Good Neighbor Tom's Valet box

what a beautiful gift for another angel on earth!

my favourite feature (other than the beautiful wood) is the little lip for opening the lid. Nice.

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

Beautigul box, Douglas!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Beautiful box and thanks for the detailed writeup. Hearing the details adds a lot.

Beautiful! Lots of work but well worth it. A real treasure.

David

That’s a very detailed and stylish box. Really nice work!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

It may be a familiar term to the folks on this forum for “something really pleasurable to look at”, but it was new to me when I first saw it used about a year ago.

“Eye Candy” Your box is “eye candy.”

Very nice! And I also appreciate the write up of the process.

-- Paul, Texas

Nice work! I am going to school on you man! This is what I would like to building at some point! Beautiful wood. Good story. Thanks for posting.

-- John

This very nice woodworking, a lesson for us all. Beautifully made and a great story sounds like a great friend. jockmike

-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com

Nice work. I am sure he will love it.Good neighbor are a true blessing.

-- Hope Never fails

Extraordinary…...beautiful work…..I need to make my neighbor something…..he hosts the monthly poker game and brews wonderful beer….HHmmm…maybe a nice cigar humidor!

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

Thanks everyone for the kind comments! I especially am pleased by Paul’s eye candy comment.

I have a tiny corollary response. My buddy Jeff (a LJ) works at the Mom and Pop woodworking store here in town where I got my start in woodworking as an adult. I always bring my show-and-tell items out to them as I buy most of my stock and machines through them. I handed it over and Jeff spent about a minute rubbing the box with his hands (now I’m going to date and type myself here with a quote from a Frank Zappa song- he was doing ”the circular motion rub-it”).
That made me very happy with the level of finish, ‘cause it really is as smooth as a baby’s butt and it does beg to be touched. Not bad for not dragging out the pumice and rottenstone, paraffin oil, felt block etc. These Abralon pads borrowed from the automotive finishing industry are just too easy. Hand Candy!

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Wonderful craftsmanship! The wood is real awesome, the finish looks great! Thanks for sharing the story, too.

-- RonR, Massachusetts

The wood types you used are spectacular and the gift is just as spectacular. Sounds like you’ve got a great neighbor and now, a happy one, too.

-- Jesus is Lord!

Great box. Thanks for sharing.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Douglas, sounds like your Good Neighbor also has a Good Neighbor. Very beautiful and thoughtful gift you made for him. Thank you for sharing the craftsmanship and the story.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

Beautiful! – great craftsmanship, and what a good neighbor!

-- The Gnarly Wood Shoppe

Gave him the box yesterday afternoon! He was flabbergasted. Yippee!

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

wow Douglas – this is a gorgeous box! And sanded to 4000!!!!!!!!

I need to try out some Sapele – every time I see it, I’m in awe! And, the figured sapele! Whew!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

That figure, I have come to determine from a recent article by Thomas Schurch in FWW is called bee’s wings. It’s a jaw dropper alright.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Douglas, you might have already heard that I just love small wooden boxes.

Thanks, Dorje, for bring this one to the surface. She’s a real beauty. The design is clean, simple and very well executed. Often, nice woodwork is let down by poor finishing. It’s obvious at first glance that great care in finishing this piece has contributed to one superb small box.

The more I see on this site, the more I begin to realize that a careful selection of wood is a significant factor in producing exquisite results.

Thanks, Douglas.

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

I owe the care in finishing to the owner of my local hardwood supplier Midwest Woodworkers (LJ member Jeffrey, my good friend works there), Harvey Pickle. He laid me low with gentle criticism on one of my first projects as an adult woodworker when I used Bartley’s Gel varnish and did nothing to rub out that finish. I simply had never heard of the concept of leveling and rubbing out a finish before then. Now I spend nearly as much time on the finish as I do on the joinery. This drives my wife nuts ( see my blog entry http://lumberjocks.com/topics/549 ), especially in the winter when I can’t spray finishes (cold garage shop) and tend to use thinned alkyd varnish as a wiping finish.

If your hands don’t want to automatically do the “Circular Motion Rub-it”, you have more work to do. The Mirka Abralon pads, borrowed from the automotive finishing world, make this as easy as using a RO sander. http://www.mirka-usa.com/products/brands/abralon.htm. These are available at Jeff Jewitt’s website among other places: http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/index.html

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Quote Douglas Bordner: ”Now I spend nearly as much time on the finish as I do on the joinery.”

Couldn’t agree more, Douglas. In fact, this should be considered a rule of thumb for finishing.

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

I was just looking at this again, Douglas. You’re quite the little box builder!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Yeah Tom, before I set out to become an internet wisenheimer with MsDebbie’s tour I actually was a woodworker.
Now I feel so cheap…

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

hahhaa you are too funny. lol

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

I have been looking at your work and I love what I see! Great boxes. Your at the top of the game.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

Coming from you Blake, I take that as high praise indeed. Thanks!

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Great box, and a great tip on how to tame a wild piece of timber – I’ll be using that one in the future.