Bocote box

This box was an interesting one for me. I bought a piece of very dark hardwood at my woodturning club recently and as it was dark and very dense I thought it would be good for using for enhancing on my Rose Engine lathe. It was marked up as Mexican Rosewood (which I later found to be most commonly known as Bocote). The label on it was from a company that had closed down at least 15 years ago and so it had been in store somewhere for a long time.

Once I started to turn it I found that it was very dry and dusty and the beautiful grain started to show. As a result it was too nice to go on the Rose Engine and the pattern would likely have been hidden in the attractive grain. Rather than just making it flat topped I used the tenon to turn into a small flat button for the lid which I put one of my white CZ stones in. Finished in lacquer and it is 70mm in diameter and 50mm tall.