A trade/gift for some dear friends for letting us stay in their mountain home in Northern Colorado at 8300 feet. They hinted that they (and other visitors) wanted to become better at identifying the trees on their property. The vertical slot on the left has a little notebook that contains a key and descriptions of the 5 different trees; Ponderosa and lodgepole pines, quaking aspen, Douglas fir and Englemann spruce.
An important aspect of my design was giving my friends the ability to "change out the samples" because the fresh, green needles will turn brown before long. Because of this, I did not want a piece of glass covering the unit.
The cabinet is 4" deep and roughly 16x20. I made identical cut-outs in five panels of 3/4" rotary-cut fir plywood then glued them together. Finally, I screwed on a 3/8" thick back using the same plywood. I embedded a keyhole hanger for hanging the piece and finished it with clear lacquer.
It was a fun project and I would love to be commissioned to make another someday.
