Little Boxes

As promised here is a slight diversion from the usual glass theme. These are some of the boxes i turned for the Newmarket brocante that i wrote about in a previous post. They are all made from Yew except for the top left hand one which is made from Zebrano. The Yew ive had for nearly twenty years so it was well seasoned by the time it ended up on the lathe.Yew tends to come in small section so boxes suit it well.Yew is not widely grown because of its poisonous berries,which cows are fond of and which has been know to kill them.Hence they came to be grown in graveyards and small parks and other such places.Yew is classified as a softwood but is harder than a lot of the timber classified as hardwoods.It makes for good turning because it is such a hard dense timber.It also finishes very well,doesnt need any sealer,just a handfull of shavings held against the object as it spins on the lathe.All in all a lovely timber.It also has a history of being held sacred by the Druids but thats another story. I should be back on the glass by the next post but if you want to look at some try Lustrousglass.com