Christmas Boxes
#5
The Daughter in Oklahoma called before Christmas and said they all wanted boxes from Grumpy for Christmas, and the Daughter in Richmond said they wanted a toy box for the granddaughter for Christmas.  I was already working on the toy box when the OK daughter called, and since those three boxes would have to be shipped... (not likely)... or delivered our next trip out... they were willing to wait... I said that was fine.

The toy box for the granddaughter in Richmond, was going to be a real Grumpy Box... I carved Grumpy to put on the front, so she'd always remember where it came from.  She's two, but sharp and loved the box.
   


The box is made from Maple Cabinet Grade Ply, Walnut trim and the letters and Grumpy are hand formed.  The Walnut trim all came from a single slab all formed and shaped with hand tools, including some antique forming planes from Lee Valley's collection.  The Name behind the Granddaughter under the lid is her Nickname... Izzy, from Isla.

Next up is the box for my OK daughter, made from an offcut from the walnut slab, where the bark made stains on the walnut that looked like dragon scales to me.  I knew I had to do something with it as it was unique.  It became the lid to my daughter's box.
   
The trays for that box were made from mahogany with bottoms of knotty pine and purple heart.  I wanted each box to be special.
   

Next up was the box for the son-in-law.  His was walnut and spaulted maple.  The spaulted maple came from a tree we planted when we first moved to the farm... and had to cut down just a few years ago due to it's death from bug infestation.  I have made several boxes and other projects from the wood I salvaged from it's loss.
   
The two trays inside have bottoms of spaulted maple 
   

The last box for the OK group is the bandsaw box for the granddaughter in OK.  We call her Hurricane Jo since as a youngster she was always in motion and left a path of destruction behind.  She is 13 now, and a brilliant kid.  That makes her easily bored, and hard to occupy.  She is home schooled and drives her mother nuts, but basically a good 'un.

Her box is made from a pattern I've seen here on WN, called Sassy.  I blended Oak and Walnut and the box turned out pretty well since I haven't made a bandsaw box in a decade.  I made the knobs for the drawers from leftover cutoffs from the original block using plug cutters and then hand shaped the final knob shapes with strips of sandpaper.  

   

We hope to get out to OK to deliver the boxes this summer or fall, but every time we have planned the trip, something has come up.  We don't want to ship them because they are irreplaceable. LOL.  Jess said they can wait.  They have seen the pics, and they are worth waiting for. Good kids.
Jim in Okie
You can tell a lot about the character of a man -
By the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.
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#6
(06-05-2018, 11:26 AM)BrokenOlMarine Wrote: The Daughter in Oklahoma called before Christmas and said they all wanted boxes from Grumpy for Christmas, and the Daughter in Richmond said they wanted a toy box for the granddaughter for Christmas.  I was already working on the toy box when the OK daughter called, and since those three boxes would have to be shipped... (not likely)... or delivered our next trip out... they were willing to wait... I said that was fine.

The toy box for the granddaughter in Richmond, was going to be a real Grumpy Box... I carved Grumpy to put on the front, so she'd always remember where it came from.  She's two, but sharp and loved the box.

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I would add this safety hinge to prevent the lid from slamming on the child's hands.  Rockler has them.  I think it is an easy retrofit.

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No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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#7
Very fine work!    Sounds like a happy family coming up!
Chris
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#8
(06-05-2018, 11:43 AM)Cooler Wrote: I would add this safety hinge to prevent the lid from slamming on the child's hands.  Rockler has them.  I think it is an easy retrofit.

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The hinges installed are torx hinges from Rockler and were $50 for the pair, purchased for the weight of the lid.  If you open the lid 45 degrees and let go, it stays.  Open it 90 and let go... it stays.  Less than 30 degrees?  The lid closes... but ever... sooooo.... slowly. 
Yes   Worth every penny.  Izzy loves the box, it holds all her downstairs toys, and she loves to sit on the closed lid and look out the window or "read" her Dr. Seuss books. 
Smirk
Jim in Okie
You can tell a lot about the character of a man -
By the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.
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