Progress Shots

I finished the carved portion of the sharpening stone box and sprayed it with 5 coats of satin polyurethane to protect it from getting dirty while I fitted it to the lid of the box.

The two pieces of cocobolo that will become the lid and the bottom half of the box were intentionally cut too long. That way, I could clamp them to bench while I chiseled out the waste for the carving and the sharpening stone.

I used my new Czech Edge marking knife to scribe the outside edges of the carved piece to the cocobolo. The scribed line, as you might guess, was very difficult to see on the dark wood, so I traced the line with a white pencil. The white stayed on either side of the line—since the wood was so hard—and the line remained dark.

It worked fairly well, but a more effective way would have been to use a technique that was taught to me by David Finck: Prior to scribing your lines, paint the area with water-based white paint. Once it's dry, mark your lines, and they'll show up very clearly.

I used a small [electric] router to remove most of the waste from the cavity and then cleaned up the edges with a chisel. With one swipe of my hand across the workpiece to brush away the chips, I remembered that cocobolo is splintery. Ouch. Using a shop brush to shush away chips is much easier on your hands.

The carving will sit a little proud of the lid once I glue it in place. I checked the fit first by pushing it a little way into the recess—though not all the way, so I could still remove it.

I'll rout and chisel the inside of the lid and bottom to make room for the sharpening stone and put finish on the cocobolo before gluing the carving in place.

I'm pretty sure that only another woodworker could understand why someone would spend so much time making a box for a sharpening stone. Perhaps this should be added to the list of tips for wives of woodworkers.