Small, decorative wooden boxes have been on my ToDo list for quite some time and this week I finally got to make one! This was a fun project and I can see myself making more.

It is made of Maple with Padauk for the lid and bottom. The corners are accented with Padauk splines and the underside of the lid is trimmed with Maple. It measures approximately 2 3/4″ tall, 5 1/2″ long and 3″ deep. The sides are about 1/4″ in thickness. It is finished with beeswax.

I guess the thing that has always interested me about making boxes is the amount of variety of boxes that one can make. Your imagination is really the only limit. You can change the size of the box, the wood you use, you can mix and match woods, use different corner styles, use different types of lids and so on.

Here are a couple of more photos of this box showing different views:

Continue reading 'A Maple And Padauk Box With Splines'

You know by now that I enjoy keeping track of any woodworking tips that I come across by regularly posting them in the Woodworking Tips And Tidbits section of Woodworkers Guide. Well, if you have any tips of your own Christopher Schwarz over Woodworking Magazine Weblog has just announced a contest for your best woodworking tip, trick or shortcut!

Yep, Woodworking Magazine, the one that has no advertisements, is holding a contest for the best tip and the winner will receive a restored Millers Falls 2A drill from Wiktor Kuc! Runners-up will get their Shortcuts published in a coming issue and receive a one-year subscription (or renewal) to Woodworking Magazine.

Contest entries are due by midnight Friday, Aug. 22, 2008 so head over to the contest announcement page and submit your entry today! Oh, btw, to give you an idea of some good tips you can download a free page of them from their Fall issue!

Check it out by clicking here.

Good luck!

Back to the shop…

1. Create a ‘measuring stick’ for checking box squareness from an old telescoping antenna. Point each end to fit accurately in a corner.

2. Add a strip of fine sandpaper to your Table Saw’s miter fence for added grip.

3. Throw a couple of silica-gel packets in your biscuit storage jars to minimize the biscuits from swelling due to humidity. You can usually find silica-gel packets in product packing boxes.

4. Sanding small pieces of wood? Tape a piece of sandpaper to your workbench. This will hold your wood in place while you machine sand it.

5. If you have to leave a green wood turning for a while wrap it tightly in plastic food wrap. This will keep it from drying out too quickly.

These are just a few tips that I picked up over this past week. They come from a variety of sources including books, magazines, newsletters, online and from personal experience.

There are more Woodworking Tips and Tidbits located here.

Got a woodworking tip that you want to share? Let me know and I’ll add it in a future issue of Tips and Tidbits!

Back to the shop…

You may remember the announcement back in June about the upcoming Lumberjocks Woodworking Awards 2008 that was being held over at the Lumberjocks website. Well, the project submissions were made, the voting was done and the results were tallied!

The winning projects were selected from a total of 84 submissions in the online voting held from Aug 4 to Aug 7. There were 211 votes by 110 voters cast during this period.

Winners of the Best Overall Lumberjock Award went to:
1st Place – GaryK
2nd Place – Michael Brailsford
3rd Place – Karson

Winners of the One Man`s Junk Contest:
1st Place – Rex Billiard Table by Michael Brailsford
2nd Place – My Woodworking Bench from Salvage Materials by Karson
3rd Place – ‘Safety’ A Clamp made from a shipping crate by GaryK

Winners of the Serve It Up With Class Contest:
1st Place – A Faberge Inspired Serving Tray by GaryK
2nd Place – Woven Cutting Board by DAN
3rd Place – Fleur de lis Tray by CharlieM1958

Click here to view the winners and their projects.

This truly was a fun contest and the first time that I have ever participated in anything like it. Sadly, my entry with the Birdhouse Benches came in last place of the 68 submissions for the One Man’s Junk category. But hey, how can it be considered a loss when they were up against such great entries! In fact, I’m now referring to them as the “Last Place Winner” of the Summer 2008 LumberJocks Woodworking Awards!

Just wait until next time… yeah… next time…

Back to the shop…