I was asked to donate a piece to a charity silent auction for breast cancer research and fight for the cure. Like… seriously… no one’s ever going to say no to that, right? Of course I’m in!
I had just procured my new work shop rental when I got the email asking if I’d like to donate a piece for the auction. Since the shop wasn’t set up yet, I pulled some tools out of the moving van and got to work in my home garage.
This entire box is made from some ~60 year old reclaimed rubber wood. Rubber wood isn’t anything special; it’s a commonly-available generic-use wood often used in mass production furniture. Think dining room chairs that you buy at a chain furniture store. Or those 60s and 70s TV-dinner tables that unfold from their little rack in the corner of the den. Things like that.
The thing is, though… when you strip off the silly paint or stain that most makers who work in rubber wood use, it’s actually a very pretty wood. And so I thought it would be a good choice for this box. I had about 30 board feet of 1/2″ and 5/8″ planks and pieces rescued from a kitchen dining set I pulled apart. This wood was beautiful and it worked like it was born to be machined. Absolutely joyous to work with.
I put together this box, including a mahogany accented handle, interior sliding tray, and bevel-top box construction to allow for a self-centering lid. I was very happy with how this box came together, and I’d love to say I built like 100 more of them to sell. But the fact is, this one is bespoke for this auction, and to the best of my knowledge, it sold at a pretty penny, which thrills me to no end.
I used simple brass hinges and a brass latch (added after these pictures were taken), with an interior lid support. The box was finished with Rubio Monocoat hard wax oil and buffed with an extra layer of wax. Between this lovely wood and the extra layer of wax, the feel in the hand was exquisite and the box demands to be touched.
Thank you, Breast Cancer of Delaware for allowing me to participate.
