Wenge sides and top. Molding is cocobolo. Curly maple drawer fronts with turned desert ironwood knobs. Each drawer has a specific purpose with dividers and felt bottoms. The top drawer also has a ring holder. Not the greatest pic in the world. This project kicked my tail! I made mistakes at nearly every step along the way. In the end, it turned out nicely enough. It's for my fiancé. She's happy, so that means I am too.
Happy spouse, happy house, still applies to students, not yet graduated.
Love the box, the Wenge and CM are awesome together, for my $ the cocobolo falls short. I think overall I would like it more with just the 2 base woods, but it is a nice box, no question of that. What was the inspiration? Has elements of Shaker to Contemporary, possibly Asian.
Tell all, build details, hand power tool %, you know the rules.
I like it.
My signature line used to read:
It's only a mistake when you can't fix it...
Someone once told me it's only a mistake if you don't LEARN from it... I keep learning with every project I do... a lot.
Great job.
Inspriation was a box in the book 400 Wood Boxes. I was going to use wenge for the molding, but it's just too brittle to shape nicely. The molding is attached with glue and 23 ga pins. The pic doesn't do the cocobolo justice. There is more visual interest in the coco close-up. I mostly used power tools on this project. Sides were joined to a pine base with loose tenons. I applied a face of wenge to the pine base to complete the "frame" of the front of the box. The back of the box is 1/4" BB pinned into a dado. The back is not intended to be seen. The maple drawer fronts are 1/4" veneer glued to maple boxes. I used maple drawer runners set into grooves in the interior of the sides, which guide into a groove in each drawer. The compartments in the drawers are poplar. I used adhesively backed felt to line the bottom two drawers. The top drawer has a ring holder (Rockler) and the back half of the drawer has a leather lining. The knobs I turned myself on the lathe. My sweetie didn't want ebony - she wanted small knobs. Finish is General Finishes gloss Arm-R-Seal, topped off with Renaissance wax, buffed out. I used hand tools for fitting everything.
Very elegant look, the coco and curly maple. Love the finish as well.
Bob
Well done, Allen!
I like those knobs, but am now confused I had thought them to be Wenge. Very nice turnings. I was almost positive they were lathe turned, and not a knob companies lathe either. The shape, and their slightness looks one of. They explode off of the CM.
This is just the perfect application for some CM in mixed woods for me. Using just a small amount colored naturally, against a darker contrast base. It's either that or the entire piece, and colored, ala Dave Diaman.
Well done indeed Allen. If she's happy, you're happy. I'm happy because it looks great!
Joel
Well done! Very
Seriously nice Allen. Your finish is so good on the wedge that I would have guessed a less porous species.
It's always chancy to mix that many woods, but I think your combination works beautifully, probably because the clean lines of the design keep it pure. Your photo of the cocobolo does not show it off well, but we all know it is a spectacular wood, and your other woods show very well, so I am guessing it is stunning in person.