Business Card Holders

Perfect little present, everyone can use one!

-- Bob A in NJ

Very nice work Iowa. I had never heard that about a rubber tree. Like the brand too.

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

Nice, it seems like this is a popular project of late. I think this is third post of this project. I downloaded the Wood Magazine plan for them, but haven’t gotten to making them yet. I have plans for them for the holidays so I’d better get going. Your design is a little different so I don’t know if that was your source or not. I can’t tell from the shots, but what did you use for the “pivot pin”? Wood Magazine calls for a brass pin. I’m thinking I’ll just use a brass brad with the head cut off.

Out of curiosity, what was the biggest challege and would you do something different should you do the project again?

-- Jeff, South Carolina

Very nice job, Iowa! I think it is a different design from the one in Wood magazine. Yours look like they don’t fold up. Very nice brand. Do you have the electric one, or the one you heat up with a flame?
How do you like it? I was thinking of getting one, myself.

God Bless,
Hawg

-- Saving barnwood from the scrapyards

Good looking wood and I like the story behing the project.The contrast between the woods was a good choice too.

-- " Stubborn tenacity substitutes for natural ability" ANDY

You might want to print the write up about the wood and include it with the gift. They look great.

-- Maplewood, MN

what a wonderful gift for people in the tire industry
And the holder itself is beautiful. Nicely done

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Very nice. That rubber wood looks cool. Nice brand too.

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

Nice gifts, well done

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Great gift idea. And interesting info about the rubber tree.

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

Thanks for the comments everyone.

USCJeff, I didn’t have a design, just kind of winged it. These are meant for a desk and don’t close.

Hawgnutz, My wife got me the branding iron for Christmas last year. It is the type you heat up with a torch. I like it a lot but wish it was the type you plugged in. It takes about three minutes of holding it in a flame for it to get hot enough to brand the wood. This means you have to manually hold it in the flame and do nothing else for those three minutes.

Rikkor, I found the information about rubberwood at wikipedia.org. I was going to copy this information and add a little note with the gift. To me it’s the type of wood that’s used that really makes this it appropriate for this situation.

-- Owen Johnson - aka IowaWoodcrafter

Yes to all the above. Nice.

-- Ron, Twain Harte, Ca. Portable on site Sawmill Service http://westcoastlands.net/Sawmill.html http://westcoastlands.net/SawBucks2/phpBB3

Iowa, that Wikpedia note would be eth capstone to a very unique gift!

God Bless,
Hawg

-- Saving barnwood from the scrapyards

I brought all four of the business card holders to work with me today. Without even trying three of them were bought for $20 each. And I have an order for two more. I kept one of the original four I brought for the gift exchange. I currently don’t have any more rubberwood so I am making the additional two out of maple and purpleheart. The buyer knows this in advance. Guess I’ll make a few extra this time, just in case.

Below is the note I’m including with the gift.

About this gift:

This business card holder is made primarily of rubberwood. The light brown wood is rubberwood, the dark purple wood at each end is purpleheart.

Rubberwood is wood from the Pará rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), often called the rubber tree. Rubberwood, also called parawood, is used in high-end furniture. It is valued for its dense grain, minimal shrinkage, attractive colour and acceptance of different finishes. It is also prized as an “environmentally friendly” wood, as it makes use of trees that have been cut down at the end of their latex-producing cycle.

Rubberwood is often the most misunderstood species of wood in the furniture industry. The name rubberwood invokes a variety of misconceptions as to its features and to its durability. Rubberwood (also called Parawood in Thailand) is the standard common name for the timber of Hevea brasiliensis.

In fact, rubberwood is one of the more durable lumbers used in the manufacturing of today’s home furnishings. As a member of the maple family, rubberwood has a dense grain character that is easily controlled in the kiln drying process. Rubberwood has very little shrinkage making it one of the more stable construction materials availabe for furniture manufacturing.

Like maple, rubberwood is a sap producing species. In the case of maple, it is syrup; in the case of rubberwood, it is latex. Rubberwood produces all the latex used in the world for all rubber-based products.
There is one more feature of rubberwood that is very important in today’s world. Rubberwood is the most ecologically “friendly” lumber used in today’s furniture industry. After the economic life of the rubber tree, which is generally 26-30 years, the latex yields become extremely low and the planters then fell the rubber trees and plant new ones. So, unlike other woods that are cut down for the sole purpose of producing furniture, rubberwood is used only after it completes its latex producing cycle and dies. This wood is therefore eco-friendly in the sense that we are now using what was going as waste.

Bridgestone/Firestone owns the largest rubber tree plantation in the world, located in Liberia.

-- Owen Johnson - aka IowaWoodcrafter

wow… an easy sell—great products have that effect on people :)
well done

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Great gift ideas. A nice job on the creation and the use of your gift chunk of Rubber – wood.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Neat. I should really make one for myself. I have thought about it several times, maybe this will get me off my rear end and I will do it.

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

Great idea for a gift. Thanks for sharing.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

awesome job! what are your dimensions and wood thickness. Also, did you use a small dowel for the turning lid hinge. Thanks. I would like to make one to carry some business cards around at work. I also know some people who would like to have one. Thanks again.

A tree can produce rubber, maybe there is a tree out there that grows money. i am on the search.

-- Don't delay, do it today! If God is your Copilot, switch seats.

Iowa,
Great idea! How are they assembled? Glue? Pins? Also, what is the finish?

-- Measure once; Cut Twice, Three Times, Four Times...