More carving & a box for sale

My time has been split between more carving for boxes and videos and going over the first round of edits on my book about “the cupboard(s)”. First - the carving. I’ve been working on shooting and editing a video on carving the Savell pieces - this box among them:

PF carved box, red oak, white pine, June 2025

[that box is for sale - details & photos at the end of the blog post.]

But I’m always interrupting myself. I woke up one morning thinking about that Devon pattern that I learned because one of the students wanted to carve it. He did such a good job planning it out that I joined him & carved it too. It turned it into a box, which sold right off the bat. And that left early-morning me thinking “I better carve that again right away - so I don’t forget.” Thus, the interruption. I shot video of the process and that single-pattern video bumped the Savell/Braintree stuff aside momentarily. This detail is the result of that interruption - it’ll become a box one day, but not for a while. The video is about 3/4 done, so I hope to spit it out soon.

PF version, Honeychurch, Devon pulpit panel

and then today I worked all day starting a carved lid for a strapwork box in Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata). First thing I did was sharpen the planes, then planed the glued-up panel to its proper thickness - about 11/16”. Then mapped out the margins and began drawing out the carving, trying to figure out the spacing, etc. One I figured that out - how many divisions, etc - I scribed the grid on the panel and began striking the pattern with the gouges and chisels. It was easily half the day to strike the whole thing. This sort of pattern tolerates no mistakes - and the wood was expensive - so I proceeded carefully. The carving is 12 1/4” x 19 1/2”. I’ll finish it tomorrow.

as far as I got

We were shifting things around in the house, the hot weather arrived and I had to get some stuff out of the chest in the living room. Which meant moving a heavy, full, large carved box that’s about 24 years old. And the light hit it just right so I decided to drag it into the shop to photograph it beside the new box.

carved boxes 24 years apart

Both are red oak with white pine lids & bottoms. Both finished with linseed oil. The old one got some garden-variety furniture polish once in a while, during a cleaning fit. These don’t happen all that often. Most of that color is oxidation and patina. So if the new color variation is a distraction, be patient. It’ll catch up. Here’s the lowdown on the box:

H: 7 3/4" W: 21 1/2" D: 14"

red oak, white pine lid & bottom. wooden hinges. Lid has zig-zag & punched borders, like the carvings. The back is an aborted carving, mostly "erased" but some of it remains. Linseed oil finish

$1,400 if paying with a check, $1,450 through paypal. Email me with questions PeterFollansbee7@gmail.com