Jewelry Box Curly Maple and Wenge

Just completed this commission piece for a client who had made a previous purchase. The box measures 14"w x 9"d x 6 1/2" h and is constructed from soft curly maple, also known as ambrosia maple, and wenge (wen-gay). The drawer liners are craft foam and worked out surprisingly well. I wanted something different than the traditional felt.

Shown with the lid and drawers closed, note the shape of the front and rear legs.

The curve of the drawer pulls match the curve of the lid handle giving the viewer the impression that there are 3 drawers.

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My son and daughter in law asked that I build a chair and table set for our grandson for his play room. The table is 24" square and is made of  white limba, a wood I havent used before and chose based on the recommendation of my lumber dealer. It works very much like poplar or soft maple. It is also only $1.80 bd. ft. There is also black limba, a beautiful wood, and is a little more.

I built two chairs and added a walnut strip for a little detail in the seat. I will deliver the set this weekend on our next visit north this weekend. I enjoyed building this set. I had built an identical set for our grand daughter about 7 or 8 years ago.

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Retinal Cryoplexy

Click the above to read the gory details ... irritated tissue, I guess ...
Last Thursday, for the second time in 7 years, I was diagnosed with a detached retina. I had two episodes back in 2003, and it was, again, in the same eye. I had eye surgery yesterday, (Retinal Cryoplexy, FYI), and it went well. Its an astonishing technology .. The surgeon first examined every corner of my eye with a lens thing and a million watt light, which was no picnic in itself. Then he took a little (+/- 1/8th” diameter) probe with a tube that he snaked in behind my eyeball, pushed a pedal, circulated some liquid nitrous oxide through the probe, and froze the s*** out of the back of my eyeball, creating an instant excruciating ice cream headache ... Then he did it again ... Today, right now, 28 hours later, I feel and see normally again. No pain.... This technique could easily eliminate any need for waterboarding, ever. I would have told him ANYTHING if he had threatened to do it a third time. Appropriately, Kit made some sockeye salmon for dinner when we got back home ... All’s well that ends well, but dont try this at home ...

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A Christmas Jewelry Box

Will recently completed this nice jewelry box for a client to give to his wife for Christmas ... It was a surprise, but the cats out of the bag by now Im sure ... It was a nice little project ....Click the photos to enlarge them ... Above is the back side ...
From the front .... We used a piece of figured cherry left from the new trestle table we delivered the weekend before Christmas ... The square trays are about an inch tall and slide side to side or lift out easily ... The mirror was a last minute addition ...
Will did the walnut inlay with the initials on the cnc ...
When he glued up the box, we werent sure whether the outside was to be stained or not. Since the bottom of the drawer and the top compartment are covered with a suede like fabric, we shellacked the interior before the glue up and taped it off for staining and finishing the outside ...
Will fitted up the drawer and installed the hinges before disassembling the box for finishing ...
The dividers, taped off
From the front before finishing ... Weve got a CAD drawing somewhere ... I think its about 10 x 14 x 7 high

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