Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
natural edge box
Latest one. I think the wood may be black locust. It's about 5 1/2 x 3 x 3 1/4 high. I had to band saw it from a small log to get the bark edge and then re-saw the boards to get the edge grain match at
all four edges, using the "inside /out " book matching method. The finish is BLO with shellac using the Beall buffing system that has carnauba for the last step.
Re: natural edge box
Looks good!
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Thanks!.
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Eliot, I love the box, but not the handle on the lid. The natural edge of the sides creates interest and decoration. The handle overwhelms and dominates/distracts from this. Turn the lid upside down and see the difference.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Very creative!
Nice work, Eliot. I don't recall having seen natural edge sides on a box before. It does look like locust.
How did you buff the piece without wiping out all those bark edges?
Thanks for posting.
Ellis
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Because Eliot did a resaw, he achieved a continuous bark edge without height interruptions. WELL DONE!
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Thanks for the upvotes.
But I have to admit that based on this photo, Derek has a fair point: the handle is distracting. In my defense, it's a bad photo, which distorts the size of the top. It's got something to do with the fairly wide cell phone camera lens. A "real" camera with a longer focus lens would be better. I will post some better pictures soon.
On top of everything, Derek has gotten me in big trouble between his aesthetic and that of Claudia, a sculptor, who does especially like the handle!
Re: Very creative!
The bark is on fairly well. Buffing at high speed doesn't seem to bother anything -- as long as you keep the buffing wheel tangent to the surfaces. I don't have to tell anybody about a waiting disaster if you manage to turn an edge into the wheel! I've lost some turnings that way.
Turners are pretty comfortable with working natural edges. It does helps to turn up the speed when turning at a bark interface, though. (Also , here and there, it doesn't hurt to use a little CA glue.)
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Right, the whole idea behind the re-saw is that --when you think about it -- it's nearly the same piece of wood all the way around.
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Claudia vs. Derek......who will win??........who better win (if Eliot is smart)??.........
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You've got that right! There are no tools in the dog house.
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I agree with Derek. I like your idea of using matching bark for the handle, but if it were me, I would reduce the size of the handle to about 1/3 the mass of yours, level out it's height somewhat, and recess the connection between the handle bark and the lid with some smooth wood, so gripping and lifting it with fingers and thumb would look and feel more comfortable and secure.
I love your box, especially the natural bark four-way corner wrap feature. I will "borrow" it from you the next time I encounter an appropriate block of gnarly wood.
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Very thoughtful comments; I appreciate it and will follow yours and Derek's advice. (The handle , though, is not quite as bad as it looks in the photo.) I re-photographed it , but I 'm having trouble sending the image to the site. I'll get it right in a few days. Thanks again.