| Project by Konquest | posted 178 days ago | 664 views | 1 time favorited | 8 comments |  |
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This project is a retirement present for my Dad, an avid golfer who is (was?) with the Union Pacific Railroad. The contrasting woods are curly maple (obviously) and Azobe, which is an African hardwood primarily used for structural engineering (hardness, density, insect, rot and even wildfire resistant). Why would I deliberately use such a heavy, difficult wood? The significance is that it is actually a reclaimed railroad tye from a bridge in Texas. I laminated alternating 1/4” strips for the top and bottom “moldings” and set the shelves into dadoes but protruding 3/8” out of the front. It holds 30 golf balls which, FYI, is accomplished by drilling through with a 1 1/4” forstner bit (perfect size so it sits right in the hole and doesn’t stick out from the bottom). The bit was trash after drilling the holes through this stuff. To accentuate the contrast between the woods, the back and side panels were simply finished with 2 soaks of BLO and some wax, whereas the shelves, top and bottom laminated pieces were sprayed with about 8 coats of bullseye shellac. This project, unlike some of my other furniture and case pieces, really tested my definition of “precision”. As a result I bought one of the Incra miter gauges with the flip stop. Any comments or critiques would be appreciated.
-- "It's a good thing my woodworking is done afterhours so my 2 year old daughter can't hear the swearing."
8 comments so far
a1Jim
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16683 posts in 470 days
posted 178 days ago
Hey
This one great display case love the contrasting woods
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon
TopamaxSurvivor
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3014 posts in 569 days
posted 178 days ago
Nice work. Why would one display golf balls?
-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.
Konquest
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58 posts in 337 days
posted 178 days ago
Companies, tournament sponsors, tournaments, and all courses make balls imprinted with their logos.
-- "It's a good thing my woodworking is done afterhours so my 2 year old daughter can't hear the swearing."
McLeanVA
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146 posts in 327 days
posted 178 days ago
Very nice piece and great story about the reclaimed wood. Adds that extra touch of personality. The contrasting woods really look cool.
-- Measure, cut, curse, repeat.
MickeyD
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28 posts in 419 days
posted 177 days ago
Your Dad is going to love this present. With his life working for the railroad using the railroad tye will mean a lot to him and having been made by you will make it perfect. I have only one ball I have saved from my first and only hole-in-one.
-- -Willing to try
Konquest
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58 posts in 337 days
posted 177 days ago
Yeah if he had known he would be getting this he probably would have gotten some more souvenir balls (Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, winning a tournament, getting an autographed ball with a Sharpie at a PGA event, etc.) but I figure that he’s going to have a lot of time to golf and collect souvenir balls now that he’s retired. For what it’s worth, I am not a golfer.
-- "It's a good thing my woodworking is done afterhours so my 2 year old daughter can't hear the swearing."
DrTebi
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25 posts in 160 days
posted 118 days ago
Nice use of reclaimed wood, your dad must love it.
How did you like working with Bulls Eye Shellac? I am considering it for a project I am working on.
Beginningwoodworker
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4123 posts in 566 days
posted 118 days ago
Nice looking case.
-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker