Daughters "Memory" box

Nice box. I like the minature raised panel and the minature rail and stiles. I know your family will treasure them forever!

-- Every step of any project should be considered your masterpiece if you want the finished product to reflect the quality of your work. http://www.FineArtBoxes.com

Hey Don
The box looks great and great story too.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

Sure beats an old shoebox!

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

Hi Don

What a great idea you had here! I am sure your kids will enjoy these the longer they have them. Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa

Thanks guys, I purposely made them kind of rough…by that I mean while I built them to last forever, I also built them to be used, so I did not sand out “All” the milling marks (most of this was cut offs and scraps anyways), I also know my son, if it had been made as pretty as possible, he would have been afraid to use and just would have set it on a shelf. As far as the size….Sounds can of sad that a life time of memory’s can fit in a cardboard box big enough to fit a pair of cowboy boots in. But it really is the perfect size…you have to be picky as you get older, you just don’t throw “any old thing” in it. Any bigger, and it would not fit on a dresser or under a bed, any smaller and it may as well be a jewelry box.

Not to sound like a sentimental mushy old man…but the BEST memory’s I have every gotten from “MY” memory box, has always been watching my kids go through it or go through it with them, and listen to them ask for the thousandth time the same questions about the same little piece’s of family history, a old wooden pen shaped like a baseball bat with a three digit phone #, where I got Gregory “Pappy” Boyington’s autograph, why is that picture of the boy on the horse there etc etc etc

-- Don S.E. OK

You’re a good man Don. This is great stuff. To my line of thinking, there’s nothing like a man who is an active part of his family. I have two children (daughters) and I too love their tendency for nostalgia. They love going through old photographs, pictures of family members that made it into the local newspapers (I swear that none were for crimes!), drawings they did for Mommy or Daddy when they were in elementary school, etc. They hate it if my wife or I decide to throw out something that has been a fixture in the house (an old wall clock for example). The type of family nostalgia you mention speaks volumes about the family unit. You have obviously done something right. BTW, since this is a woodworking site…nice box too! LOL

-- On the eighth day God was back in His woodworking shop! Lenny, East Providence, RI

LOL…thanks Lenny

-- Don S.E. OK

What a great story and a great idea. I have had a tendency to save every little thing in an antique trunk for myself and several plastic storage boxes for each of my 2 (grown) kids. And you’re right – with that many things I have looked through them only to wonder where certain items came from and why I even kept them.
On the other hand – with my children – for the first several years of their lives (that they could sit and participate) – every year on each of their birthdays, I got their box out (at that time each only had one!) and we talked about the day they were born – and I showed them the little hat they wore home, etc. And as you said they ask the same questions or in my case they couldn’t wait to ask all the gory details about their birth and how each memento came to be. Very nice memories in themselves!

-- Karen W., KS.

Thanks Karen,
You sound kind of like my wife, she has a HUGE cedar chest I made her years ago. I think she has everything the kids have ever done in there, from report cards to macaroni pictures.

-- Don S.E. OK

Wonderful idea and story Don. I’m going to make some for my grandkids, or better yet maybe help them to make their own. Thanks for sharing!

-- Mike, American in Norway

Thanks stefang,
And the idea of making it with them is GREAT…what a wonderful first memory for their “Memory Box” making it with their Grandpa !!!!

-- Don S.E. OK

Beautiful job, I love the raised panel top with the engraved name!

-- Jim in Langley BC Canada --- www.sollows.ca

Thanks Jim !!

-- Don S.E. OK

Don I appreciate the comments. I really enjoyed serving by country. I am glad you ask me about the old bandsaw. In 1983 I bought this saw for my father, he was a little mad because he had a 9X16 shed and had no place to put it’ however he found room. Dad passed away in 1985. So mom gave it back to me. It stayed in storage for 8 years. It still works very good’ however in a few year i want to get a newer model.

P.S. By the way your projects are beautifull.

-- Monty Q, Columbia, South Carolina.

Thanks Qmoney....and your saw sounds like a keeper even if you do get another bandsaw.

-- Don S.E. OK