Keepsake Box Finally Finished!

[Jim VanBramer]

Hi guys ...
I'm not really new around here, but I've never posted pictures before, so here goes!

Well, I finally finished the keepsake box I was making for my Mom's Christmas present (good thing too, cuz it has to go out UPS in the morning!). This isn't necessarily that intricate a piece of woodworking, but it was alot of fun to see it come together. I made it from a piece of maple burl that was in a guys wood pile just waiting for the next cool night .. that would have been a real shame after seeing what it finished up like.

Using my bandsaw I cut the top and bottom of the piece off, drilled a hole and jigsawed the center out, then sanded and glued the bottom back on. I used hidden barrel hinges from Rockler that really look nice and work great. After sanding to 220 I wiped on some BLO, let it dry for a day and then put on 5-6 coats of wipe on poly, using 0000 steel wool in between coats.

Merry Christmas to you all!!!

[Betsy Yocum]

Jim - that is one coooooolll box. I like it a lot. I'm sure Mom will like it a lot. I'm sure UPS will delivery it time.

Happy holidays.
Betsy

[Mark Stutz]

That is just fantastic. At one time in my woodworking career i probably would have cut off the natural edge , but I've since learned better! If only I could find something like that in a firewood pile!

How did you treat the natural edge? Same finish as the rest?

Absolutely stunning!

[Mark Singer]

I think it is really great!!!! It is kind of a surprise that it even opens! Wonderful!

[Dale Thompson]

Jim,
Talent like yours makes me want to jump off of my dock and drown myself!! However, I tried that last night. It didn't work! The river is frozen and all I got was a sprained shoulder and a twisted knee! I hope that you and others with talent like yours are happy!! VERY nice work!!

Dale T.

[Michael Stafford]

Lovely box, Jim! I have used those hinges for my boxes in the past but never on irregularly shaped pieces. How did you locate the holes, from one end, the square end? Or did you use a template with holes to locate the drill?

Nice box, nice surprise!

[Bill Arnold]

Jim,

I'm not sure what to say! WOW just doesn't seem to be enough. Great idea and fantastic work!

Regards,

[Jim VanBramer]

Thanks for all the kind words, fellas. I think what I like the most about this piece is the contrast of the wood in a nicely finished state vs what it looked like in nature.

Dale - Sorry to hear about the injuries! May I offer a recommendation? I grew up in North Dakota and know all about that solid water thing. Next time you just need to find something higher to jump from than your dock. You still might not break through, but the injuries will be bad enuf you'll end up in the hospital where they can give you some good meds that'll help you forget the whole thing!

Mike - After some trial and error with a test box I found that the best way to get those hinges in was to drill the holes when the wood was in a very rough, rectangular box shape. Then I just shaped things around that.

[Wes Newman]

Wow Jim, that is one fantastic box. I would feel honored to put my change in that.

[Steve Jenkins]

Fantastic,
I think you better get over there and give that wood pile a good going over.

[Jim Becker]

Oh how very kewel! And a great way to use every part of an expensive burl, too. Those of us who turn will often have such cut-offs available. You did a wonderful job on this box!!!

[Jim Young]

That looks awesome. I would like to find some of that stuff around here.

[Jim Stastny]

I'm quite impressed. You've got a good eye for the use of unusual wood.

[Roger Barga]

Jim, nice work. you turned that piece of wood into a piece of art.
roger

[Lynn Sonier]

Allow me to add my ohs and ahs! Very interesting work, work of art.