Patchwork Box

Very nice box with a new and novel lid treatment. I like it.

-- Tom D

I think it looks rather nice. I’ll be interested to learn how things move over time. Did you glue to a backing board, and what adhesive did you use. Also, interested midwesterners want to know what seasonal humidity changes do you see in the Big Easy?

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Nice box…to bad you had to use all that rotted wood. A small chunk of clear Maple can’t cost that much! Than you could have gotten it build with out having to mix up a bunch of different woods.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

Charlie,

You all have got to stop doing this. Every time I see one of this posts I really want to get out in the shop and start making sawdust. I was doing just fine (or so I thought) with my woodworking until I started seeing these and I realized how much I have been missing by not including boxes in my woodworking journey.

By the way this is a nice box. I love the detail and can’t imagine the patience and perservence that it took to to put something like this together.

Thanks for the post.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Thank you all for the comments!

Dennis: Maybe I should paint it?

Doug: The only parts glued to a backer board are the pieces of spalted maple that make up the center, which you will understand by looking at the underside of the open lid in the last photo. Since the walnut I was using for the top happened to be 5/8” thicjk, gluing the 3/8” maple to a piece of 1/4” ply made everything the same thickness.

I glued it all up in stages, using Titebond II. After the center assembly was dry, I glued the four triangular pieces of walnut around it using a band clamp. Finally, I added the four outside pieces, again using a band clamp to keep it all tight.

In case you’re wondering, I didn’t cut v-grooves. Rather, all the pieces were chamfered before assembly.

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

Oh, and Doug, regarding movement: The humidity is so consistently high down here, I don’t even worry about it on small pieces, and I have not had a problem yet.

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

Scott: Boxes are great fun, and can be very challenging. But be warned: they are addictive!

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

Beautiful work Charlie. I love the look of spalted maple, and walnut, and together they’re amazing. Your work here is equally great.

Just wow! ;)

-- "Give me your poor tools, your tired steel, your huddled masses of rust." Yep, I ripped off the Statue of Liberty. That's how I roll!

This is really neat Charlie. After reading your other post, I don’t have any “constructive criticism” for you. I am a member of LJs for ideas, and I think I just got a good one!

-- Sgt_Lobo -- Montgomery, AL

Looks great and put a lot of small pieces to good use. Boxes are cool!

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

I might have known, another great project from the shared garage of Charlie M! Man Charlie, it’s time to take over the whole garage now. Great Job, what else needs to be said?

-- --Chuck

Very beautiful box, Charlie. The colors are rich and the contrasts are pleasing to the eye. I assume you were joking when you said you weren’t pleased with the outcome.

-- http://dustynewt.webs.com/

I like it a lot! It is something very different, but very beautiful. Is that walnut on top? Looks really red or is that just the photo Either way, I think it’s great and the movement shouldn’t effect it too much with such small pieces…I wouldn’t think. :>) Great design…

-- Jim Hallada, Newport News, VA, soon to be Chesterfield, VA

Well, if I keep getting compliments it might start to grow on me, but I was serious about not being that happy with it. The box joints have some tear out that doesn’t show up in the photos but is obvious in person. I also had a hard time cutting the lid free cleanly becuase of the thinness of the maple and the spalting, so the lid doesn’t fit just right.

It’s just that the photographer side of me won’t let me take a shot from an uncomplimentary angle. <g>

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

Jim, that particular batch of walnut had a distint reddish tone. It was from the same lot I used to make this little chest.

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

awful pretty way to use up those scrap pieces ! rumor has it your the only one in n. o. that has a one quart garbage can ! lol what your showing to me charlie looks good to me what your not showing ill have to take your word on . looks good from here

-- if you aint the lead dog the scenery never changes

Nice job Charlie.

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

Looks good from here also.

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

Nice job Charlie. I am a big fan of contrast in my work and I like the contrast in your project. A box is a geat way to use up small pieces of left overs. I find when I am making box joints that if I tape them with some tape on the back side, I don’t have near the tear outs as with out it. A sharp blade helps also.

-- My mind is like lightning...one brilliant flash and then it's gone.

Thanks for the tip, Vjer, although these were made with a router and my dovetail jig. I do think a dull bit was partly to blame.

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

Looks great Charlie , I`m gona try making a box asap, Gota learn to do them dovetails

-- Mike, Bruce Mississippi = Jack of many trades master of none

Wow Charlie, this and all your other projects are very very nice! Get a lathe, you won’t regret it, they are also very addictive.

-- Bob A in NJ

Charlie – looks like you made yet another outstanding looking box – Great job, and amen to the humidity here.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

beautiful!

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

Alright, Charlie, I’m gonna really critique you on this one! So get ready !! I think it’s a neat idea. Now do another one.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Charlie, that’s just one beautiful box. Love the spalted maple!

-- Carl Rast, Pelion, SC

Amazing piece of woodwork. I liked your honesty that u are not totally satisfied with your box. To us it looks faultless. I am also happy u have used scraps for making such a beautiful box.
Sharad

-- patanjali

The work looks tight, cool pattern, I’d be proud.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

So cool. On paper, or in my own mind, I might have thought this would look too busy. But after seeing how you executed it, it is classy and well done. Its a great look, and very unique.

-- Dust collectors suck.

I admire the woodworking Charlie. I can see you did good work. It is truly an intricate design that takes precision joinery.

-- Maplewood, MN

Charlie, I noticed this one yesterday but was running late and didn’t have time to post. I really love the lid. Rotating the grain and the contrasting woods really add a lot of visual appeal for me. I like the way you used chamfers to distinguish the separate pieces where you have a walnut on walnut joints. Thanks for sharing, I’m adding this one to my idea bin!

-- I've cut that board three times and it's still too short!