After making a few epoxy heart boxes I decided to see if I could design an all wood version. I like working with epoxy, but wood is a much more natural and sustainable product to work with.

Working with epoxy is almost easier; the liquid can flow into the cracks and crevices and make the design easier to do. With wood, I have to carefully plan where the CNC bit can access, and the shape that it leaves. The problem is with generating two mating surfaces; it is easy to machine a sharp outside corner, but it is difficult (or impossible) to machine a sharp inside corner. I decided to go with a smooth wave shape, which I knew would be easy to make.

This first one is cherry wood with a walnut wood accent in the middle. I initially thought the contrasting woods would be too harsh, but I ended up really liking this combination. I’ve made two of these, and I have the second one still available for sale.

The next one is cherry with madrone wood. I also did two of these, and still have one available. The madrone was harvested from the Santa Cruz mountains by my old house, from a tree that was dying and needed to be removed.

The next was another experiment; I put the wave only halfway through the piece. I used a more liquid oil finish on this piece, and it equalized the color of the two woods a bit more than I was expecting. It is cherry on the bottom and maple on the top. It was a little easier to make, so I charge a little less for it.