Cocobolo box....

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Big Mike

New User
Mike
I feel bad that I spend more time lurking on here and not posting as I have a lot of work, particularly turnings that I have not shared with you guys.

Having said that I fear people get tired of seeing my addiction to turned wooden boxes. I am completely obsessed with turning the perfect wooden box. Here is one in cocobolo, not perfect by any means, but at least I thought it was pretty all said and done.

Anyway, this box is 2 3/4" in diameter and in height. Sanded till it was really smooth and waxed and buffed.
 

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DaveO

New User
DaveO
Mike, that looks pretty perfect to me. Your grain match is flawless, and form exquisite. How could anyone tire of looking at such beautiful pieces of woodwork. I can completely understand your obsession with perfection, I too strive to turn something perfect....you're just a whole lot closer than I am or might ever be :lol:

Dave:)
 

Travis Porter

Travis
Corporate Member
That looks awesome. Seems strange that these are called a box as they are not square. How do you turn the top since it goes to a point? Do you do all of the fitting to the lower half first? Can you mount the pointed part in a chuck or something?
 

NZAPP1

New User
Nick
Gary
Go to the down load library under woodturning. Mike has been kind enough to post a very in-depth tutorial on box turning. IIRC it is almost 100 pages with 4 or 5 different types of boxes.


Mike Very impressive as allways :icon_thum
 

ChrisMathes

New User
Chris Mathes
Mike, that is very pretty. I love cocobola...always looks nice... It seems that cocobola typically is more orange-ish or more reddish. I always lean toward the red as I think it is much nicer.

Anyway...please keep posting...and if you truly worry about people tiring of your pictures, PM them to me. I really enjoy seeing your work. Lucky for you, you live all the way across the state...otherwise I would be begging you to teach me some of what you've learned!

What do you use to finish your box?...just wax? I like the details in that box with the matching grain, the tenon that fits into the lid and the recessed inside of the lid. The proportion also seems perfect...what did you say you needed to work on?

Cheers,
Chris
 

sapwood

New User
Roger
Mike,
It's always refreshing to see quality craftsmanship! Please keep on turning and posting :eusa_pray

Roger
 

Big Mike

New User
Mike
Thank you all, I do appreciate the feedback. It just seems that so few people turn boxes and I interpret that as meaning there is little interest in boxes so I don't want to bore folks with something they are not interested in. I don't know if that makes sense or not...

Chris, on cocobolo, generally the wood is so oily that wax is the best finish after sanding to a very fine finish. This box was sanded to 12000 using wax as a lubricant so wax was the choice of finish as well. I wish you lived nearby as I would love to teach you how to turn boxes.

Travis, take a look at the tutorial as that does a better job of explaining the process than I can do here in a response. Near the end is a section on turning an end grain lidded box. If you read that I think you will understand the process better. I find turning a box from a single piece of wood to be very challenging. The design process for me is the hardest part because trying to come up with the best shape to display the grain in the wood is the real challenge. Then executing the design becomes the problem.

Thanks again for looking. Try box turning, you'll like it.:icon_thum
 

Travis Porter

Travis
Corporate Member
I think you see so few turn boxes as so few know how to turn boxes. Always LOVE to see what you have coming out next.

I'm going to check out the tutorial. I have done 2 turnings now, a miniature baseball bat (always the first thing to turn), and a mallet. The mallet turned out to be fairly fun.
 

dozer

Moderator
Mike
One of these days I might have to follow Mikes lead an try to turn one of those lidded boxes, I'll have to follow his tutorial also. I'm just looking for that perfect piece of wood.
 

ChrisMathes

New User
Chris Mathes
Here is one in cocobolo, not perfect by any means, but at least I thought it was pretty all said and done.

Mike...I have been admiring this picture all day, and I have to say that I am embarrassed that I was so impressed. :oops::oops::oops: You are correct, it is not perfect. It looks like the bottom was turned at 84 degrees to the bottom. 83 would have been a much better ratio! :-D:rolf:

I definately will be reading that tutorial...I have turned 1 box, but it was with the help of a beal chuck...a little different than this beauty!

Cheers,
Chris
 

Terry

New User
Terrence P. Rielly
Mike,
The box is beautiful and such care was taken to make the grain fall in place. Sometimes when we try to be perfectionist we don't stop to take a second look and realize in trying to be that perfectionist we have created a masterpiece adorned and admired by others. You have a masterpiece in your work and I can see you enjoy doing it. Please show us more in the future. I have some Cocobolo wood I want to use in making a mantle clock I am toying with. But like you, if I don't like the design I try to improve it. Again Mike, a job well done and very beautiful,:eusa_clap Thanks for sharing with us. Terry:icon_chee :thumbsup:
 

erasmussen

RAS
Corporate Member
Thank you all, I do appreciate the feedback. It just seems that so few people turn boxes and I interpret that as meaning there is little interest in boxes so I don't want to bore folks with something they are not interested in. I don't know if that makes sense or not...

IMHO there is always interest in beautiful work like that:)
That is really a masterpeice:eusa_clap
 

cskipper

Moderator
Cathy
Mike, that is truly stunning. I'll never get tired of seeing your work. Someday I would like to get time to learn how to make these from you.
 
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