Incense Tower - Starting
Project Inspiration
For my girlfriend's birthday, I decided to build her something.
Last time we were at the Renaissance Faire, she bought a sun and moon mirror. This year, she was looking at incense burning towers. All of them were dark and not really worth the asking price.
She had a dark wooden Buddha and a dark incense burner on one shelf. The shelf on the other side of the room is white plastic. Rather than letting her buy a dark tower, I said it wasn't worth it. Then, I got to work.
Materials
I went to Lowe's and found the brightest, clearest maple I could get. I found "project boards," which are already a manageable size and planed thin. I was able to buy four 1/4 in. x 3 in. (really 2 1/2 in.) x 2 ft. boards and a 1/2 in. x 4 in. (really 3 1/2 in.) x 2 ft. board.
I found this near the project boards. I debated on using this as the top of the tower. My girlfriend would have liked it. I didn't for two reasons.
- I planned on putting a few holes through the top for smoke. Every tower I saw has at least one hole for smoke. I didn't want to drill through the flower. The corners were too far away from the center; the walls of the tower would be there.
- It was made of whitewood (spruce). The thinnest boards of whitewood available were 1/4 in. thick. This would have made the tower too large, bulky, and heavy. Because I wanted the entire tower to be made of the same wood, this wasn't an option.
Incense sticks are approximately 12 in. long. There are also 18 in. varieties, but we didn't have any of those lying around.
Cutting
I can plane and glue quietly at night, but my girlfriend can hear me saw in the living room from the bedroom when I saw. She went out to the store at one point during the week, so I set to cut these boards to length as fast as possible.
Using hand tools, any table or desk is a workbench. Who needs a shop? :-P
Within half an hour, I got out the tools, set up, measured, cut, vacuumed, put everything away, and re-hid the wood.
When she walked in just as I sat down, I felt like a bionic man with a handsaw.
Side Note
I could have posted this hours ago, but I was trying to avoid such an obscure reference. After combing the Internet for a few pictures, I still didn't like any as much. Your only hint, by the way, is "Malus."