Christmas 2017

[Mrfish55]

Only three boxes made it out of the shop this Christmas season, two of which are a book matched pair, put side by side the grain matches both on the tops and fronts. One for my parents and one for the in laws



Spalted birds eye maple top, spalted quilted maple body, handle is fumed copper. Box is 10”x7”x4” First time I’ve incorporated a soft close mechanism so the lid can’t slam shut

 

[Tony]

Just beautiful! Tony

 

[rocky1]

Beautiful box! Love the liner as well

 

[Mike1950]

NICE box

 

[Texasstate]

Wow that’s beautiful

 

[NYWoodturner]

Wow. Absolutely gorgeous. Another testament to the fact that handmade gifts are the way to go. Someone will be very pleased

 

[Smitty]

Your parents and your in-laws are going to love them.

 

[The100road]

Wow! Very very nice. Awesome gift.

 

[woodman6415]

Wow .. beautiful... heirlooms

 

[Karl_TN]

Gorgeous use of the figured maple and copper handles. Did you make the handles by bending solid copper, and would you mind describing the fuming process? Thanks...

 

[Nature Man]

Perfect gifts! They will cherish them! Chuck

 

[Mrfish55]

Gorgeous use of the figured maple and copper handles. Did you make the handles by bending solid copper, and would you mind describing the fuming process? Thanks...

Handles are 1/4” copper water line, I bend slightly and grind ends flush, then epoxy 1/8” threaded rod in the hollow to fix onto box. Fuming is simple, scrub spotless clean using fine sandpaper and windex, spray with salt water and then suspend in a sealed container with a paper towel in the bottom soaked in ammonia (best do it outside, stinks) let sit until you are happy with color, let dry 24hrs and then clear coat. Careful not to touch as the oxidation is very fragile.
If you add vinegar to your salt mix it will turn green. Fancy custom handles for dirt cheap, I figure they cost me less than $1 each to make

 

[Karl_TN]

@Mrfish55 Thanks for info. Now I need to find my stash of old copper plumbing parts to try this out. Did you use a pipe bender to get the nice curve in the handle?

 

[Ray D]

Beautiful work.

 

[Mrfish55]

@Mrfish55 Thanks for info. Now I need to find my stash of old copper plumbing parts to try this out. Did you use a pipe bender to get the nice curve in the handle?

No, the line I used was soft copper (used for hooking up water to refrigerators) I just cut a wood blank the shape I wanted and hand bent it over that. Hard copper line would need a bender

 

[JR Parks]

Dave great box and great info on the handle. Since we are after all your secrets where did you find the soft close and did it meet your expectations. And if you have cut the paisley from an old pair of jean it dates you!!!!

 

[pinky]

Beautiful!!! Curious as to the finish.

 

[Mrfish55]

Got a couple pics of the pair before they are separated. The one for my inlaws is getting shipped out today



The sparkle at the bottom of the last pic is reflection of chandelier, super high gloss finish on the lid top only

 

[Mrfish55]

Dave great box and great info on the handle. Since we are after all your secrets where did you find the soft close and did it meet your expectations. And if you have cut the paisley from an old pair of jean it dates you!!!!

The fabric was found at a local fabric shop, soft close plunger is from a cabinet shop, works good but is bigger than I would like. Nice you can drop the lid and it gently and quietly close, these lids are pretty heavy

 

[Mrfish55]

Beautiful!!! Curious as to the finish.

Finish is a two part self level epoxy on the top, the spalted maple was quite soft so I wanted good protection. The main body of the box is two coats of tung oil to enhance color and then 6 coats of wipe on poly. Sanded between coats and then buffed/waxed. As usual the pictures do it no justice, these need to be seen and held, one of my favourite boxes to date. All were very well received. The one I gave my parents is still sitting in the middle of the dining room table, not added to the shrine containing the other 100 boxes in the collection ( mom gets the first box from every new design I do )