Yay---Spankity !  Oh, goody. Well, that's three of us . . .

Jump right into a woodworking challenge---what would I expect ?  Bravo, and ole . . . add your own exclamation.  I'm surprised and delighted that you've succeeded, as I would have expected the openings to be at least partly caused by/resulting in warping of the original shape of each stave.  I'd love to see that tourniquet . . .

Look for a video of a guy turning out barrels for some whiskey-maker---I think.  Gluing up a form and then turning it is one thing;  these guys shape each tapered stave first, and they all squeeze together when forced to and make water-tight joints.  Insane and impossible---but they've been doing it for I don't know how many centuries.

More soon.  Rainy here today, after some very nice weather.  No rain at all in Feb---a record for at least a century I think they said.  Why toilet paper ?  Apparently that's happening all over the world ?  Judy Woodruff closed her NewsHour last night with a plea for thoughtfulness and restraint.  Geez . . .

How do we find Mark ?  I'll work on it.  In the meantime:

Rain comes softly down.

Would that it would wash away

this pumpkin-headed jerk.

ahh, I didn't even realize how much I missed DAOT haikus!  Nice one. 

Here are some pics.  One of the visible fissures is what's left of the bigger split.  I guess the edges had splintered a bit.  It's a solid glue joint under the fissure, which is only maybe 1mm deep.  

The other fissure wasn't a split at all, just a missing bit of wood..??  I don't know how that could happen but it did.  

I was worried that the plastic insert would be damaged when I closed up the splits, but it wasn't.  I guess it was flexible enough. The splits didn't go together perfectly---one side of the bigger one was higher than its mate but  only by a hair.  Not sure what that means in terms of how it split apart in the first place but I'm pleased that it wasn't worse than that!  

I like it without the top so I'll probably just leave it.  I'm leaning toward keeping it.  I'm not sure what it's worth with the repairs and no lid anyway.  I like wenge a lot and I've never owned a rare woods piece, nor have I even seen more than one or two in person.  Plus one of my kids already called dibs on it.  Haha. 

What do you guys think about filler for the two fissures?  I used gray epoxy and I don't like that is is visible.  You can't see it from a normal viewing distance but it still bugs me.  I was thinking a blend of black and brown shoe polish that would match the wood color.  It's just wax and it will harden and not rub off.  Not that this will be doing anything but sitting around looking gorgeous.  

One last thing---do you guys know what the "2 SORT" mark on the bottom refers to?  "Sort" is Danish for "black"---that's all I've got. Is wenge sorted by color?  I have no idea.  

forgot to say also that I gave this a thorough cleaning with acetone to remove dark, old oxidized oil and general grime.  I haven't oiled it yet.  It is remarkably NOT dried out from the acetone. 

this is the one that wasn't actually split all the way through.  Just where some wood splintered off somehow---I think.  

It says WENGE in the first line but it is really hard to read.  

"2 SORT" is stamped in ink, not wood-burned (?) like the main marks.  (Edit:  maybe not stamped in ink?  Maybe incised?  Definitely different than the main marks, though.)

Huh.  Well, first of all I've never seen this piece;  I love it.  A unique way to create handles ?   Is the liner fixed permanently---maybe with some insulation behind it ?

I like the wax idea---removable, when this is the last one on Earth and some persnickety preservationist decides to "restore it correctly," whatever that might mean . . .

I alway expect to see more black in wenge, but maybe there are varieties ?  I didn't know the Danish used it, but that just tells you I'm no Skandinavian woodworking maven---not by a long shot.  Glad you found and rescued this piece !  I really like it.   What does the lid look like ?  Can you find a photo ?

I'm making a built-in desk/table/seat for my neighbor the muralist.  He told me what he wanted, and I'm pursuing it.  The stationary piece(s) are in;  next is the movable bit, an extension of the desk into the kitchen, where it can be table height or drops down to become a bench---all,  John's idea.   His studio, on the opposite side of the building from mine, has an unobstructed eastern  view of the city. 

He wanted raw light-colored wood;  I used maple ply with poplar for the edge/beam.  He'll coat it eventually.  The orange grommets ventilate a radiator immediately beneath.  The only color grommets I could easily find (meaning, Amazon) besides black or white was a pale orange---his favorite among the rainbow of colors he uses.  He drives an orange Golf.  His apartment has been repainted dozens of times . . .

(Is there still a "Last thing you made" thread ?)

More.  (What is the little P in the lower left corner of the posting pane ?)

John removed the plaster and lath from the bent wall that separates the living room and kitchen, and is taking out some of the studs, one by one.  The building owner has seen the result and didn't comment (!).  One more to go, leaving only the one supporting the corner of the desk/buffet.  So "San Francisco" ?

Close-up of field joint.  Right-hand edge is a rabbeted 1 3/4" x 2 3/4" beam that extends past this intersection to the window wall.

Here's another ice bucket,  complete with joint issue ?   There's the lid.  

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/dining-entertaining/barware/quistgaar-jhq-dansk-denmark-wenge-ice-bucket/id-f_9812703/

Hmm . . .

Very nice, SDR!  Love the orange grommets.  I've seen that kind of thing for threading your device cords down to wall outlets.  I would think they'd come in more colors than three!  Nice precision joints, too.  Impressive!

I don't know what that P is for, either.  Weird.

The liner is molded to fit the ice bucket exactly.  I don't know how it's held in.  I am not going to ever put ice in this so it's kind of a moot point for me.  And yes, that's it on 1st Dibs--do you like the lid?  I think it's a logical finish but it also looks a bit clunky to me.  Or something.  No offense to anyone who likes it, of course.  

Well, it is a bit clunky.  I suppose it has a circular groove in the bottom to nest with rim of the bucket.  Do you suppose this is a Jens Quistgaard design, like the other one:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/641792968/dansk-mid-century-modern-teak-ice-bucket?

Probably not; why would the same designer do two ice buckets ?

So, I worked my way back to page 90 of the thread, looking for Mark's reference to his place on the board of John Deere.  Found only a link to something Deere-ish in Moline.  Thought I might be able to identify and find him that way.  

Page 90 is just after the election.  Remember niceguy getting banned for something about the North Carolina transgender bathroom ado ?  Good---now forget it.  Eameshead;  objectworship;  we've been a small but tight cohort.  This and Wright Chat are my facebook, for better or worse.  And last November I fell into cellphone territory at last, with an iPhone 6S+ from Consumer Cellular.  Let the games . . . continue !  Now getting the dreaded and mysterious Dying Battery Syndrome---on a 5-month-old phone . . .

My haiku clanked.  Some of Eameshead's were tersely lyrical.  Must do better . . .

I don't think niceguy ever got banned, I think he just finally left on his own.  I asked the previous forum owners if they had the ability to block specific IP addresses and they said that they didn't.  I was surprised NG finally gave up.  He was very, very persistent!  

I remember that Mark once said that his real name was Park.  Who knows if he was kidding, though.