"Viking", a Fine Small Box
By David Knipfer



Well... I admit right up front that those waiting to see a "revolutionary" new design from my shop may be dissapointed in this offering.

This is another in my current series of "evolutionary" designs... an update, if you will, of a previous idea, incorporating new skills and techniques.

I know it's kind of a stuck-in-the-rut place to be... but it's where I am.

Anyways... this little box came about because many customers have remarked on how much they like the photo of the little box I called "Cambium Cabinet".

I have not had a jewelry cabinet for sale for a few years... so I broke into my live edge Maple stash and created this new piece... I call her "Viking".

Take a look if you will...





Cherry carcass with that lovely bookmatched live-edge Curly Maple as the door panels.

The drawer fronts are figured Bubinga.

Finish is Rude and Crude everywhere.

I router textured the drawer fronts to follow the organic profile of the live edge...

To my eye there is a wonderful visual contradiction between the smooth and polished surfaces of the carcass versus that organic, flowing textured surface right down the center of the box.

I can't imagine many people being able to resist opening those doors to see just what the heck is going on behind there...

Well... they'll find the drawers of course. :)






The pulls on the doors are Bubinga... to tie into the drawers... while the pulls on the drawers are Curly Maple.

The drawers are lined in Tan Ultrasuede.

Here is a detail photo of the drawers and texturing...






Every time I finish d'tailing a timber like Bubinga I say "never again"... it is really hard.

But so pretty... the Hard Maple drawer sides contrast well to my eye with the Bubinga.

Lastly... here is a photo to out her actual size into perspective.

The grey headed WW... "Viking" ... and a gift from one of my favorite cabinet makers.




Thanks for looking.   All comments and suggestions are appreciated.

Knipfer



Building Notes:

  • I can't honestly tell you the exact size of her... I use a tape measure so infrequently that it is the only tool in my shop to go missing but unnoticed.

  • I think somewhere about 21" tall by 11" wide across the front... but that a guess.

  • I built this entire box without the use of a tape measure... it's that relative dimensioning thing I have been writing about.

  • She started with the door panels...
    ...which sized the carcass...
    ...which sized the drawers...
    ...and so she came along just fine without ever knowing her 'size'.

  • The last of my four photos shows her size better than any numbers from me can.

  • She's just right sized for what timbers were available to create her.

  • Building the top was a labor of love for me...
    and a very time consuming task actually.

  • It started out as a plank of 12/4 Cherry...
    ...then I used the technique the Genious down Under calls 'saw-kerfing' to rough out the shape on my tablesaw.

  • Then it was on to hand tools and sweat equity to refine the shape and clean it up.

  • It was my first time creating a shape like this "Viking" top...

  • the next one will go better and quicker.

  • I am a fine technician...

  • I find it a huge struggle to come up with new ideas.

  • Anything, that I build that may look 'creative', is the result of a ton of hard and thoughtful work... not any inspired genious on my part.

  • I will always be fighting the demons of design. It's how I am.

  • ...but I will not give up the internal battle.

  • I suppose there is hope for us all in that statement.

  • The doors on 'Viking' were a fun thing to build.
    It just has to fire up your spirit to be entrusted with such a lovely timber.
    They are very delicate to look at, but very robust in their construction.

  • I will share everything I know about how they were built... I have no secrets... but the space constraints of a brief reply such as this could not possibly do justice to share any useful knowledge.

  • I suppose I could become the typical WW author and offer this statement...

  • The doors are constructed from stabilized timbers and joined such that they will remain square and flat over many seasonal changes.

  • That's a true statement... but it won't help any of you one bit to build your own 3-sided live edge doors.

  • If there really is some true interest in the door design... then I'll expand on exactly how they were made in a separate post.

  • The drawer pulls... are delicate in nature for a very specific purpose... to enhance the experience of the human interaction with this box.

  • This is a topic deserving of it's own post... but I'll say a few things here...

  • It is critical IMHO to consider the human interaction with anything we may build.

  • Those drawer pulls are very comfortable to use... but require a person to grasp them both with two hands... using only the thumb and forefinger of each hand.

  • Opening a drawer on 'Viking' causes one to pause a second, from the hurry-scurry of daily stuff...

  • you are required to pause because I limited your options to only one carefully planned move.

  • It is a planned and careful act to open a drawer...
    ...which tends to get one thinking about their personal interaction with the piece...
    ...which is what I set out to achieve in any box.

  • 'Viking' is a rather large piece for a box... but

  • that does not mean she can not be delicate in her nature.

  • 5,000 photos could never convey the 3rd dimension of design that is so important to builders of boxes... the interaction between person and box.

  • You need to try it for yourself...
    but I tell you...
    when you close a drawer on this little box...
    two fingers only now...
    and feel that satisfying quiet 'thunk' of the drawer setting and
    the 'hiss' of the trapped air escaping from around the drawers...
    well... that is a good thing.

  • 'Viking' will become a daily part of someones life for their lifetime...

  • and hopefully their heirs as well.

  • A thoughtful designer must consider how those folks will interact with the piece over their lifetime of daily use.

  • It's a design dimension required for fine boxes.

  • I'm biased of course... but I don't see the need to worry about such things while building say an end table.

  • 'Viking' took about 2 months to build... start to finish.
    Much longer even if you consider the air-dry time for the maple door panels.
    I can't tell you in hours... lots!

  • I don't work by time...

  • I work by moving to one project after another along with whenever I know what is right for each of them.

  • I have 5 new boxes under construction in my shop now...

  • several of them prettier IMHO than this one...

  • and I rotate amongst them as the mood and inspiration strikes.

  • I do have some definite thoughts about making clean half-blind dovetails.

  • I learned, what little I know about this classic joint, by reading Kirby's book and then practice, practice, practice. :)

  • I've never seen a video about d'tail techniques, so I can't offer an honest opinion about Cosman's work.

  • But I can say this...
    The single most critical step in cutting half-blind d'tails... is an accurate layout of the pin sockets that you can cut to.

  • I have developed my own a method that works for me...
    deadly accurate and simple to do.

  • Alas you have caught me 1 day late with the question... this morning I cut the d'tails for 6 drawers for a new box with no photos.

  • I suppose that at the end of the day that each of us will have their own personal reaction to any creation like 'Viking'.

  • Our personal aesthethic plays a large part in how we view a piece like this.

  • That is a part of what lifts 'Viking' from the ordinary day to day stuff we are flooded with... the chance to view something new through the filters of our own choices.

  • I do know that somebody out there will see her... and she will stir their soul... and for them... well... she will be just right.

  • The carving was done with my router fitted with a roundnose bit...
    ...it could be any shape I wanted.

  • This is a template guided routing operation... so I can make the template any shape I choose.

  • I fought those design demons again, and chose to make the carving match the profile of the live edge.

  • It is actually a much better effect live than my home photos can show.

  • The total visual effect of the live edge doors sitting over the textured drawers is very striking in person...
    it does very much bring to mind a piece of highly finished raw timber.

  • The actual bark edge is not finished... I left it natural.





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