6" x 3 1/2" x 1 1/2"; mango, koa; 6/98

My first box made of Mango, which I have discovered to be a pleasure to work with. As yet I've had no symptoms of the allergic sensitivity some people have to this wood. I sure hope that continues to be the case, because I really enjoying working with it. It has a lot of variation in color, figure, and grain.

This box had a lesson in turning mistakes to an advantage. I had originally planned to the top to be a plainer twin-paneled mango medallion, (similar in design to numbers five and seven). However, not once but twice I made boneheaded mistakes in the course of mitring the four "frame" pieces that would go around the outside of the top. This left me with the long laminted strips from these attempts, and I noticed, while fooling around with the little waste triangles from cutting the mitres, that they could be fitted together to for squares with an atrractive contrast between the thin strips of koa and the mango. So, a mid-course correction changes then plan for the top, with the results you see here. Serendipity.

more pictures of this box...