| Project by YorkshireStewart | posted 658 days ago | 1628 views | 5 times favorited | 45 comments | ![]() |
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This is my entry for the 2008 Winter Awards. Its design grew from the small board of pippy/ burr/ burl oak that I’d had in the workshop for several years. I was loath to trim off either of the natural edges to hinge the lid in a conventional way, so decided to split it to open in this way.
The box itself is made from a board of brown oak; the trays from white oak offcuts, and the black components are bog oak. Bog oak is said to be between 4000 and 7000 years old, and is the first stage in the fossilisation of wood. Continuing the fossil theme, I inserted the polished ammonite fossil (some millions of years old) to cover a dead knot that had crumbled as I planed the board. As I’d intended the box to house, amongst other ‘accumulations’, my small collection of old watches in this box, I thought this fitted in quite nicely with the idea of the passage of time. Having done it, it does look like a lock escutcheon at a quick glance.
I have a love affair with wooden hinges and decided to challenge myself by taking them one step further. These are 9.5 inches long and my “blog” gives more details of their construction as well as other aspects of the box.
The body of the box is 14×9.5×8 inches. I have lined the trays with brown crushed velvet and I finished the box with lashings of Danish oil followed by a coating of Briwax. I’ll continue to wax it for some time to build up a patina.
-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business. http://www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems
































45 comments so far
toyguy
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699 posts in 715 days
posted 658 days ago
you’ll do well my friend…. Nice box
-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/
relic
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342 posts in 814 days
posted 658 days ago
Gorgeous box Stewart.
-- Andy Stark
mrtrim
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1700 posts in 758 days
posted 658 days ago
another masterpiece ! looks great stewart
Jeff
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996 posts in 972 days
posted 658 days ago
This is a great entry, Stewart! I love the theme, the inlay and its concept and the split lid with that amazing figure. Very, very nice.
-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN
DAN
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6396 posts in 861 days
posted 658 days ago
wow !!!! is this one-fired-up box. really nice !
-- work from your heart and your spirit will live forever
Grumpy
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14852 posts in 729 days
posted 658 days ago
Nice work there Stewart. Great piece of burl. Original design. Well done
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
TomFran
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2501 posts in 872 days
posted 658 days ago
Goodness gracious, Stewart, that is awesome!!! This is one unique and beautiful creation. Congratulations on a fine job!
The next time your doorbell rings, it will be TomFran showing up in Yorkshire, on the coast of the North Sea, to begin the apprenticeship ;^D
-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28
rikkor
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11338 posts in 752 days
posted 658 days ago
You do good work my friend.
GaryK
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9496 posts in 866 days
posted 658 days ago
That top is great Yorkie! Fantastic job.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
CedarFreakCarl
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562 posts in 932 days
posted 658 days ago
That’s certainly not just any box Stewart! Beautiful and worth waiting on! Awesome job.
-- Carl Rast, Pelion, SC
Karson
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25271 posts in 1278 days
posted 658 days ago
Stewart A great box and very inventive on “Drilling” the hinge pins. Way to think outside the box.
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
Paul
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607 posts in 970 days
posted 658 days ago
Very nice!
-- Paul, Texas
Thos. Angle
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4015 posts in 840 days
posted 658 days ago
Yep, Stewart, that’s a good’un.
-- Thos. Angle
Douglas Bordner
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3415 posts in 942 days
posted 658 days ago
Beats all, Stewart. Even better than the first natural edge box posted here and on the Flickr site. Keeping two raw edges and having the lid meet in the center while maintaining grain continuity is a considerable feat, but to add wooden hinge leaves is Herculean.
Add the Sectioned Cephalopod to fill the knot hole and display like an escutcheon at the middle focal point of the front, and the pyramidal pegs, and I can’t see how you would lose. Hope Martin has the extra dough for ocean fare for the bandsaw.
If I hadn’t seen the pictures of work in progress, I would have thought you stole this en masse from The Great God Pan.
=:^•
-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.
cajunpen
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5970 posts in 944 days
posted 658 days ago
Well, I won’t try to top Douglas’ glowing description of your project – but suffice to say that it looks FANTASTIC!! Well done Stewart, you have wowed me once again with your talents.
-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/
YorkshireStewart
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779 posts in 779 days
posted 658 days ago
Once again, thank you very much Gentlejocks.
It’s a fair cop Douglas. Of course Pan is associated in our minds with his pipes (erroneously). Your little known historical picture clearly shows him consoling his figleafed chum Daphnis over his badly cut dovetail pins. Thanks so much for that – absolutely brilliant!!
-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business. http://www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems
MsDebbieP
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14090 posts in 1039 days
posted 658 days ago
(that’s funny—not pipes – dovetails!)
First I was going to say “WOW THE LID!!” but then I want to say “WOW THE HINGES” and then “WOW THE WOOD” and “WOW THE INLAY” and “WOW THE INSERTS” and oh, I can’t forget “WOW THE HISTORY” and “WOW THE PLANNING”.
Fantastic box YS.. fantastic
-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
Colin
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185 posts in 799 days
posted 658 days ago
I’m not sure what to say other than simply stunning. Well done Stewart, a magnificent box.
-- Colin, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. "Every craftsman was once an amateur"
davidtheboxmaker
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372 posts in 683 days
posted 658 days ago
Stewart – that’s a great box – worth the wait to see it in full.
The lid is really original – well done.
shaun
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361 posts in 783 days
posted 658 days ago
Stewart, your are just a foutain of creativity aren’t you. What you did with this lid bowls me over. It’s perfect.
-- I've cut that board three times and it's still too short!
Don
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2590 posts in 1055 days
posted 658 days ago
Stewart – your work is so masculine. I just love this small wooden box!
-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.hilsbiblechurch.org/
Andy
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562 posts in 786 days
posted 658 days ago
Once again,you let the wood express itself Stewart.I like the organic feel of it.The fossil works very well with the design,great idea.Spot on!
-- " If I can make it,so can you" Andy in Oregon
CharlieM1958
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7459 posts in 1096 days
posted 657 days ago
Fantastic, Stewart! You even stirred Don out of his silence with this one! Your work is such a great combination of imagination and craftsmanship.
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
gbvinc
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526 posts in 824 days
posted 657 days ago
Unique design. It… well… just goes together. I like this out-of-the-box!
John Gray
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1722 posts in 763 days
posted 657 days ago
SUPER is all I can say at the moment. Keep up the good work.
-- Only the Shadow knows....................
gizmodyne
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1659 posts in 968 days
posted 657 days ago
This came out really nice. I love the color of the oak there.
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne
mot
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4901 posts in 914 days
posted 657 days ago
Stewart! You do come up with the most fantastic projects! You have really taken the spirit and the intent of these challenges to heart! Way to go!
Tom
-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)
Kerry
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129 posts in 668 days
posted 657 days ago
Wow. Lotsa wow. That’s a great box – the top is great. As someone else pointed out, getting the halves to meet like you did is quite a feat.
Kerry
-- Alberta, Canada
Blake
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2715 posts in 752 days
posted 657 days ago
Ah, Greaaaaaaaaat job as always, Stewart. I love your style. This is one of the coolest ones yet. It’s definitely got the most character, as you put into all of your work. Your details are exquisite! You’ve put yourself ahead of the rest. Good luck on the challenge.
-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com
CoolDavion
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203 posts in 702 days
posted 657 days ago
Very nice.
I like the way you did the top
YorkshireStewart
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779 posts in 779 days
posted 657 days ago
Thank you, thank you, thank you ALL! It’d take forever to respond individually, but I’ll just say, Don – it’s really good to hear from you again .
-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business. http://www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems
dennis mitchell
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3785 posts in 1192 days
posted 657 days ago
The lid is tops! Love the old fossil to!
-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com
Jiri Parkman
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602 posts in 691 days
posted 656 days ago
This is verry nice and original box.
-- Jiri
RobS
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1231 posts in 1184 days
posted 656 days ago
A box fit for a king, that’s for sure. Very well done indeed.
-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX
Dorje
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1768 posts in 875 days
posted 656 days ago
Wonderful!
-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA
Dick, & Barb Cain
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6990 posts in 1177 days
posted 655 days ago
I really like it, it’s one of the top contenders.
There are so many nice boxes, it’s going to be hard to chose No. 1.
Good luck.
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
Jimboe
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81 posts in 628 days
posted 610 days ago
incredible …love it !! iI will be using the hinge idea on my next box …thanks great blog !!!
YorkshireStewart
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779 posts in 779 days
posted 609 days ago
I look forward to seeing that, Jimboe!
-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business. http://www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems
Woodshopfreak
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390 posts in 620 days
posted 605 days ago
I just have a quick question. I am makeing a jewlery box with a tray that goes on the inside much like yours, and I wanted to do dovetails on te edges but I can’t make them look good, do you have any kind of advice to makeing them. What method did you use? Thanks.
-- Tyler, Illinois
Scott Bryan
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20048 posts in 700 days
posted 605 days ago
Hi Yorkie,
I don’t know how I missed this when it first came up but I am glad that it came back around. This is a lovely box. I have recently began to appreciate the look of a natural edge. Before I would simply have removed it as a defect rather than viewing it as an asset. The bog oak pegs and ammonite fossil add nice details to the box as well.
Well done.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
YorkshireStewart
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779 posts in 779 days
posted 604 days ago
Thanks for your interest Tyler – This will take you to a blogette that shows part of my dovetail cutting.
It’s really a case of practice makes perfect. It’s too much to hope for perfection with your first attempt. I cut the tails first & used a fine Japanese pull-saw. Then I marked the pins with a surgical type of scalpel. I spaced them, and set the angles by eye as they’re so small. Make sure you saw just on the waste side of the line & use ultra sharp chisels. You’ll find endless info on the web and in magazines.
-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business. http://www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems
MrWoody
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279 posts in 652 days
posted 604 days ago
Stewart, you are a TRUE inspiration.
-- If we learn from our mistakes, I'm getting a fantastic education.
Dusty56
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3392 posts in 566 days
posted 533 days ago
Yet another inspirational piece fom the Master Box Builder !!! Fantastic craftsmanship
-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .
YorkshireStewart
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779 posts in 779 days
posted 531 days ago
Thanks Dusty56. I think MBB would look good after my name! <g>
-- Res severa verum gaudium - True pleasure is a serious business. http://www.folksy.com/shops/TreeGems
steiner
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133 posts in 228 days
posted 201 days ago
I’m just discovering your work. This box is just breathtaking! And the way you photographed it! This box is so far beyond words, I’ll just be quiet now.
-- Scott - Katy, Texas