The "Wounded Earth" box...

The inspiration for the box came from the two wood species used in the project. The wife and I were at a hardwood store in Houston because I wanted some birdseye maple for another project. While I was selecting what I wanted, the wife brought out this piece of beautiful piece of cocobolo and added it to what we had. The cocobolo looked like it was on fire. It sat in my shop for several months because my work has me out of state for weeks at a time. Whenever I came home, I would go look at that piece of cocobolo. It reminded me of a lava flow I had once watched on TV. That was the start. The cypress was left over from a job I was on in Houston. I knew I was going to make a box with it, but wanted more than just a box. I saw the knot and thought that it was very intresting. To me it looked like a wound and the rest just kind of came together. I finished the inside with the red felt because the core of the earth is red hot molten lava.

How I did the lava flow…After I selected the portion of the cocobolo that I was going to use, I cut it the thickness in half to look at the inside. I picked which piece I wanted and started working on it. Once I got the basic shape of the flow, I traced it onto the box which I had glued together earlier. The flow is in three peices. I used a coping saw to cut off the pieces that are the down flow. I wanted to keep the grain as close together as I possibly could so it would look like one piece of wood. The side piece was cut from the end piece and rotated 90 degrees, shaped and glued to the end piece. There was alot of hand shaping of the flow and lots of sanding…lots of sanding. I inlayed the top piece about 1/8” deep. After getting a good flat surface with the disk sander, I glued the end/side piece to the upper part of the flow and to the box. I finished the sanding and shaping and cut the top with the bandsaw.

I wished I would have taken pictures as I constructed the box. I will on my next project. Thanks for all the kind words and comments.

-- My mind is like lightning...one brilliant flash and then it's gone.