| Project by Robb | posted 825 days ago | 641 views | 0 times favorited | 15 comments | ![]() |
![]() |
A friend of mine from work asked me in October if I could build him a small display case for his wife for Christmas. “Sure!” I said, figuring in that time frame it would be no problem, even with other things to work on. He finally got me the materials and dimensions a week before he was to leave on Christmas vacation. Hmm…no pressure! He really wasn’t expecting me to finish it at that point, but I really wanted to get it done, since it was a surprise gift.
The story behind the box: they travel quite a bit, and everyplace they go, my friend’s wife picks up a native stone to bring home. Until the box, they had resided on their dresser. There was a dual purpose at work in this gift, if you know what I mean!
My friend had built a good portion of his house, and had some oak left over from doing some of the trim work. He wanted to use one of these boards, both to get it out of his barn and to match the existing trim. He also had gotten the stain to match, which made it a lot easier to finish in that amount of time.
It was a fun small project to work on. The trickiest part was making a frame for the glass front, and attaching the glass. I mean to ask him this year if the frame is still holding it’s shape; I was a little uneasy about the weight causing it to bow over time. I used hot melt adhesive in addition to the glazier’s points in an attempt to have the glass give the frame some extra stiffness.
The bottom is covered in a soft felt fabric, glued on with spray adhesive.
Any thoughts from all of you on better construction for the door / front or general tips would be welcome!
-- Robb































15 comments so far
MsDebbieP
home | projects | blog
14156 posts in 1054 days
posted 825 days ago
this is super!
this will be a lovely display for her rocks.
the felt on the inside is a brilliant idea.
-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Robb
home | projects | blog
356 posts in 827 days
posted 824 days ago
Thank you, Debbie! I can’t take credit for the felt, my friend provided that too. I agree that it was a good idea, though, much better than the rocks rattling around in there on the wood.
-- Robb
Sawdust2
home | projects | blog
1183 posts in 981 days
posted 824 days ago
Robb, you rock!
But keep Debbie away from the power cords.
-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.
Robb
home | projects | blog
356 posts in 827 days
posted 824 days ago
Thanks, Xavier!
-- Robb
MsDebbieP
home | projects | blog
14156 posts in 1054 days
posted 823 days ago
yah.. power cords and table saws.. don’t like them much
oh.. and I’ve added routers to the list as well.
-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
jockmike2
home | projects | blog
7301 posts in 1140 days
posted 823 days ago
Nice job, beautiful oak. Your friend should be very pleased. jockmike
-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com
Robb
home | projects | blog
356 posts in 827 days
posted 823 days ago
Now, now, Debbie, don’t write off the table saw and router just yet…they’ll become your friends at some point :).
Thanks, Mike for the compliment. Nice to see a fellow Michigander here. Looks like you’re about 100 miles away!
-- Robb
MsDebbieP
home | projects | blog
14156 posts in 1054 days
posted 822 days ago
haha I’m ok with letting them be Rick’s friends.
-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Jeff
home | projects | blog
91 posts in 841 days
posted 822 days ago
My father works alot in oaks and does some very nice work, butu I would like to say that this is a very nice looking peace, and it looks like it could be fun.
-- Jeff B.
Robb
home | projects | blog
356 posts in 827 days
posted 821 days ago
Thanks for the kind comments, Jeff. It was a fun project to work on, and I learned a lot doing it. For example, I wouldn’t have mitered the edges on the back piece if I had to do it over again; no one will ever see it, so why do it?.
-- Robb
PanamaJack
home | projects | blog
4447 posts in 971 days
posted 623 days ago
Cool rock box Robb!
-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,
rikkor
home | projects | blog
11335 posts in 768 days
posted 623 days ago
Nice. I am glad this came around again.
Robb
home | projects | blog
356 posts in 827 days
posted 622 days ago
Thanks Panama and Rikkor, I can’t wait to get out to the shop again, and start making some more sawdust!
-- Robb
Scott Bryan
home | projects | blog
20603 posts in 715 days
posted 621 days ago
Hi Robb,
I am catching up as well on the posts I haven’t gotten to in the past. This is a very nice display case. It’s has nice simple lines and the construction looks “rock” solid. I really appreciate the story as well. To me the story behind the piece can be as important as the construction process itself.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
Robb
home | projects | blog
356 posts in 827 days
posted 621 days ago
Thank you, Scott. I agree, the stories people tell behind their work really make the pieces that much more interesting. Mark DeCou always does a wonderful job of giving his work life that way. Thanks for looking!
-- Robb