Any wood-workers here?

This was my first (and last) foray into wood-working. It's a hat box I made several years ago while going through Chief's initiation. Part of the Chief's initiation was to make a hat box to protect thier "cover", or hat. It's a long held tradition and the box is supposed to reflect the experiences and values of it's maker.

The anchor and scroll design on top was painted with oil paint and sealed with varnish. Inside the top lid is a skull and crossbones representing the nickname "puddle pirates" and he's wearing a pair of headphones as they were an important part of being a Radioman back in the day. This was back in the early 90's when the Coast Guard was still working morse code. The lid is held open with a prop rod that has a bullet casing on the end that represents the Coast Guard as a military service. Around the perimeter of the top edge is morse code that spells out the old call sign of the Communications Station I was first stationed at. The morse code characters fade out at the end to signify the end of Morse Code. Inside the box the colors are red, white and blue with rope work around the edges. On the front of the box is a brass name plate and a lock. It turned out quite heavy so I added handles on the sides that are brass and wood. I wrapped them with paracord later, but it's not shown in the pics. I added some gold-leafing on the trim pieces around the bottom. Brass hinges were added for the top and everything was stained and sealed.

Turned out pretty well for a newb wood-worker. :)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psb77ce049.jpg

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http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps85e0b671.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps2fa34946.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps5dc9084f.jpg

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Nice Job. That's kind of a cool initiation idea. I used to be a pattern maker back in the day so pretty much worked with wood everyday for about 15 years. On the side I made a few jewelry boxes, a cradel for one of my daughter's birth, some carvings. Sorry, I don't have any pictures to share.

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Originally Posted by rlditmars

Nice Job. That's kind of a cool initiation idea. I used to be a pattern maker back in the day so pretty much worked with wood everyday for about 15 years. On the side I made a few jewelry boxes, a cradel for one of my daughter's birth, some carvings. Sorry, I don't have any pictures to share.

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Thanks! It was pretty fun. I've made a bunch of bass fishing lures over the years, but that was about the extent of my wood-working knowledge. :D

Pretty well isn't the right term.... Fantastic work and especially for a news,looks very professional,great job man

That cover box is awesome! It looks very professional.

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Originally Posted by jclaiborne

That cover box is awesome! It looks very professional.

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Thanks!

Wow!!! That is really cool!

The finished handles with the cord wrap...

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps84183a6e.jpg

Some of the aforementioned fishing lures...not much to look at but they catch fish... :)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps6b0654d1.jpg

Wood burned pattern...

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps0a330120.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psf3d83f48.jpg

Lots of battle scars on this one...

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps31cfeb6c.jpg

This one is for night fishing...

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps27572dba.jpg

Awesome stuff! I wouldn't call myself a woodworker, but I do really enjoy whittling canes and walking sticks. There's one I worked really hard on and it came out gorgeous, I'll maybe post pics later.

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Originally Posted by Archimedes

Awesome stuff! I wouldn't call myself a woodworker, but I do really enjoy whittling canes and walking sticks. There's one I worked really hard on and it came out gorgeous, I'll maybe post pics later.

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The stick in those pictures is actually about 7 feet long and knotted all the way down. Always thought it would make a great walking stick. I'll have to get a full length pic of it...feel free to share any and all pics!