Leaf Box

That’s one handsome little box. Great work, Blake.

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

Sweet box Blake. Very clever use of the Zebra wood for the lid.

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

Love it. I’ve eyeballed the Rigid ever since my Brother in Law got one. He swears by it and Rigid has a great warranty. So many tools . . .

-- Jeff, South Carolina

That’s really nice Blake, great contrasts.

-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso

That is a fantastic box Blake. I’m jealous.

I just picked up one of those Rigid OSS’s last week. I like it so far.

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

What a gorgeous box! Great choices in wood…

I had the urge to run out and get one of those sanders this last weekend, but was able to restrain myself.

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Thats a beautiful job Blake. Very clever use of machinery & tools & great design.

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

Beautiful woods and thinking ‘outside the box’, the idea of natural curves has always appealed to me as well, now if I can only find a Ridgid OSS in Asia.

-- I can so I wood but why are my learning curves always circles

Blake,

This is a beautiful box. Your choice of woods is excellent and thanks for the description of the process. I really appreciate seeing that in a post. It takes a little more effort but it gives a clearer view of the construction process.

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.

Very nice Blake, I like the way the grain flows from the centre curve like a real leaf. excellent work.

-- Colin, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. "Every craftsman was once an amateur"

well thought out box and gorgeous results.
Love the lines (curves) the design of the lid, the extra “wow” on the bottom..
awesome job.

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

Blake, that is an absolute beauty. Nice work. Now I have tool envy again.

-- Maplewood, MN

Fantastic job Blake. I guessed the Zebra wood before I read the write up. I love it…. and I love boxes. Funny how design works….. here , your design matches the machine. A lot of times my design matches my scrap wood….... just so I can use it up and not waste it. Thanks for posting !
GREAT JOB !!!
Dave
PS. What does one of these babies run $$$$$ ? There is times I could use one myself.

-- Dave Leitem,Butler,Pa.,http://dlcarver.etsy.com

Nice shape good use of the wood,also you must be a dab hand @ the photography, very clear pics.
thanks for the story too.

-- I cut it twice & it was still too short

I am absolutely impressed, Blake. The design should be award winning. Excellent story to go with it. Ya done good, Bud.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Beautiful. I’m going to add that to my favorites.

-- Bruce from Central New York

Cool box Blake. I really like the Zebrawood top.

-- Paul D, Atlanta GA

Gorgeous, Blake! And best of all, I have the same sander so I can try this myself.

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

Thanks for sharing, is a mighty pretty box!
I am adding to my idea list

fred

-- Fred, Springfield, Ma

Wow, that is really cool and beautiful!

-- What exactly is "The Move" and who are you calling a "Quirky Jerk"? -- http://www.north40custom.com

Great execution, very natural lines. I also have a Ridgid sander, but my model is different. You got the artisan version, my “wood hack” model won’t cut curves like that.

-- Peoria, AZ where the wood is always dry...

Blake, That’s awesome… very creative…

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)

Absolutely beautiful.

-- Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit.

I need to get me one of those band saws and a nice shaper… Very nice project, bu the way. The leaf’s grain is spectacular.

-- Happy Ripping!!!

Nice design and craftmanship…Blkcherry

Blake, this is incredible. Absolutely beautiful. Functional art at its best!

-- bfd, Folsom, CA

nice job – it’s really beautiful and creative.

-- life can always be weaved into a song.

Excellent, Blake! as usual….....

-- Carl Rast, Pelion, SC

Nice work Blake, in fact, it’s almost unbe-leaf-able. Ha LOL. Seriously though, beautiful box.

-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX

top shelf !

-- a legend in my own mind ...

Wow! I couldn’t believe it, I posted this late last night and when I woke up this morning there were 29 comments! Thanks everyone! I appreciate the feedback.

dlcarver: they are about $200 bones.

-- Dust collectors suck.

Blake,

That is absolutely beautiful. Great job with the photography as well. It’s a fantastic idea very well executed.

-- Greg, CT

Yea Blake. Good Job!
I was just wondering when you were going to post again. Now I see.

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

Really nice work. It even impressed my son, who is sick of his Dad’s lumberjocks “hey, look at this cool project”. He and I wanted to look at this more. Thanks.

-- Every cloud has a silver lining

Wow! Your box is just beautiful. Fantastic shape, and beautiful combination of woods. And a beautiful finish to boot.

-- Nils Davis, Menlo Park, CA

great looking box blake

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

it’ll do blake, it’ll do… fantastic job.

-- so much wood, so little time. Bradford.

Great project Blake, did you use your new sander for the finish sanding also?

-- It's not that a craftsman never makes mistakes, he just makes it look like it.

Blake
That is a great box. The maple centre piece to the leaf really is an outstanding piece of design and workmanship well done.
I’m currently hollowing boxes from the solid using templates and a router, which works fine, but the noise levels and vibration are pretty high. The sander seems a better way to go.

Copper: most of the finish sanding but the last time around was by hand. It does get pretty smooth with the O.S.S.

David: I thought about using a router and template but this just seemed easier. They are good if you are going to make a lot of them, though. I will use a router and template next time for the curves in the top leaf to get them dead on. There are small gaps which filled up with epoxy in this one (you can barely notice.)

-- Dust collectors suck.

That’s one lovely box Blake. The fun is easy to see in this one!

Blake,

I truly think that this piece is breath taking. I feel privileged to see you grow as a technician and artist.

Very well done.

My wife just caught a look at it while I had it on the screen and immediately wanted one.

MAN YOU ARE GOOD!

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

Thanks so much, Todd! I will be making more of these to possibly sell at a local gallery. Let me know if you want me to send you one.

-- Dust collectors suck.

Very elegant design… Zebrawood really gave it a natural look… my wife also LOVED it… GREAT JOB!!!

-- Learn something everyday!

Blake, it’s been quite some time since I’ve looked at all the beautiful small boxes that have found their way to this site.

But this one is just exquisite! As you all know – I just love small boxes and Blakes offering makes it obvious why!

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

Yes that is very pretty …..Great job ..
so what does she put in that little leaf box ?

-- Mike in Bonney Lake " If you are real real real good your whole life, You 'll be buried in a curly maple coffin when you die."