"Firefly"

So next time I will pay more attention to when the projects have to be entered by! As you can tell in the last picture this challenge required me to empty the old scrap bin and see just what I had….this started on Saturday, April 24th. After separating all the scrap into species piles I took a quick inventory and promptly ran upstairs to start designing. I actually designed two boxes but settled on the design you see here…”Firefly”. Back into the basement to choose the scraps and take a picture. The pile in front, with the ruler resting on it, was to be used. The construction would start on Sunday. Going through a quick schedule, in order to have it entered by 5/7, I would have to be finished by 5/2 to be able to put finish on it, let it dry and then wax it….going to be some fun late nights after 10 hours at work!

Well….they were fun! The body of “Firefly” was made from two scraps of crotch walnut that is put together using blind dovetails. The back panel is quilted maple and there are quartersawn maple runners, to support the drawer, inlaid into it. Using glue and walnut sawdust, a paste was made to fill any small gaps. The legs were made by resawing curly maple into three pieces. Two 3/8” pieces and one 3/32” piece. They were sanded smooth and then glued back together using pieces of black died veneer to separate them. Once dry I cut them into their rough shape. I kept the waste to make the pulls..save that scrap! After that I added a taper to the legs and did the final shaping. The legs were attached to the box using dowels and glue (I made a drilling guide using some scrap 3/8” thick aluminum).

The drawer is mainly constructed of quartersawn spalted maple. Once again I used blind dovetails for the joinery. I matched the grain up so it looks as if it wraps around the entire inside of the drawer. There is a groove on both sides for the drawer runners to slide in. The face of the drawer is another piece of quilted maple. The pull is made from the leg waste. The lid is a scrap piece of Honduras Rosewood. It had such a beautiful arc between the heart and sap wood that I wanted to accentuate it by placing the hole, to lift the lid, concentric to it. I used walnut cutoffs, from making the body, to make four lid supports. The box is lined with the remnants of a late 80’s black leather trench coat (my sister sported that with some good mall hair…ahhh…the style of the 80’s). I saved the coat from going into the garbage after it was rendered useless by a family pet (and father time himself).

I placed pulls on the front and the back of “Firefly” to make it more into a sculptural piece…a full 360 degree view. Its rough size is 9.25” x 4.75” x 4.75”.

“Firefly” was finished with Danish Oil and two waxings of Renaissance Wax.

Enjoy and keep making sawdust!

-- Jeff , Illinois Please...can I stay in the basement a little longer, please!