is really spectacular and my thanks goes out to mother nature. All of the sinker cypress I have is rough sawn and it is a treat to see what comes out after I run it through my planer. I have another box I cut out of the same board…so it will equally as resinous and definitely not much sculpting will be involved. If your cypress logs are not sinker then you most likely will not have the resin problem.

HaroldCR…it is so entirely different to retreive logs from the swamp than getting them out of the woods, as you know. Years ago when I was younger I retreived sinker cypress and it was hard work. The sinker cypress I have now were retreived by some guys that live on Bayou Sorrel in Plaquemine. I got them with a moisture content of nearly 60% and have been drying them quite a while. Awesome grain.

amagineer…Thanks very much..you are too kind..I just have fun creating something from wood that is already beautiful. The right grain in a piece of wood makes all the difference in the world.

Kiefer…I just use a basic miter joint. Since the wood is so resinous I glue it with epoxy.

WoodenFrog…Thank You…I always try to do something unique and different…sometimes it works and sometimes it flops (like some of my boxes that never made it in front of my camera).
 

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Thomas…I know that pulled pork had to be delicimious…but that gumbo and cornbread still has a grin on my chin…
 

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Are you sure it wasn't the gumbo? LOL
 

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Greg, I know exactly what you mean when it comes to working with cypress, I still have several boards of it left over from my shelving project. That box came out looking very nice, I like this one a lot, I'm looking at it and trying to picture what flavor of spline would go with that cypress, dark or light walnut is one that comes to mind.

Hmm, do I detect a bandsaw being used in there somewhere? haha
 

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Super nice Greg. I really like the knot and the way you sculpted the handle in the lid and side. The grain on that Cypress is super-kool
 

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Thomas…it was definitely the gumbo.

Randy…I think a lot of different darker colored splines would give a nice contrast. I just am about finished an oak box that I used a rosewood inset on the front and I like the contrast. it was an experiment for a different lift but I prefer the router in one better…

I have yet to use a bandsaw on my boxes…however I just this weekend ordered a riser kit for my bandsaw. I recently built a laminating press and need to resaw some boards down to 3/16" or so to laminate the top layers. I made one box wwith a laminated top but since I could not resaw the 10" I needed I ended up wasting entirely too much wood by planing them down.
Roger…thanks…I usually do not include the knot in my boxes cause they do not sculpt well. I tried sculpting a piece with knots in it a while back and the knot broke up too much. Once I realized how resinous this piece of cypress was and decided against sculpting it I used the piece with the knot.
 

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Greg,

I used a come-a-long to install the riser on my 14" Grizzly. Works well when you don't have an "assistant" to lift and hold. LOL! What bandsaw do you have?

Do you plan to resaw?

I'm sure what ever you do with it, it will be "out of the box" thinking.
 

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Thomas…I have a chain hoist to lift the bandsaw top when I install the riser kit. I have a 14" Powermatic bandsaw.
I haven't used it much lately but with the expanded capacity it will be ideal for resawing the wood for the boxes that willbe laminated.
 
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