Jewellery boxes with burl inlay on lids

Matt has been making jewellery boxes with slices of red gum burl inlaid into the lids. I must say they turn out really well. He has also been practising finger joins on the edges of some.

They all have a 2 compartment lift out tray. He has used mainly cedar, Ebor wattle and silky oak.

Custom job - Bonsai plant stands

We received a call just before Christmas from a fellow who had stopped at Fusspots on his way to Port Macquarie and had been impressed with Matt's woodwork. He wanted to know if Matt would make him some stands for his Bonsai plants.

As there are dozens and dozens of different types of stands available, so Google told me, I downloaded images of several types and emailed them to him and asked him to choose the ones he wanted.

He has chosen the 3 on the left and they are ready to be posted to him once payment arrives in the bank. I must say they have turned out really well and when I emailed this photo to him he was very pleased.

Nice to get custom jobs. Happy New Year!

The burl Clock

This is the first attempt at making a clock from one of the pieces of red gum burl from the Taree load of wood. The burl was not quite wide enough so Matt sliced it up the middle and added a strip of cedar to the middle which also forms the part where you hang it on the wall. He added a base as well so the clock can also sit on a surface if preferred.

We bought a cheap clock from one of the bargain stores then transplanted the mechanism into this clock. It keeps remarkably good time.

The numbers were engraved into the timber then painted black. Several coats of gloss lacquer later and voila! One pretty fancy clock.

Veronica at Fusspots Cafe fell in love with it straight away and bought it for $90.00 (mates rates) and it is now hanging proudly on her living room wall.

Matt has since made another circular burl clock and donated it to our local Lions Club to be raffled next year. It too is keeping good time.

Another jewellery cabinet

This is a lovely 3 drawer jewellery cabinet with turned brass knobs. Matt has laminated together slices of cedar, silky oak and kauri pine then cut the cabinet on the bandsaw.

The drawers are lined with felt and is presently for sale at Fusspots Cafe for $125.00.

The wood from Taree

Last month Matt bought a whole 8'x5' trailer load of dressed cedar, silky oak, rosewood and other timbers including some lovely slices of red gum burl, that were part of a deceased estate. It was excellent value as the bloke wanted to sell the lot in one go. His late father was an avid woodworker and his entire stock of timber had to go. There were some items that had already been turned but not finished. Amongs these were 2 large red gum burl bowls. Matt finished this one by sanding and then applying several coats of citrus bees wax.

This next one was finished with several coats of gloss lacquer. There is so much timber that Matt is having trouble finding room in the shed for it so at the moment it is still loaded in the trailer and covered with a tarp to protect it from the weather.

He was as happy as a kid at Christmas when we got home from our long day trip to Taree to collect it all.

Cheers

A cedar jewellery cabinet

Matt's latest creation made from a single block of cedar is this lovely 5 drawer jewellery cabinet. He has turned the brass knobs from pieces brass rod and the feet from a piece of brass angle iron. The drawers are all lined with black felt.

This lovely piece is for sale at Fusspots Cafe in Ebor for $150.00.

The raffle prize for Ebor school

This is a nested jewellery box that Matt has made as one of the prizes in the Ebor School P&C Christmas Raffle which is drawn on 18 December 2011 at the Guy Fawkes Carols by Candlelight.

Not only did he do the intricate inlay on the lid but he also shaped the brass hinge and clasp from some brass he found in his father's shed. The box is lined with black felt.

It was made from some old skirting boards that had been removed from his grandmother's house in Mudgee. Her house had been built from recycled materials from the old presbytery so the wood would be at least 100 years old.

Tickets for the raffle are $1.00 each and as at the date of this post, I have sold 271 tickets. Thanks to all my email buddies that took a few.