A box for my dad's beam compass

[Tom Sontag]

My dad only left me a few drafting tools (he was a structural engineer). One of them was a quite nice beam compass made by Keuffer and Essel of stainless steel. It fits together like the finely made machinery it is and no doubt would draw a nice round circle, although I have not had the need. Still, it sat in this pathetic plastic box made worse by several half hearted tape repair jobs. So, I made a new home for it.

I had a cool piece of 8/4 soft maple with ambrosia stains and wild inconsistent blistery curl that gave me a chance to try my hand at a wooden hinge. I used African Blackwood accents, a piece of aluminum (did not have any stainless around), and black acrylic paint. I kept the bottom from the original 'box' primarily because it reminded me that the K&E Beam Compass' "quality is professional and its price is moderate".

First is the old and new boxes side by side. The new one is on your right.

Next is a shot of the bottom and wooden hinge, followed by the contents.

[Tom Cowie]

Beautiful work Tom!!

I have some maple that looks similar I hope that I can use it as well as you have .

A fantastic piece of wood like that deserves to be made into something special....

Tom

[Pete Brown]

Beautiful box, well executed and beautiful wood.

I'm building my kitchen cabinets out of that type of maple, but the piece you have is an especially eye-catching piece. I love the swirl of figure on the top

That beam compass definitely has a better home now

Pete

PS. What was your finish? Looks water-based by the overall clarity and the fill in the worm holes. Very nice.

[Roy Wall]

Tom - Beautiful work.....nicely done.... a very satisfying project no doubt!

[Mike Henderson]

Wow - that's *really* nice. A wonderful way to preserve your dad's beam compass. I really like the way you inlaid the tools and the wooden hinges.

Mike

[Howard Rosenberg]

And what a fitting tribute to your Dad's gear!

Howard

BTW - care to fill us in on some of the techniques related to the integral hinge?

[Doug Shepard]

Ausgezeichnet!

[Tom Sontag]

Pete: just a little Bartley's gel varnish. I love that stuff.

Howard: the hinge is simply a brass rod buried in a hole drilled through the side supports and the protruding portion of the lid (the hinge itself). That reads terribly; just drill a starter hole, line up the second piece, and drill through to the other side. Slide in a rod and cap the end.

Doug: Gesundheit

[Jim Dunn]

Tom that's just beautiful. Where was that piece of wood when I was by to look at your stack. Hidden I'll bet As it should of been.

[Gary Herrmann]

Ambrosia and curl. Dang, I need to get back down there.

Very nice job on the box. Probably felt as good as it looks to make it. The hinges are a great touch - I've been meaning to try that.

I think you should turn the next box you make.

[Frank Chaffee]

Tom, that is an extraordinarily beautiful case for your inherited compass. While I hope you find a need to use it someday (drafting is to CAD as Neander tools are to CAD-CAM), I am glad to see that you revere it so.

[Corey Hallagan]

That's great Tom, beautiful work!

Corey

[Tom Cowie]

Hey Tom

Here is some of the Maple that I was posting about.
box1.JPGbox2.JPG
box3.JPGbox4.JPG

this was a " trial and error " project. I won't use the "purple heart" with this combination again . I can't get the pix's to show the figure in the wood. It is very good...

Tom

[Tom Sontag]

Hey Tom, That is awesome wood. I know the feeling! You did a nice job wrapping that figure around the corner. What's in it?

[Don Bullock]

Both boxes are beautiful. The wood choice is excellent. I guess one of the main reasons I'm getting back into woodworking is that I love the natural grain patterns and enjoy trying to incorporate them into a project. It's such a relaxing change from our "plastic" world.