# My Dad is a woodworker



## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Kinda lucky to have a son with a sawmill :laughing:. But hey, he fed me and I grew up strong. Fair is fair, he is retired now (42 years as a pipewelder/steamfittter) and has some time to kill. He comes by and helps me mill on occasion, an extra set of hands is a big help. He takes some "scraps" home to play with. He brings the scraps back and blows me away. Here is a little box he made as a gift for some dude he has coffee with at the coffee shop. Walnut/cherry. 4 sliding drawers and 2 false fronts. The lid opens to a flat tray that lifts out (secretly) to reveal 2 more boxes and the 4 drawers are not all the way to the back so there is a secret compartment (you can kinda see the lift handle) behind. No plans, just a handful of wood.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Oh yeah. That's nice. I suppose he turned the handles too. Cool design. Cool everything. Looks like he did some double-wides on the splines.


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## Mitch Cholewinski (Mar 11, 2007)

Daren
That is a nice project to be made, but better than that is the execution by your dad. Very well done. I really like that job he did on that box. Thanks for shareing it with us. Mitch


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## Check twice! (Mar 31, 2008)

A very creative and handsome project. 

I wish I was your father's friend and he was giving it to me.  

For my tastes and eyes a very pleasing and unique project.

Great job! 

John


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## stuart (Jan 20, 2008)

the dark nob's shape is quite a nice touch. That whole item looks like a family keeper


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## ecologito (Jan 27, 2008)

That is a really cool project. I can't wait to have my own shop and start playing with wood. It might take me a wild to buid the skills to create something like that our of your scraps


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## Aaronmcc (Apr 12, 2008)

That's eye candy. Truly amazing.


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## woodman42 (Aug 6, 2007)

Beautiful Daren's Dad.


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## johnjf0622 (Feb 8, 2008)

That looks great. Great Job, some of the best things come from a pile of wood and a ideal. Not plans. Is there any sign that the top opens when you look at it?


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

johnjf0622 said:


> Is there any sign that the top opens when you look at it?


No. I looked it over and did not notice it until he showed me. He has sent more pictures of boxes he has made (his woodworking skills surpass his photography skills, if you know what I mean )

The first box is spalted figured red maple and walnut. The second is osage and walnut.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

More pictures of the second box and the third box is walnut and osage also with curly maple pulls.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Last picture of the back of the osage and walnut box. He sent me some more pictures of others, I just accidentally deleted them. I will try to get the pictures again and post them.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

I thought I would drag this old thread back up. Dad was over a few weeks ago digging through my "scraps" again, took him home a couple handfuls. I got these pictures emailed last night. I guess I don't remember what all he hauled out of here. I see 1/4 sawn sycamore, osage, curly maple, walnut...


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

A couple more pictures.


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Darren,
How long has your dad been woodworking? His talent and skill is certainly evident. 
Tell us about his shop, too.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Probably 25- 30 years as a "weekend winter hobby", summers he fishes/camps...He has more time now that he is retired and just in the last couple years has gotten into small box making.(takes less wood )
He has a nice little shop, just your basic tools. He can spend all day out there tinkering and often does.


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

I'm a big fan of the joints on the first box. Looks spectacular.


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## YouNGwOOd (Apr 21, 2008)

Daren,

Nice looking boxes...Some pretty cool designs he came up with!


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

How exactly did he do that top? 

I look at it and think "I see how he did that." 

Then I look some more and think "I wonder exactly how he did that?"


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

I am in love with that first box. Just printed a copy of the picture so that maybe some day I can attempt a build.

George


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## creative novice (Jul 25, 2008)

*daren and dad*

wow....guess that makes daren the acorn that didn't fall far from the tree..........i think i got my interest from watching my dad in his workshop! i was the cabose of 4 , the oops baby....the hyper one....so, i would run with dad and watch him in his workshop.....never making much but puttering around anyway. my mom also liked to refinish furniture and sew clothes and stuff for the house.....so, i like to do it all! envy you of the companionship of your father to owrk with and share interests! Nice Boxes Dad!:yes:


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

TexasTimbers said:


> How exactly did he do that top?


As we have discussed my dad is a "Hey there is a neat looking knot !" guy. There was a slab of flat sawn sycamore on my $5 wall with a big knot in it, the ray fleck showed all the way around the knot in a weird circle. He cut the knot out and used the fleck as a medallion in the top of the box. Looks like he has more left because that was just a piece resaw/bookmatched, so he would have the other half for something else. Bookmatched like that looks way cooler, good thinking on his part.

Box makers/segmented turners/crafters love the $5 wall...I used to just throw all this away because it was not "lumber" but after seeing what some of these guys/gals do with "scrap" I save some piece of interest and lean them up against the wall. $5 or 5 for $20...$20 can make a BUNCH of boxes. And we are talking a little of everything too walnut/cherry/osage/mulberry/elm/sycamore/ash/cedar/honeylocust/black locust/hard maple/oak/pecan/hackberry/birch....


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## AZ Termite (Dec 20, 2008)

Those are some awesome boxes you dad builds. It would be nice to find me some "scraps". No one mills around here though.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I understand the book matched part. I'm just wondering how he chose to assemble the top - how many sections etc. I can see several ways he could have done it and just figured you may have asked him. 

No big deal no need to ask him.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

I saw the box as he was working on it, he already had the top/carcass done but not all the inside stuff. So I kinda know how it went together.

The medallion (funky sycamore) and the border (quilted spalted maple) where roughly the same thickness and just laid out/cut/glued together like a jigsaw puzzle as a panel, then thickness sanded perfectly flat as a unit. You could see them equally well from the bottom with the lid lifted off and flipped over. The molding (for the lack of a better term) around the top is regular curly maple (as well as the base at the bottom). The molding was assembled and had a rabbet to accept the flat panel he glued up for the top.

At least that is the way it all looked to me, if I explained it well enough.


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## Sabres78 (Jul 9, 2008)

Those are some very nice projects. I really love the box that started off this post. I'm wondering what, roughly, was the size of that box? I can imagine several different versions of that design, such as a storage chest for my soon-to-arrive son. Is it storage chest size, jewelry box size or something in between?


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Sabres78 said:


> I'm wondering what, roughly, was the size of that box?, jewelry box size


Yea, jewelry/dresser top box size 12"D-14"W-14"H or somewhere there abouts.


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## PTownSubbie (Mar 6, 2009)

Daren,
Tell your dad that those boxes are incredible. I have been working with wood for about 6 years now and I can do some stuff without plans but nothing that detailed!!

I too love the box that started the thread.:yes:

I could really use a place like yours around here:yes:

Fred


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

Daren,

The back of that osage orange and walnut box looks better than the front of most boxes you see. Your dad is quite the craftsman.


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

I don't know what it is about boxes that I like. Whether it is the variety of style, the joinery, the hardware, the finish etc. I don't know, but your father has captured all of them. I love the work. Don't _just_ tell your father that I said "great work", get him to join us crazy folks so we can tell him ourselves. He would be a welcome asset to the forum. Thanks for posting on his behalf. The boxes are awesome.
Ken


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## Barry Ward (Mar 22, 2008)

WOW just awesome work there.I make jewelry boxes also,but I think he could give me a leason or two.:yes:


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Kenbo said:


> .... get him to join us crazy folks . .


I think he did join Ken, but he's too busy building furniture to be typing letters into a keyboard. :laughing:


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## Nate1778 (Mar 10, 2008)

Man, Daren tell pops he has some talent. Man, I am a little jealous at this point. All my kids do is supply me with an infinite amount of lip and drool...........


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## sharon333 (Apr 16, 2009)

I would have to agree that he does have some skill.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

*Here is a cool one*

Dad was by for a visit this morning and brought this jewelry box he made to look like a chest of drawers/dresser. He had a scrap of corian laying around, a little mirror, a little bit of walnut...and an idea. A cool one I thought. I took a couple pictures with the drawers open, but for some reason they did not turn out and he was already gone with it before I realized it.


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## Chad (May 10, 2009)

That is cool, now he just has to build the dresser to match for the box to sit on! Tell him very cool.


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## Streamwinner (Nov 25, 2008)

This didn't go under the post titled "little things"? Haha... very creative stuff.


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