3 posts tagged “small wooden box”
Whenever I finish a project that my wife has been patiently waiting a long time for me to get done, I jokingly say, "There, done! See, all you had to do was ask me." She normally rolls her eyes in response.
I've discovered something about myself that has taken a long time to admit. When it comes to a project that I am not particularly excited to do, I develop a mental block toward it. I mean by this that I invent reasons and excuses why I don't get started. It's too hard for me, or, I don't know how to do it, or, I don't have the skills, or, there are many other tasks that are a priority, or, or,.... Well, you get the idea.
So July has been a good month for me.
I finished one of these long delayed projects, repairing a door frame and the flooring beneath it, leading into my office. Yes, for the past five years, since the day we first moved into our current home I have been stepping over this eye-sore, rationalising why I couldn't fix it. It turned out not to be that hard once I got started.
And I finally got back to repair an error I made when making my Rocking
Finally, I also designed and entered a small wooden box into the LumberJocks Summer '07 Challenge. The category I entered was the joinery section. The peculiar rules of this category required that any entry had to feature 'glueless' joinery without the aid of mechanical fasteners. In other words, the project had to hold together on the design and construction of its joints. You can read more about this challenge here. It placed third in the joinery section of the competition.
One of the things I like about woodworking, is that there are always new challenges, techniques to master, and skills to learn. Now, although I like this, it doesn't mean that I find the process easy. In fact, sometimes it's plain frustration. But, I suppose it's the steep learning curve that makes is so rewarding once the new becomes familiar.
cut the timber from old recycled Red Gum fence posts. (This is a beautiful timber with a deep red colour, dense grain, and is resistant to rot and insects.) I recently acquired an Incra Ultra Lite router jig. It's about time that I started to push the boundaries and learned to make some of the special joints this device is designed for.
Well, to cut to the chase, after three hours, I had nothing to show for my hard work but mismatched pieces and lots of wood chips. But that's not quite true - I also learned in the process. I learned what not to do. Tomorrow, I will start again, but not from scratch, I now have experience that will prevent me from making the same mistakes. I have used the following as a tag line, and it certainly applies here.
Woodworking is one of my passions. And making small boxes is what I enjoy making most. It has been said that most woodworking is making boxes. If you think about it, a chest of drawers is a box, as is a bedside table, a side-board, a china cabinet, even perhaps a coffee table. So when I make small boxes, I am encountering most, if not all, the challenges I would face in making larger furniture items.
The major difference is one of scale. In fact, it could be argued that making a small box is the pursuit of perfection. Not that I've achieved this, but a minor error is much more noticeable in a small wooden box than the same error would be in a larger furniture piece. Additionally, there are two other obvious advantages in working small boxes, because the scale is smaller, so is the 'consumption' and cost of timber. Unfortunately, making items from timber results in the destruction on up to 2/3rds of the original stock. This is so because of end cuts, sawdust, mistakes, etc., etc. Consequently, my cost and wastage is minimised. I can make maybe 20 small boxes from the same material required to make a small end-table, for example.
You might argue that an end-table is useful, whereas a small wooden box may not be. Well, I guess the answer to that is your definition of 'useful'. Things like jewellery boxes, or boxes to hold important documents, humidors, are just a few examples of boxes that have a definite application, or use. But I would take my argument further. Does a decorative vase, or a beautifully painted landscape have a 'use'? In one sense - no. But, of course their value is intrinsic. Their use is to exist for their own sake adding to the beauty of life and enriching us as a result.
