Don

Canadian born, living is Australia since 1988. Married with two adult daughters; I retired from a lifetime of business leadership four years ago.

Prior to doing so, I revisited an old interest of mine – woodworking, which has since become one of my passions. Although I have made some furniture, I find myself returning to small wooden boxes, and now consider myself a box maker.

At first, I called my boxes Jewelery Boxes feeling compelled to define a purpose for them. With time, I have moved to the position where I believe making small boxes for their own sake, like other forms of artistic creation, stands on its own merit.

Although I have been asked many times to do so, I do not sell my work. Rather, I give it away as gifts. Of all the boxes I’ve made over the past five years, I have kept only two. I could never put a price on my creations that would repay my material costs, overheads, time and creative energy – so I don’t even try.

I am fortunate to live in a country with some spectacular timber species. Australian hardwoods are mostly of the Eucalyptus variety and some of the densest and hardest anywhere. They place great demands on your tools, and force the craftsman to learn to keep them extremely sharp. The vast majority of my work is with these hardwoods.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Welcome to Lumberjocks, I think this forum is the ”Top of the Heap” of the woodworking forums.
I enjoyed viewing your beautifully crafted boxes. They’re well done.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Thanks, Dick. As I’m new to the forum, I have yet to learn the protocol. I have many more boxes I could show, but don’t want to hog the forum.

What is the normal approach? Do I put all of my work up at once, or drip feed it over a few weeks?

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Welcome to the LJ, Don. Your work is excellent as well as your attitude. Feel free to add as many of your projects as you feel appropriate. And it’s great you’ve started blogging as well – you have lots to share.

Dick, I’m glad you think we’re the Top of the Heap ;)

-- Martin, http://lumberjocks.com

I’d only say that if you saturate us with all your projects right away, you’ll have to work like a crazy person to keep up with the pace we’ve come to expect!... Just a kindly public service announcement. :) I’m really enjoying your work and commentary, can’t wait to see what’s next! Welcome to the club.

-- The opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation. -- Wood T's: http://www.printfection.com/snbcreative

Hey Don, what about adding your workshop details and photos? We have no Australian workshops so far so you’d be the first.

-- Martin, http://lumberjocks.com

Will do – need to take photo’s first.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Don:

I’ve been wondering what to do with all of the lumber. You might have an idea. I’m sure if my wife were to try to sell it at a garage sell it would go for a fraction of its worth.

I’ve been trying to consolidate the wood since I’ve moved here. The local help I had to use to unload my truch just kind of filed it in the closest compartment. The wood is all rough cut also so its random thickness, from 1” to 1 1/4”. So I’ve also been trying to skip plane it to be able to see the surface and to try to get it to a common thickness so I can get more layers in each compartment. In one maple one I went from 13 layers to 18 layers of wood so It is help to consolidate it. And I get the random ash, walnut and butternut boards out of the stack and get them grouped together.

I just picked up 200Bd ft of cherry and 6 boards made up 83 BD FT of that. 16 – 19 ” wide and 11 ft long Some of the rest was 2 1/4 thick X 10” wide. Some of it looks like its branch wood though, because it has wind shank splits.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Karson, you know what they say, “My biggest fear is that when I die, my wife will sell my woodworking equipment for what I told her I paid for it.” Same holds true for lumber, I suspect.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Don:

I guess I need to make an inventory sheet and price list and attach it to my will. As a way of seeking forgiveness for the inconsistencies in my statements or lack of telling her what i’ve bought. I’ve had things delivered when she was on vacation, and they just happened to be in the shop when she happened to come out and visit me. A carbide spiral jointer and carbide 20” planer come to mind on that one.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Don: Where are you from in Canada. I was born in Omemee, Ontario about 100 miles north of Toronto. We moved to the USA when I was 13. Been here ever since.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Karson, I was born in Victoria, B.C., but lived in the Vancouver area until 1988.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Welcome to the forum Don.
Your boxes are tastefully done. They’re fine craftsmanship.
I saw your workshop comment; it’s funny, I’ve got space for larger work and
have made some bigger pieces, but I really enjoy boxes and pens.

Merry Christmas,
Gary

Don, comment editing is coming.. hopefully tomorrow ;)

-- Martin, http://lumberjocks.com

Fantastic!

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Can you believe it? T C … all the tools available to make an intelligent comparrison, and they’re too lazy (or stupid) to operate them. hahahahaha

-- http://ye-olde-cabinet-shoppe.com/

Michael, I don’t know whether they are lazy, or stupid, but I think they are unethical. Surely, the first thing that should have been done is to contact Martin to obtain his permission. It would be interesting to see what other forums he has raided with the same approach, and how many of them have accepted what he has done.

I know there is one US based woodworking forums where, if a member even mentions another specific forum that the owners of the forum considers is a competitor, the member is banded.

That’s a fairly severe action, but I do hope that Martin communicates with this guy.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Better go check out the latest… you’re gettin blamed for something I said. You just might be married to a lumberjock if … Mark thinks you wrote #1. I think I’ll wait to see if his wife yells at me or you. hahahahaha !!!!

-- http://ye-olde-cabinet-shoppe.com/

Obi, I get blamed for a lot of thinks I didn’t do. So if it saves you a little grief, no worries, Mate.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

I looked into the whole tool crib thing and found out that they are basically tool pimps for Amazon.com I got nothing against Amazon.com but it all of a sudden made a lot of sense. They aren’t tool jockey’s so they have no idea how they work. what are the pro’s and con’s of each tool they sell. I DID add Amazon.com just as an extra service because they have a lot of stuff, but before I’d buy anything from them, I’d check the price at a local store first.

But now I’m curious about Australlia. How much to ship stuff there? You mentioned lumber prices. How much for a board foot of Red Oak?

-- http://ye-olde-cabinet-shoppe.com/

Obi, I’ll look into the price for you. I have no idea. But it will get confusing, because lumber is sold by the cubic meter.

Here’s a couple of quotations I ‘borrowed’ from an Aussie woodworking forum.

Quote “I’ve done a couple of swaps with a member in L.A. and the postage is prety hefty.
-I sent just under 3KG. If I’d have sent it via slow boat sea mail it would have cost neary $40 Aust and “may take up to 3 months”. So I sent it standard air mail and it cost nearly $60 Australian.

So whatever you are swapping better be worth it.

Then you have the guaranteed issues… coming into Australia it must be:

-Clean dry healthy wood…...... no rot or signs of disease…... so spalting is out.
-Sawn on all faces….... they are expecting to see boards??
-Contain no bark
-Have no cracks, holes of signs of insect attack.
-Have no dirt attached
-Must not be a protected/ endangered timber.
-Must not be one that is known to harbor disease
-Must not be a drug related material

They (Australian customs) open everything like this…... if they don’t like it….... its incinerated without question or much of a comment.

There are lots of people in the US buying small bits of timber from AUS and they are generally prepared to pay well for nice stuff.
Coming back the other way I don’t think its as advantageous… we have availability of a very good variety of timber here at good prices.”

and another:

“Just back from a pricing expedition:

To give you an idea of prices, imported back sawn and wane edge American Black Walnut is $5115 per cubic meter, or US$18 for a piece of 3’ long 4” x 1”. I’m sure the US Oak and Cherry were in pretty much the same price range.

Red Ironbark, rough sawn (rs) and kiln dried (kd) would be $5300 a cubic meter, Blackwood rs, kd 4×4” would be $5830 a cube. Buying a pallet lot would be cheaper.

A lot of the imported cabinet timbers are actually pretty cheap compared to our ‘good stuff’, as the timber grows very slowly and is denser (higher kiln and sawing costs). When you consider the price reflects an extra cost of ‘3 months on a ship and two lots of container handling fees, duties, tax’.... surprisingly cheap.”

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Wow! I can’t believe it; 300 posts in less than one month. My appologies to every one that has seen this Canuck/Aussie move to the second most active poster in just 26 days.

Watch out Dick, here I come – Ha!

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

I just noticed you bumped me out of 2nd place. I gave up on trying to keep up with Dick. I am so glad that you and Dick are in this website group, as you are both an encouragement, inspiration, and fun to read about. Keep posting, I think you catch Dick.

take care,
Mark

-- Mark DeCou - Kansas Flinthill's Artisan

2nd place… that’s nothing. I got bumped right off the list!

I can’t keep up!

-- ~ www.darrylmasterson.com ~ www.woodworkingdungeon.blogspot.com ~

Thanks, Mark. I’m really not trying to catch anyone. I’m just very enthusiastic about this site – well not so much the site, but all you LumberJocks who make this a special community of woodworkers.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Darryl, its quality not quantity that counts. Just keep posting!

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Don,
OUCH !!! I’d die living there.
Red Oak 3’ long x 4” x 1” ( 1 board foot) costs me $2.00 US
Walnut is $5.00 as is African Mahogany
The Premium Cherry is $6.00
Teak is $18.00

And I was suprised that I’m up there so far, I was at 85 just a week or so ago. Maybe it’s becaue I’m so oppinionated, and I’ll talk to anybody about just about anything. I love people and I love woodworking so this is an easy place for me to call “Home”

-- http://ye-olde-cabinet-shoppe.com/

Michael, it’s not quite as bad as it sounds. I should have noted that the currency I was quoting is Australian dollars. The conversion currently is US$1 = Au$1.28. This means something costing us Au$1.00 only costs you $.78.

By the way, that sounds great when you are buying Australian goods with US dollars but, of course, the sting to your economy is that when Australians are purchasing US goods a product cost you one dollar costs us $1.28. In other words, your products cost a premium. It’s this factor that drives us to sourcing alternatives from other countries.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Don, I was just checking your profile, you’ve been one busy guy. I think if your computer hadn’t crashed, you’d have left me in the dust. (Sawdust that is.)

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

So, Don, are you already visiting some AO matches? Or just later – from quaterfinals or so?

-- Martin, http://lumberjocks.com

Well, maybe, Dick, and my new one was down for the past 24 hours – mow I know why they call them PC’s – Personal Confusers!

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Martin, to be honest, I’m probably watching the same coverage you are watching. The Aussies don’t look like they will do too well this year. I think Leighton Hewitt may be past his used-by date.

But here’s the real reason I won’t be attending, my house painting project has dragged on too long and my lady is getting a little impatient.Peace on the home front is more important that tennis.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

I agree with you about the peace on the home.. at least you will keep posting here ;)

-- Martin, http://lumberjocks.com

You can count on that!

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Don

Thanks for the kind words about my work. I’ve been called a lot of things but you can call me Mike if you want. But, CM is shorter. So, it’s your call. I think part of the trick to craftsmanship is enjoying what you’re doing and the challenge to be creative.

Hey there DOn-

Thanks for the really nice comments on my work. You are right I am not from the Mainland USA originally. And I am from Hawaii. But I have to tell you that Australia has got a hold on me and my family. I love it here and if the right job opprotunity presented it self at the end of school down here in Tassie, I would really consider staying. But I have one year left here at school and then I have to find a job, hopefully in the woodworking field. But we will see, I hope to hear from you more often. Thanks

-- Kaleo , http://www.kaleosworkshop.com

Yes, Kaleo, I agree, Australia is an awesome place to live. Unfortunately, unless you wife is an Aussie citizen, permanent residence is not easy to obtain. Even landing a job is no assurance unless it’s one where there is a skill shorted that the government recognizes.

Best of luck in your final year at Uni, and for your future plans.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Hey Don. It’s strange to not hear from you for 3 straight days ;) Hope you’re fine.

-- Martin, http://lumberjocks.com

Yes, Martin. I’m OK. Just got too many things happening here right now. I’ve got some deadlines approaching, so blogging has had to take a back seat.

Thanks for asking, Mate!

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

What happened to your picture. It looks like fade to black….Are you copying Obi?

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

The picture reflects my recent activity on this site. When I get more active again, it will likely get a little more color.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Oh, my goodness… what have I started? LOL

-- http://ye-olde-cabinet-shoppe.com/

Don,
It looks like you have Small Pox, I hope it’s not catchy.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Yeah, you’re looking a little “sketchy”... Hope the color comes back… Some chicken soup?

-- The opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation. -- Wood T's: http://www.printfection.com/snbcreative

That’s his incognito look.

-- http://ye-olde-cabinet-shoppe.com/

We’ll have to get a Phantom of the Opera mask.

-- Dick Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Thanks for the helpful words, I was able to find a safe toybox lid hindge that is keeping Max’s fingers attached. Thanks!

-- MK

Welcome to LumberJocks! Let’s see some woodworking. I just realized that I never welcomed you. Say hello to the grandkids from us at LumberJocks.

-- Jesus is Lord!

Hi Don. Thanks for your comments. The edge trim is glued-on pre-fab from my local DIY, available in many styles, all pine. I made this box before I knew what a router was, I mentioned I would make it differently now, maybe a nice champher, thumbnail or even a roman ogee.

-- James - Geneva, Switzerland

another picture? Safety glasses to protect you from eye damage from reading all the LJ comments? :)

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

What doesn’t show, Debbie is that these safety glasses are bifocals. The upper portion is 1:1 and the lower portion 10% magnification. I find them great for shop work which means I’m always wearing them. The reason I took this picture is that I forgot I was doing so and went into my study to do some LJ surfing. That’s when I realised I still had them on. LOL

Perhaps another seniors moment.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Love the boxes Don, your joinery is incredible.

-- I've cut that board three times and it's still too short!