| Project by Jim | posted 01-11-2009 03:26 AM | 12139 views | 16 times favorited | 13 comments |  |
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Melissa heard I did a little hobby woodworking. She wanted to surprise her husband with a custom-built mailbox for their Craftsman-style home. She found one online, but the $200 price tag was a little too much for their limited budget. I offered to build it for the price of materials (I wanted some practice with quarter-sawn oak).
Fortunately, the online drawing included some rough dimensions. I was able to utilize my new Powermatic jointer and planer to mill the wood to the custom dimensions needed.
Melissa provided a template for the “post” on top and I routed it with a small trim router and then cleaned it up with a chisel.
I wanted the finish to look like an older arts & crafts piece and found a great article on FWW. (Original Arts & Crafts by Nancy Hiller)
I did most of the finishing before assembly. Final cost was about $100 ( I went thru a lot of oak learning about tearout…)
-- Jim, Boise ID - Attitude is everything
13 comments so far
clieb91
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4201 posts in 4939 days
#1 posted 01-11-2009 04:29 AM
Nicely Recreated.
CtL
-- Chris L. "Don't Dream it, Be it."- PortablePastimes.com (Purveyors of Portable Fun and Fidgets)
Tim Pursell
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500 posts in 4787 days
#2 posted 01-11-2009 05:10 AM
Very nice!
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/tpursell?ref=si_shop
Bigbuck
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1347 posts in 4668 days
#3 posted 01-11-2009 05:23 AM
Very nice, I am sure she was pleased with it
-- Glenn, New Mexico
WispWoods
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65 posts in 4431 days
#4 posted 01-11-2009 06:25 AM
AWESOME! I am researching Arts and Crafts right now, and this piece is a great! Way to Go!
-- - You begin thinking less, and feeling more.
Todd Thomas
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4969 posts in 4453 days
#5 posted 01-11-2009 12:02 PM
good looking mailbox….very much with the A/C style looks great
-- Todd, Oak Ridge, TN, Hello my name is Todd and I'm a Toolholic, I bought my last tool 10 days, no 4 days, oh heck I bought a tool on the way here! †
DanaA
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29 posts in 4455 days
#6 posted 01-11-2009 04:36 PM
Very nice. How long did it take you to make it?
-- Dana
FlWoodRat
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732 posts in 4914 days
#7 posted 01-11-2009 04:57 PM
Jim,
Nicely done. Did you incorporate ‘anti-junk mail’ and “bill rejector” mechanisms into it? Perhaps that would be too futuristic for the Arts and Crafts motif.
-- I love the smell of sawdust in the morning....
Douglas Bordner
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4073 posts in 5068 days
#8 posted 01-11-2009 05:19 PM
Looks like a crafthome.com item. Lot of great designs there. But no matter, this is your handiwork Jim, and it looks great! I’m sure Melissa is quite pleased.
-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over two decades.
jim1953
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2743 posts in 4846 days
#9 posted 01-11-2009 05:54 PM
Great Lookin Mailbox
-- Jim, Kentucky
dennis mitchell
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3994 posts in 5319 days
#10 posted 01-11-2009 06:19 PM
Very nice.
Jim
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29 posts in 4795 days
#11 posted 01-17-2009 10:50 PM
Hey Dana, I’ve been remodelling a rental along with my regular job, so I kinda worked on the mailbox a couple hours here and there as the schedule allowed. I spent a lot of time experimenting to get the finish correct. I guessing 20 hours…
-- Jim, Boise ID - Attitude is everything
FJPetruso
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331 posts in 4714 days
#12 posted 02-16-2009 08:34 AM
Great Looking Oak Mailbox! Oak Craftsman & Mission projects are favorites of mine. I especially like the font that was chosen. It reminds me of my brand that you see in the corner.
-- Frank, Florissant, Missouri "The New Show-Me Woodshop"
Steve Griffin
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26 posts in 4689 days
#13 posted 02-16-2010 09:29 AM
I love the font you used on this. I looks flawless!
-- Steve, Beaverton, OR [email protected]
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