Nightstand Milling

Here again a a pic of the Nightstand mock-up for reference :).
It's nice getting into new work though ideas and drawings of this piece have been around my head since March.
The box portion will be of Euro Beech and the little stand will be Kwila.

A quick change of band saw blade for the new project and I'm off doing the major milling for these little guys. Here re-sawing Beech for the box portion. Beech is a bit soft compared to Oak but it's creamy dense structure makes it more labor intensive for the saw to cut through.

After getting covered in Beech dust, this is what I came out with. All of this material is for the box surfaces. I'm always surprised at how much material I need. I got 2 10' long planks and there is hardly anything left of them!
As I mentioned a while ago I wasn't the greatly pleased by the selections I got from A&M this time. One plank was much wider than the other and the center was lop-sided with a number of defects. The other more narrow plank was cleaner yet had some wonky grain going on.
I am doing the best I can to put together a clean product and think I will end up with a decent conclusion, it's just a bit more challenging. That of course can be interesting and fun in a way.
For the kind of grain graphic thing I'm going for one could be ripping smaller sections of the material and reassembling them to coax a nice smooth "one big plank". I've done this in some veneer work. However in this solid wood form I'm feeling the urge for simplicity and honesty, not that my other works aren't honest which is something I strive for... hmmm difficult to put into words.
Anywho, My intention is still that of "one big plank", which is much more than just throwing boards together, however with this selection there is just no way to get the smoothest transitions. Rather than fight it, I feel it more "graceful" to except it and "embrace" it for what it is... kind of getting to my Nakashima influences heh.

Back to mill work!
This is the Kwlia for the stands.
I happen to have one left-over narrow plank from my last order from Cormark Int. for the Maple Showcase.
The grain is straight and the color a beautiful rust brown with a bit of red which I feel will be lovely against the cream and pink tones of the Euro Beech.
I must say that I'm quite happy I was introduced to Cormark Int. (http://www.cormarkint.com/) by my benchmate and  friend at IP, Jason D. The guys and gals there care about what they send out have been great for me to work with. My only complaint is that they are far away from me in NC. Cheers.