November 9th 2018 Burned Box

  Recently I picked up at couple of skids from the side of the road (again).  I have made projects from skids in the past but this time I thought I would make an effort to create a slightly nicer project than in the past, and to try out a new technique. 

13 x 14 x 3 inch box

  The soft wood burned nicely and gave a strong contrast colour.  I used a propane torch to burn the wood.  Another time I will  try roasting the wood in an oven or bar-b-q. The spring return hinges were picked because, a: I had a pair in a drawer and b: it eliminates the need for a latch.  I did not prepare the wood as carefully as if I were making a real show piece, this as a knock around storage box for loose craft supplies and such not a real show piece.  The next time I will thickness all the pieces carefully so that assembly will be more neat and polished.  There are no nails or screws in the this box, just glue and 1/8 inch dowels, except for the hinges. 

the short focal length on a camera phone sure
distorts perspective, don't it!

  Since the skid wood is thin and soft I made certain that the inside and bottom of the box got a couple of coats of finish to help it remain as stable as possible.  You can see the result of not planing the wood to a standard thickness, the joint in the middle is fairly ugly. I guess I could line the bottom with cloth  or foam of something.?

  The next box I'm making from skid wood is ever more silly.

  This is box from left overs, all for sides of the box are slightly different thickness, and to make things interesting I am cutting splines to re-enforce and decorate the corners.  I have cut half of these slots by hand, the other half I am going to cut with my table saw jig.  The table saw is just so much more accurate and fast.

  This should be enough wood for the top and bottom of the small box.  I found that the wood was so thin that it originally had a bow in it when I clamped it.  I had to back off the pressure to get it to stay flat. Again it is going to be burned  but before assembly this time.

  Lately I've been working with harder wood and haven't worked with spruce and pine etc in a while. The wild grain and ease of work is nice, the lack of structural strength can be a trouble. Everything is a trade off.

  I have several pieces of this spruce left. What to make next?

cheers, ianw