Plane box but not a plain box

[BillK]

Here's a little maple box that I made for my latest block plane that I posted about a few days ago in the Smoothing hand plane thread.

This box features a rescued piece of curly maple firewood for the top and some Maine Sugar Maple that ScottP helped identify for me. Thanks scottp!

Simple aspired dome for the top. Sine wave on a two rail sweep for the front to bring out as many flames of the the maple curls as possible. The sugar maple is mesmerizing, you could spend an hour looking at the spalt and grain patterns. I love putting a bend into it to see what happens.

I cut the dovetails by hand, I think they blend in well on the front.

Thanks for reading!

Wish we weren't limited to lower resolution, but still shines through with 2MP.

[garylmast]

Cool looking box. Good job.

[BillK]

Thanks Gary.

[scottp55]

T'ain't half bad Bill........for a chunk of firewood and some moldy/fungused scavenged boards

VERY glad you didn't send me that "Sine Curve" pic to identify!!
You would have gotten a LOT of Maybe/Possibly/Might Be/ and a Beats Me
MUCH easier seeing the full boards in your friends pick-up bed! (NICE having friends keep any eye out for wood for you!)
The boards cleaned up Purty!!
You'd pay a pretty penny in a hardwood store(IF you could find it) for some of that spalt and figure!

Well Done Bill!!
scott

Oh...you should show pic of the truck bed pic!

[BillK]

Ok Scott, so here's the documented life of that front.

Here's the arrival in the truck. Nice bit of fungus growing, but I'm told the board indicated was stored inside for a while. Note the knot in the circle.

Now here is the same board, note the knot, after I hit it with a jack plane and wiped a little mineral spirits on it. This is the pic I sent to scottp55.

A little more milling and cut to length with the top which was a chunk of firewood that I also made two spoons and a spatula from.

After Aspiring and CNC'ing.

Finally after dovetailing.

The board was about 7/8 thick by 6 inches wide by 10 ft long cut into three piece to fit inside the bed. It cost $10. The front of the box is 9 inches long so that 75 cents worth. The top was about 25 cents of firewood.

[scottp55]

Thanks Bill,
I always like to see the progression of a project
Can't help wondering if you picked up any of those other boards?

Email me you're mailing address and I'll send a check for $3(+ shipping) with my shipping address
Oh...thanks for pic in Smoothing Plane thread with pic of your Plane Till....add to my projects and free up 2 shelves of horizontal space in my cabinets!
scott

[BillK]

Wellllll, considering the material cost of the box, that might be a fair offer...unless you’re looking for a stick of the wood? At any rate, it does not include the plane!

[scottp55]

I ought to be more careful Bill:)
All my Branch/Firewood stuff would have to sell for .00 cents
Got a guy down the street a mile that just started dragging logs from his property for firewood.....Think I'll meander down someday and scope it out and maybe dicker
I got 6 raises from Dad in 4 years, most doubled my salary, and two were triple raises, but still my wage was Zero
Looking forward to what else you make!
scott

[Creation in Wood]

Creative thinking for the box design

[jay pieper]

Nice play on words for your subject matter, I'll give you four stars for that.
On the plane box that's 5 out of five stars from me.
Absolutely one of the best thought out projects I've seen in awhile. I really
like the way you laid out the pieces to maximize the grain patterns.
Great job Bill.

[BillK]

Thank you very much. I really wanted to expose as many of the flames from the quilting as I could. It really sparkles from all angles. I was able to deliver it last week and the box and plane were very well received.

[scottp55]

And the reception of a gift, is the reason we run through the hoops
He'll treasure that unique combo if he has an ounce of brains!!
WELL DONE Bill!!
scott
(what's next Bill )

[BillK]

Thanks Scott. Yes, planning and executing a nice gift is great inspiration for creativity.

As far as what's next I did pull about four pieces from my two cords of firewood, we'll see on them.

I've been at the computer working on a new smoother plane design. Not quite there yet for carving but I'm really liking the details on it.

I also have a design I'm waiting to cut on of a saw vise.

I was gifted a 3' by 6' used maple bench top. I spent a lot of time scraping down the top after I cut it down to 2' x 6'. Along the front and back edge I folded over the cut off and laminated it into a 3 1/2" thickness. Its 1 3/4" in the middle. I've been working on making the tail vise out of maple and want to add a little CNC fancification to it. I made bread board ends draw bored with a slice of walnut on the faces. Getting ready to work on the base also from some old growth fir again recycled from my late Uncle's old workbench.

[scottp55]

Nice on the firewood for future projects(only 4 pieces in 2 cord? Must be special:)

2 new designs to see, and make sure to show bench with vise when finished
Haven't touched machine in Weeks...taking advantage of house staining and caulking temps during the day and winterizing....Can't wait to cut again.

[BillK]

4 pieces of more of that curly Maple. Seemed like there are more pieces with potential and I’ll get them during the second inspection that I just started with the first fire in the stove this season.

I’ll give a little preview in process on the bench top. Just moved it on top of the old bench and off the saw horses, you can see the tail vise in process. Solid Maple, walnut on the bread board ends.