Second Beads of Courage box
John K Jordan
This is my second Beads of Courage box (container?)
Made from a big end-grain block of yellow poplar I cut about 10 years ago from a downed tree on my farm. Y.poplar is not the most beautiful wood in the world but it was on the shelf and it was pretty dry.
I decided to try embedding a little wind-up music box in the lid as a surprise. The music box is fastened to a thin cherry disk with double-sided tape and the disk fastened to the lid with small brass screws.
I've been saving the red and white metal pin for years, waiting for a special occasion. I turned the knob, flattened the sides on the bandsaw, then drilled both sides with forstner bits to hold the logo bead and pin. The knob is fastened to the lid with a wood screw and epoxy.
The bottom of the box is rather thick to make it bottom-heavy and less likely to tip over. The lid and container lip are beveled significantly to make the lid easy to take off and put back.
BTW, as an experiment I turned this inside and out with the Hunter large Hercules tool, in the bevel-rubbing mode outside, used exactly like a bowl gouge. Drilled a 1" hole down the middle with a taper bit to speed hollowing. A curved negative-rake scraper smoothed up the inside a little. Finish is one coat of lacquer sanding sealer and three-four coats of rattle-can satin lacquer.
JKJ
