I built these boxes for simple birthday presents for my mother and my fiancee’s mother. The box is constructed of cherry with walnut trim, and my first attempt at half-blind dovetails. The lid is curly maple with a walnut “frame”. Finished with a couple coats of tung oil. I was relatively proud of how these turned out.

I wanted to try out my new box joint/dovetail jig, so I figured I’d make a recipe box for LMOL to hold 5×7 index cards. I was so proud of how the box came out considering it’s the first I’ve built. (I must say that I severely underestimated the challenge in building a “simple” box.) I finished the box, and went to get some index cards to put in it, and realized I can only find 5×8 cards. Not gonna fit. I guess 4×6 will have to do.

This is my first real project. It is an oak nightstand that I designed and built for my girlfriend for Christmas. It got too cold in the garage to complete the finish, so I had to move the kitchen furniture out of the way, and finish it in the kitchen. She loves it, but I find many areas for criticism. I would consider the style to be pretty close to Mission, but the hardware is probably a bit contemporary for it. Easy enough to change though. It was a learning experience, though, and I look forward to tackling my next project soon…an entertainment center.