Here are a few boxes I turned, using Black Walnut branches hanging over my roof. I can't recommend enough the virtues of using wood for your immediate area! I've made probably 30-35 pieces now, and almost all are made from wood I'v cut on my own property. I live on 1/2 acre in North Carolina - just enough to keep me stocked.
Cut a branch in your yard - save the larger pieces in your garage or shed - let them dry out and you'll have some great stock to work on. I recently went to a woodworker's show here in town and I was shocked at how much some of the wood blanks cost - $30-$35 for a relatively small block of wood!!
Keep your eyes open for neighbor's throwing out wood (old furniture, yard waste) and don't be afraid to stock up.
These boxes were relatively easy, although I did have some rough spots. Clearing the inside bent up a small spindle tool pretty good, when it caught on the wood not once but three times. I still haven't got it quite figured out, but, I completed them!
Like I said - Black Walnut from a branch, finished with sandpaper, tung oil and beeswax. Nice enough to give as gifts for my mother and mother in law!
