treasure!

Aren't blogs a place for unbridled self promotion sometimes?

That's what I thought. So let the self-congratulation begin, if you please. 

Back in the fall my husband, hereafter referred to as Phil because it's easier to type, not an indictment of his SuperHubbiness, and I began working on a wood project that was destined to be a gift for the wedding we attending this past weekend.

After Craig and Lisa shared their happy news with us, we began tinkering with ideas for their treasure box. This is probably the fourth treasure box we've made for soon-to-be-married friends and we really enjoy the process of coming up with the right design, choosing the wood and putting it all together.  

After much deliberation of wood choice, which involved lots of sawdust and planing a variety of woods - purple heart, canary wood, basswood, padauk to name a few, to see how the colors, tones and textures meshed, we finally decided that we really liked how the bloodwood and two varieties of Indonesian mahogany complimented each other.

Once the wood selection was made there was more sawdust to be created, much noise from the table saw and router along with many hours cuddled up to the belt sander for a silky smooth finish. Those hours looked exactly like this:

And after all of the measuring and sawing and joining and gluing and sanding, the pieces were put together like an intricate puzzle and what we had was this:

See how it glows?

Look at those colors!

That smudge in almost the exact center of all the images? My fingerprint on the camera lens.

Sigh.

 Look at those lovely lovely lines and sleek profile!

And what would a treasure chest be without a pile of gold coins nestled inside?

It's our tradition, when we make a treasure box, to load it up with gold one dollar coins.

Who doesn't like sparkly coins?

See how it shines?


Giggles made the cake topper for her beloved Uncle Craig's wedding. 




He's a Star Trek junkie so it required a uniform and some Spock Ears. Of course it would not have been complete without the proper representation of the Bride's long golden locks.

A treasure box for the newlyweds!


 

Ain't it pretty?

There, It's out of my system now. 

with the grain

Look how pretty!

Just look at the colors, the grain, the texture in these pieces of wood. They glow and shimmer and I just want to pet them. Because they are so smooth and shiny. See?

more mystery super hard wood

I love wood. The colors, the patterns, the smell of it. Creating something pretty, durable and useful with it.

mystery super hard wood

Bloodwood

These are for a super secret special project underway in the wood workshop/garage.

We used to spend many many hours in this space before heinous chaos crashed into our world, then SuperHubby's back blew out, which further prevented us from making a lot of sawdust.

But, BUT! now we are back to creating fabulous messes and fumbling around with power tools and wicked sharp instruments.

One year we made chinese checker sets out of spalted cherry and gave them to friends and family as Christmas gifts. There is such satisfaction in giving a gift that was made by your hands and knowing that it will be enjoyed and treasured. It's also so damn fun.

My guy and I, we really enjoy woodworking together, discussing designs, the woods to use, the partnership of tasks. Sometimes he hogs the belt sander though. But I'm a little possessive of the chisels, so it's a trade off. After spending several hours playing in the workshop/garage, I may have stiff hands and muscle aches but I'm relaxed and have a sense of accomplishment.

The mystery hardwood is from pallets, reclamation wood really, and it has some of the most beautiful coloring and shine when sanded I've ever seen in wood. It's also has such a tight grain structure that cutting it burns out blades faster than I've ever encountered. But the finished surface is so spectacular that the cost of blades isn't so hard to choke down. Silk smooth with what can only be called a shimmering gloss.

The first project we made with the mystery super hardwood was a shelf unit that was meant for CD's. it sat, unused, in the workshop for about six years before Ace decided it was perfect for his room and took possession of it. He was right. It holds his signed baseball collection pretty handily now doesn't it?

This is the first time I've worked with bloodwood and when it's cut a spicy aroma emanates from the wood that reminds me a forest on a crisp autumn day. The air was redolent with that scent as we sanded several planks. It stays with you too as the dust creeps up your nose if you're foolish enough to forget to wear a mask while sanding. I sneezed bloodwood dust for two days.

Sneak peek of the project underway. I think the two different woods look very attractive together, don't they?





Super Secret Project





Super Secret Project without flash





Now if I could only figure out how to put the lathe back together again.