Hi everyone,
I've been out of circulation for a few weeks.
Thanks for the great comments regarding the box and table/chairs.
Nancy, I thought you might like to know about the box. I think its nice to know the history of pieces that people make.
I made that box because I had the timber and wanted to try some new tools and joining techniques. I had no real plans for it and it wasn't designed for any particular purpose other than to look good.
Shortly after I finished it, my wife told me that an Irish girl she worked with was leaving to return to Ireland to care for her father who has terminal cancer. She said that it would be to nice to give her a gift that reminded her of Australia. So I said, give her the box, its all Australian timbers and is it's a one off.
So I typed up a rundown on the timbers, where they are from and also how to care for it when she got home. Turns out she loves Red Gum and was ecstatic.
A few weeks later, my wife received an email saying that the box was such a hit with the girl's mother, that the girl gave it to her.
So, this humble little box that I made to play with some new techniques, has now ended up in Ireland and will become an heirloom. I have to say, that sort of blows my mind!
A very humbled Orson