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The Editors Mailbox

Rope handle spices up a tea box

Michael Pekovich, art director

25 users recommend

This is the first time I've worked with English brown oak. It has great color and a finer grain than white oak. 

The interior has a pine partition for tea bags. It also aligns the top and bottom of the box.

The handle was a fun challenge. I wanted some way to hold the lid in place while the box is carried. The rope idea came to mind, but the key was creating a handle that could come apart. I got it right after a couple tries.

This is the first time I've worked with English brown oak. It has great color and a finer grain than white oak. 

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On this dovetailed box, I glued up the top, bottom and sides as a single unit then sawed off the lid on the bandsaw. I added a pine partition which also registers the lid to the base. The rope closure was the fun part of this project. The ebony handle halves connect with a sliding dovetail.

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Comments (7)

myehle writes: Terrific imagination on the rope handle. I can't wait to make one. A real stroke of genius.
Posted: 1:57 pm on September 8th

jimbell writes: Gorgeous looking wood. You did it justice.
Posted: 1:04 am on August 16th

woodrads writes: this is a great piece. has a fantastic japanese feel to it, and the rope handles are a stroke of genius. looks like it is meant to be used, treasured, and will get even better looking over time. an heirloom. i want one!

Posted: 6:47 pm on August 14th

mgberry writes: Very nice design. Your piece has a very strong traditional appeal that sits nicely with the rope handle.
Posted: 10:46 am on June 19th

MPekovich writes: 4545- Thanks, that's an interesting way to look at it. I think my wife would agree that "crude utilitarianism and fine aesthetic sensibility" describes me pretty well.
-Mike
Posted: 11:49 am on May 25th

4545 writes: This piece seems to me to be a marvelous interplay of an almost crude utilitarianism and fine aesthetic sensibility in the proportions and fine craftsmanship. The rope is just right; who would have thought? I guess that's the element of art.
Posted: 6:36 pm on May 24th

NateC writes: Very interesting handle design.
Posted: 11:58 am on May 24th

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