[kywoodchopper]

I just completed 18 boxes and 5-baskets. Most will be gone this coming week. Most will go to either a church, Down Syndrome Society or to kids that are struggling with health issues.

Also yesterday I cut out 5-more boxes. It took about 3-hours. Finishing them will take several days. I generally allow a week from start to finish.

I had a request from a local Methodist church for 3-boxes to put prayer request in. I made each out of different species of wood. The first photo is made of ambrosia maple with rosewood top - actually it was a piece of flooring.
Then a lady asked for a smaller box to take to an assisted living place where her mother is. The 2nd photo the box is made of red maple.
The 3-photo is a box made of walnut.
The 4-photo are two boxes made of padauk with birdseye maple tops.
The next photo is a basket made of ambrosia maple.
The next photo is a box made of red maple burl.
The last picture is a basket made of rosewood flooring.

Malcolm Byrd / Kentucky USA

 

[kywoodchopper]

Great work and combinations of wood. Refresh my memory Malcolm, the handles of the baskets. What are their width and thickness?

The handles are around 23 1/2" long; 1 1/8" wide and around .12" think. I have a 1 1/2" PVC pipe that is 2 feet long with a cap on the bottom. I have forms for doing 6 handles at a time. So I prepare the handles including drilling the holes for the screws. Note the screws holes are a different distance from the end in case I mess up and have to rotate the handle. I put them into the PVC pipe and fill the pipe with boiling water. I put a shot glass over the top end of the pipe. After about 45 minutes I pour the water back into the pan and boil it again. I do this about 5-times. Then pull one handle out and sorta flex it to see if seems to bend. If so I pull it around the form. If one breaks - which they do, I may do the boiling water again. After 24 hours I removed the handles from the form and put them on another form for 24 hours. Then removed them and stand the handles on the lumber stack for several days prior to sanding and applying finish. Guess that answered your question.