It has happened this way before: I contribute things for the office charity auction. There are happy bidders and there are disappointed bidders. The dovetail boxes went over well this year, which made me happy. But I was disappointed to be out-bid on a delicious apple pie.

And then the question from the disappointed folks. Do I have any more of those boxes, or cutting boards or whatever. I don’t, but I’m usually happy to make more. So this year I’m making another dovetail box. And as luck would have it the colleague that I’m making the box for is the apple pie baker. So in exchange for the box I get the delicious apple pie that I lost in the frenzied bidding. Yum.

This box gave me another opportunity to practice dovetails, and to use an interesting piece of leftover of Garry Oak. The wood had a bit of cracking that made it unsuitable for chairs. But the cracks are small and they add interest to the box without compromising its strength. The wood also has some interesting figure. The figure is still visible on the inside, but on the outside the ebonizing makes the figure almost disappear.

Ebonizing still seems like magic. Soak steel wool in white vinegar for a few days then apply the vinegar to the wood. The clear liquid turns the oak blue-black almost immediately. In the sapwood flecks of grain show through the ebonized surface. It looks like a night sky with a few scattered clouds.

Ebonized Garry Oak, osmo

Same box before finishing. The outside of the box was ebonized before the lid was cut open. That way I could keep a crip line between the inside and outside.