Here's My Woodworking!
by Rick Voss
Harrison, ID
Click on any picture to see a larger version.
I got serious into woodworking over the last 10 yrs or so and started playing with exotics from around the world. You have to try harder and pay more attention to your work cause if you mess up you can't just throw it in the shop stove, not at today's prices. I keep all my cut offs because they will be a part of something some day.
My father was a woodworker and in his spare time, he was a Doctor. He was an old fashioned Iowa country doctor who still made house calls until he retired at 69 years old. I must have paid some attention to what he taught me cause I still remember quite a bit of it. I know he taught me because it was easier than having to keep sewing me up, he used to say. He is now woodworking up in the big shop in the sky and keeping an eye on me. Boy I sure miss him.
The projects below are a few of the things that keep me out of my wife's way and the dog house, and always remind me that I really did pay attention to my Dad's lessons even when he thought I wasn't.
I make all sizes of jewelry boxes, humidors, keepsake and trinket boxes. Oh yeah and the "I have to have one of those things" that the wife wants. I have a small shop in North Idaho about 50 ft from the lake where I live so it gives me inspiration every day I go to the shop to play/work.
The next photos show a cherry humidor I made. I know it will draw questions, but the wood for the main body is Cherry and it is "Ambrosia". A lot of you will call bull, but I did a fair amount of research on it when I found it in a bundle of Cherry I purchased. The Beetle that attacks Maples when they die will attack a lot of hardwoods, mainly Maples but on rare occasions Cherry also. The top of the box was some very nice grained Pennsylvanian Cherry that I had from an earlier project.
The board that I got this from was not all Ambrosia, only about two-thirds and it was a true surprise to find it. The dimensions of the Humidor are 16" long x 10" deep x 5" tall. It is a full 3/4" thick and the Spanish Cedar is 3/8" thick. I also made the bottom tray from Spanish Cedar so as to have full air circulation. The upper tray is also Spanish Cedar and the box has floating dividers in it so the tray configurations can be moved to suit for different size cigars. Recessed into the inside top panel of Spanish Cedar is the humidifier and a solid brass and glass Hygrometer is inset into the front of the Humidor. The hinges on the back are a round solid brass hinge with a 95-degree stop. I finished the Humidor with approximately 20-25 coats of hand rubbed Lacquer, then applied 5 coats of Conservators Wax. This Humidor was designed to hold between 75-100 cigars.
This is to become a true heirloom for some lucky person and will give many many years of pleasure.
The next pics are just a simple toy box that I made for a friend's Grandson. I made it from Hemlock, and it was a fun project until it came time to set 38 slats all of which had a different angle to them for a nice snug fit.
These next pictures are of a Jewelry Chest. I took these just before final assembly. It was made from a stunning find of Ribbon Striped African Mahogany that I book-matched and wrapped as one continuous piece around the chest. To go with it was a great piece of the Ribbon Striped Mahogany that was Curly. I used this to make the top and the drawer faces and the small top compartment. The chest was trimmed out in a nice African Sapale around the inside of the 90-degree doors, as well as the top compartment and the drawer handles. I also built 2 hidden compartments into this project. The doors and sides of the inner box contain 48 stainless steel hooks, per request, as the wife of the client loves her necklaces. I used fine black velvet throughout and finished the chest in 30 coats of hand rubbed lacquer with 4 coats of Conservators wax.
The dimensions of the chest are 24"long x 16" tall and 14" deep.
This one is a keepsake box for a friend's wife, made from Quilted Maple and Purple heart.
These are a couple of wine racks, one is Wenge & Maple, the other is Andaman Padauk & Maple.
This is the first jewelry box I ever made. I used Curly Maple, a beautiful book-matched Waterfall Bubinga and Gaboon Ebony accents. I was proud of this one. I thought that this would bring a good price in a shop in town, but I should have known that it wasn't going any further than the house once the wife laid eyes on it.
I almost forgot to put in a pic of my little shop by the lake.
And these little guys are my new batch of supervisors. These little chipmunks are around three weeks old. They keep a watchful eye on me and occasionally come down to the work bench to share some of the bread from my lunch with me... until their Mom yells at them to come back home.
This is a view from the shop that lets me know when it's time to call it a day.
You can email Rick at
ricksbtb@yahoo.com
.
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