| Project by Dan | posted 1372 days ago | 3138 views | 5 times favorited | 19 comments |  |
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First off I want to thank all the very talented box makers on this web site. Seeing all the different and unique box’s on this site is what inspired me to try my hand at making boxes. Before seeing all of your boxes I had never considered the idea of using contrasting woods and exotic lumber. I have built about a dozen or so boxes and each one gets a little bit better and closer to perfectly square! :)
This project began at my dads house. He had some big maple logs outside that he had been using for firewood. We discovered that some of the bigger logs had spalted so we decided to mill then into some lumber. The logs were to big for the bandsaw so we used a chain saw to rip the log to some square slabs. Then they were run through the jointer and then re-sawed on the bandsaw. In the end we were left with some very nice looking spalted maple boards.
After drying indoors for a while I decided to go to work on this box. The box is a rather simple and basic design and it only took a few hours to make. I cut the dovetails using my router and Leigh dovetail jig. I cut a small rabbit on the bottom of the boards to fit a piece of hardboard for the bottom. Other then the hardboard bottom the box is made from just 5 small pieces. Two pieces of Mahogany and 3 of the spalted maple boards. The lid was made from the best looking spalted piece and has two small rabbits cut on the end. The lid just sits on the top and drops into the box slightly. I chamfered the top of the box and the lid with a block plane and to finish the box I used spray polyurethane. The picture was taken after the first coat.
I have a good amount of spalted maple left so there will be more boxes like this to come.
-- Dan - "Collector of Hand Planes"
19 comments so far
CharlieM1958
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15655 posts in 2816 days
#1 posted 1372 days ago
I adore spalted maple, and that touch of mahogany sets it off beautifully.
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
Ken90712
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14821 posts in 1786 days
#2 posted 1372 days ago
Nice work Dan love the maple!
-- Ken, "Everyday above ground is a good day!"
Bradford
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#3 posted 1372 days ago
Great combination of woods. That bold spalting really makes the Mahogany carry the whole appearance.
-- so much wood, so little time. Bradford. Wood-a-holics unanimous president
Dan
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3543 posts in 1478 days
#4 posted 1372 days ago
Thanks! I was lucky to get a real nice piece for the lid. I love the spalted maple wood and will be busy using up the rest of it.
-- Dan - "Collector of Hand Planes"
MayflowerDescendant
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413 posts in 1384 days
#5 posted 1372 days ago
VERY nice piece. Good job!
-- Glen - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
ellen35
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#6 posted 1372 days ago
that is some of the most beautiful maple I have ever seen…
really really nice work, Dan (and that cute little guy in your avatar isn’t bad either!)
-- "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." Voltaire
Sodabowski
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2001 posts in 1430 days
#7 posted 1372 days ago
Lucky indeed, gorgeous spalting on that lid!
-- Holy scrap Barkman!
mcoyfrog
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2885 posts in 2192 days
#8 posted 1372 days ago
Great job, you did well….
-- Wood and Glass they kick (well you know) Have a great day - Dug
BritBoxmaker
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4337 posts in 1634 days
#9 posted 1372 days ago
Nice spalting. I like a bit of spalting. Natural pattern. Good box.
Of course you realise you’ve done it now. Boxes are addictive. Not as bad as cutting boards, true, but all the same…...
-- Martyn -- Boxologist, Pattern Juggler and Candyman of the visually challenging. http://www.theartofboxes.com
cwdance1
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1143 posts in 1857 days
#10 posted 1372 days ago
Wonderful wood, great job.
Triumph1
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833 posts in 1677 days
#11 posted 1372 days ago
Ahhh…from firewood to a great box…you can’t beat thet. Great find on the spalted maple….definitely a fan of that. Really great job on the dovetails also!
As Martyn stated…beware..I got hooked on box making and cannot stop!
-- Jeff , Illinois Please...can I stay in the basement a little longer, please!
Loucarb
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2388 posts in 2043 days
#12 posted 1372 days ago
Looks like lumber jocks has another great box maker. Well done.
bamasawduster
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#13 posted 1372 days ago
Got some spalted maple drying and can’t wait to try my hand. Hope mine turn out half as good as yours did. Beautiful box!
-- Gary, Huntsville. Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
WoodenFrog
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2737 posts in 1511 days
#14 posted 1372 days ago
Very nice looking Box! I love it great find on that spalted wood.
-- Robert B. Sabina, Ohio..... http://www.etsy.com/shop/WoodenfrogWoodenProd
Jim Crockett (USN Retired)
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852 posts in 2331 days
#15 posted 1372 days ago
I normally am not a big fan of spalted maple but your box may have changed my mind. At first I thought there was a drawing on the box top, in the first picture – looked like a pencil sketch of a a rockbound coast.
Very nice contrast between the mahogany and the spalted maple. A very nice box that you must be very proud of.
Jim
-- A veteran is someone who, at one point in his/her life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America," for an amount of "up to and including his/her life".
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