Reliquary Project: The real process begins

I dropped Dave off at PDX Wednesday morning (stinking early!) and spent that day recouping from lack of sleep. On Thursday morning, I was ready to get started for real.  By the end of this project 2 boxes will be created, one for sale at The Arts Center in Corvallis & the other for my mom.

Where does one pick up 1/4″ walnut? Well, no where around my house! I did stop at Jerry’s in Eugene because they had some years ago, but only found 1/2″ stock. My dad came to the rescue! He stopped by a couple of his haunts, didn’t find any so picked up new darker stock and put it through the planer. This was during the highly stressful time when my mom was still in hospital ICU. Big sister thought it was a good distraction for him to work on, even though it only lasted a grand total of 4 hrs.

Last weekend I completed the scale drawings for the final piece. The walnut was not the same dimensions as the poplar, close but not exact.  There have been multiple runs to hardware stores to pick up missing items, like new coping saw blades and extra c-clamps.  I also invested in new hearing protection since George ate the last pair.

The cuts went well but I did discover the board width decreased by 1/32″ to 1/16″.  So I had to shave off 1/16″ on the 4 sides. Voila! Basic box form.

I opted for a three window look on the long side, pictured below. The coping saw worked just fine with the harder wood. Some rasping, filing and sanding needed, but that’s just how it goes.

More sanding needed on each window edge. The basic form is coming together.

Today’s agenda is a rainy grey trip to Eugene. It’s been five days since my last mom visit. Saturday is still open for cutting the side panel windows and the base. More fun to come!