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Box jocks.

2K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  longgone 
#1 ·
Box jocks.

Today I set aside my current project jewelry box of maple and zebra wood only to build another box of soley Zebra. It is a keepsake box, small simple sweet. It is actually a gift for my dad for his birthday tomorrow. I wasn't intending on building him a box and if I was I probably would have planned it out better.

I was actually intending to take a break from woodworking altogether today because some friends from church dropped by. Lovely people. But they didn't stay as long as I thought they would so I went back to the bench. I took one look at my current jewelry box, but did not feel inspired to work on it today. So I decided to just make a box on the spot.

So I stared at a few pieces of zebra that I had no plans for and dreamed a little dream. For those of you that keep up with Greg the whodats boxes (which are always a delight to see) you'll be able to tell where my inspiration had come from.

It is a very dumbed down version. Just four sides a bottom and a free floating top. I used my maakita 41/2 inch angle grinder to carve out several semicircles at opposing corners, as if rain drops were happening just off the box and reveberating through it. The handsanding was pretty painstaking, and it took quite a while despite the compared simplicity to others that inspired me to make this one. But I was broought back to a calm and medatative state after a while of sanding by hand. I usually do enjoy the handwork moreso than the power tools, not that I am any kind of eliteist, I usually just enjoy it more. I had forgotten this about sanding until today. While I often do cuts with handsaws, and chisels. I usually wind up sanding with power sanders. I know sanding is dreaded by some, while others are more in fear of finishing. And I was dreading the handsanding. But after a bit of time and focus I feel as though I was being introduced to the wood in a way that was seemingly forgotten. I found that with every pass of the paper I was redifining the grain and discovering a hidden treasure that only I would know about. The zebra wood, while it gets some stringy tearout when using an agressive power tool, seemed more willing to work with me than for me when I put my hands to it. And though my fingers are raw my soul is satified with the asthetic balance of simple and elegant.

Pics will be up tomorrow, probably around early afternoon ater I have had enough coffee to focus on where I put my camera.
 
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#3 ·
At one time I did not like to sand and thought of it as a dreaded task to get done. When a person makes flat surfaced projects…sanding can easily be accomplished with power sanders…I know because I have many.

Once I started making sculpted boxes the realization came that unless I do alot of sand sanding the finished product would look like a cross grain swirl monster. My belief is that anything I do should be completed with absolute focus and concentration of each and every detail…and when grinding to shape the boxes sanding becomes a very very important step of the process. I somehow was drawn to a point where I actually get involved in the hand sanding and find that I can spend hours sanding and lose track of time in the quietness of the process.

My fingers and wrists can ache after hours of sanding…but as the old saying goes "No Pain-No Gain"
 
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