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20K views 17 replies 6 participants last post by  RoadHogg 
#1 ·
Rough Cutting Parts

I decided to build, what I think is, a nice jewelry case for my Niece's birthday this summer. The case is Walnut with Bird's Eye Maple for drawers and accents. There are some secondary 1/8" panels that will be either Baltic Birch or hardboard. Plans are from an older issue of Wood magazine.

Here's what it should look like when complete:

Brown Cabinetry Wood Chest of drawers Rectangle


Yesterday I cut everything but the hardboard to rough size.

Wood Flooring Rectangle Floor Wood stain


Then I dadoed out 10 tiny rails and stiles for half lap joints.

Wood Rectangle Floor Flooring Wood stain


I really like the look of the case in the example pictures so I hope it turns out nice.

The smallest frame and panel glue-up I've done to date. It's about 5" across, 3/8" thick.

Wood Tool Red Electric blue Flooring


I have a question. This is the first time I've worked with Walnut. I see that it seems to have a number of open pores similar to oak. When I sand the Walnut, the light coloured sanding dust gets into these pores and contrasts against the darker wood surface. Should I be concerned? This dust mostly blows away with the air gun but some of it remains. I plan to polyurethane this project when complete, will this dust, or these pores be something to contend with at that point?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Wood Pink Material property Rectangle Magenta
 

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#2 ·
Rough Cutting Parts

I decided to build, what I think is, a nice jewelry case for my Niece's birthday this summer. The case is Walnut with Bird's Eye Maple for drawers and accents. There are some secondary 1/8" panels that will be either Baltic Birch or hardboard. Plans are from an older issue of Wood magazine.

Here's what it should look like when complete:

Brown Cabinetry Wood Chest of drawers Rectangle


Yesterday I cut everything but the hardboard to rough size.

Wood Flooring Rectangle Floor Wood stain


Then I dadoed out 10 tiny rails and stiles for half lap joints.

Wood Rectangle Floor Flooring Wood stain


I really like the look of the case in the example pictures so I hope it turns out nice.

The smallest frame and panel glue-up I've done to date. It's about 5" across, 3/8" thick.

Wood Tool Red Electric blue Flooring


I have a question. This is the first time I've worked with Walnut. I see that it seems to have a number of open pores similar to oak. When I sand the Walnut, the light coloured sanding dust gets into these pores and contrasts against the darker wood surface. Should I be concerned? This dust mostly blows away with the air gun but some of it remains. I plan to polyurethane this project when complete, will this dust, or these pores be something to contend with at that point?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Wood Pink Material property Rectangle Magenta
Your plan looks great. Your sanding dust problem is caused by tear out and it will cause problems when you go to finish this piece. You'll need to sand or plan the wood to remove the divot. If you don't, you'll see a a divot under the finish. From the pictures, it doesn't look too bad. I'd start at 150 or 180 grit and remove the dimple using a sanding block to keep thing flat. Then work your way back up the grits. Good luck.
 

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#3 ·
Rough Cutting Parts

I decided to build, what I think is, a nice jewelry case for my Niece's birthday this summer. The case is Walnut with Bird's Eye Maple for drawers and accents. There are some secondary 1/8" panels that will be either Baltic Birch or hardboard. Plans are from an older issue of Wood magazine.

Here's what it should look like when complete:

Brown Cabinetry Wood Chest of drawers Rectangle


Yesterday I cut everything but the hardboard to rough size.

Wood Flooring Rectangle Floor Wood stain


Then I dadoed out 10 tiny rails and stiles for half lap joints.

Wood Rectangle Floor Flooring Wood stain


I really like the look of the case in the example pictures so I hope it turns out nice.

The smallest frame and panel glue-up I've done to date. It's about 5" across, 3/8" thick.

Wood Tool Red Electric blue Flooring


I have a question. This is the first time I've worked with Walnut. I see that it seems to have a number of open pores similar to oak. When I sand the Walnut, the light coloured sanding dust gets into these pores and contrasts against the darker wood surface. Should I be concerned? This dust mostly blows away with the air gun but some of it remains. I plan to polyurethane this project when complete, will this dust, or these pores be something to contend with at that point?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Wood Pink Material property Rectangle Magenta
Thanks kenn. I was afraid that was the answer. My fear is that much sanding will throw my dimensions off too much on such a small piece. I have sanded some and I don't see much difference. I'll follow what you suggest here and see what happens. I appreciate the reply!
 

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#4 ·
Drawer Pulls

The six little drawers have maple fronts with walnut pulls. The pulls are actually a walnut front with an oval routed out of the center. The oval is routed first from the back with a 1/2" bit, then from the front with a 1/4" bit. That makes a nice little finger grab pull. I had to create a template for this oval.

Wood Automotive tire Road surface Flooring Gas


Brown Rectangle Wood Tints and shades Font


Brown Wood Rectangle Art Tints and shades


Brown Wood Tints and shades Rectangle Font


Wood Font Rectangle Signage Number
 

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#5 ·
Rip Panels and Rabbet Insides

I got a little time to work on the jewelry case this week so I ripped some of the little panels to proper width then I ran a rabbet around the inside of each one. Three will get glass inserts, one will get a mirror and one will get a walnut panel. The rabbets are 1/4" x 1/4". I then squared the corners with a chisel. Off they go to the glass shop.

Eye Eyelash Wood Pink Circle


Wood Rectangle Font Hardwood Wood stain
 

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#6 ·
Glass Cutting

I decided to not send the little panels to the glass shop to have glass cut and I'm really glad I made that choice. Instead, I bought a $8.00 glass cutting tool and cut the glass I need from some broken window glass that was laying in the back yard. Basic glass cutting is really easy so if you haven't tried it, you really should. I learned everything I needed from youtube. So, not much to show and tell, just, I cut the glass and installed it in the little frames…well, I need to attach it, I guess I'll try those little pins you see, will need to pick them up next trip to the store.

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain Varnish
 

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#7 ·
Top and Base and Trim

In between working on a larger project, I've been fitting in a few minutes (hours) to fiddle with this jewelry case. Today I cut the top and bottom to size, ran rabets and dados, milled some trim on my router table and mitered the trim to fit. This included making up a simple miter jig for the table saw. Once complete, the jig is an excellent way to get perfect miters every time. It'll come in handy when making picture frames etc too.

To make the stopped dados in the top and bottom, I first sliced off a strip from the front of the blank, ran the dados through then glued the slice back on. That worked pretty good, there is almost no indication the pieces were ever cut.

Table Rectangle Wood Wood stain Flooring


Brown Rectangle Wood Hardwood Wood stain


Brown Rectangle Wood Flooring Tints and shades


Table Wood Rectangle Beige Flooring


Wood Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain Tints and shades


Wood Wood stain Flooring Automotive exterior Hardwood


It was suggested that a "secret drawer" in the base would be a welcome surprise to any little girl. I decided to try this out and I must say I'm pleased with the result. I simply ran a groove around the inside of the base and slipped in a piece of 1/8" baltic birch plywood. I also grooved the back trim piece and then glued it to the plywood. I then glued small drawer sides to the face of the plywood. On the "back" of the drawer I placed two small rare earth magnets to keep the drawer closed tightly until it's time to pull it open to access the secret treasures held within.

Wood Rectangle Hardwood Wood stain Flooring


Table Wood Rectangle Floor Flooring


Table Wood Rectangle Window Flooring


Table Wood Wood stain Hardwood Flooring
 

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#8 ·
Tiny Drawers, Tiny Rabbets, Tiny Dados!

Continuing with the tiny drawers, of which there are six, I constructed a little "cabinet" for them to sit in. They basically just sit on little shelves, negating the need for slides etc, which in this case, are not at all practical due to the size of this case. Nothing rocket science here, just fiddling with 12 little drawer fronts/backs and 12 little drawer sides. All 24 pieces got a small rabbet in the bottom edge and the sides each got rabbets in the ends where they will meet with the front and back. Today I'm glad I have all those tiny clamps I never use!

I also cut six little squares of baltic birch (1/8") plywood for the drawer bottoms.

Tire Automotive tire Wheel Vehicle Motor vehicle


Rectangle Wood Table Flooring Floor


Wood Tool Flooring Engineering Design
 

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#9 ·
Tiny Drawers, Tiny Rabbets, Tiny Dados!

Continuing with the tiny drawers, of which there are six, I constructed a little "cabinet" for them to sit in. They basically just sit on little shelves, negating the need for slides etc, which in this case, are not at all practical due to the size of this case. Nothing rocket science here, just fiddling with 12 little drawer fronts/backs and 12 little drawer sides. All 24 pieces got a small rabbet in the bottom edge and the sides each got rabbets in the ends where they will meet with the front and back. Today I'm glad I have all those tiny clamps I never use!

I also cut six little squares of baltic birch (1/8") plywood for the drawer bottoms.

Tire Automotive tire Wheel Vehicle Motor vehicle


Rectangle Wood Table Flooring Floor


Wood Tool Flooring Engineering Design
Small things are a lot more fun to make than large things. This is looking very good.
 

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#10 ·
Tiny Drawers and BLO to Finish

I wasn't intending to start applying finish just yet but once I started with the Boiled Linseed Oil, I couldn't stop. The Walnut just came alive in that beautiful rich tone that I just love. I had been assembling the small drawers and I needed to glue the walnut fronts to the maple drawer boxes. I knew I needed to apply finish to the maple before installing the fronts otherwise getting any finish in there would be almost impossible. I went ahead and applied BLO to the little drawers, then the fronts, then a few more pieces and before I knew it, I'd finished just about everything…being mindful to not apply BLO where I need to glue parts together.

I'll get more pictures soon…this is what I have so far.

Wood Musical instrument Hardwood Wood stain Varnish


Wood Rectangle Floor Flooring Varnish
 

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#11 ·
Glass and Mirrors

Among the new skills I've learned in this project, I learned the basics behind cutting glass. This project has two glass panel doors, one glass panel side and two mirrors, set into frames. To my surprise and delight, cutting glass is really quite easy. I won't go into that detail here but suffice to say if you are thinking about cutting your own glass, do it!

Once I cut all the glass and mirrors, I epoxied them into the frames. The mirrors were easy as the backs aren't seen so I didn't have to be too careful with the epoxy but the three glass inserts will be seen from both sides so much more care was in order. They all turned out quite nicely, if I do say so myself.

The plans did not call for anything to finish off the back sides of the doors and the glass panel and I didn't like the way they looked from behind so I ripped a few walnut strips 1/4" x 1/8" on the table saw and used my miter jig to cut them to length. They fit pretty nicely, I glued them into the frames. More uses for all those tiny clamps I never use elsewhere.

Brown Rectangle Wood Tints and shades Creative arts


Brown Rectangle Wood Wood stain Brick


Brown Rectangle Wood Brick Tints and shades


Brown Wood Rectangle Creative arts Fixture


Brown Rectangle Wood Art Wood stain


Hand tool Wood Tool Font Art
 

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#12 ·
Assembly and Hinges

Today I began assembly. Everything went really well. One small error I had to fix, Once the glue was dry, I noticed the little drawers were slightly proud of the side panel. This would prevent the door from closing. I just took out each drawer and sanded a bit off the face. They fit fine now.

I had to chisel out eight tiny hinge mortises. I've also never done those before. They turned out quite nice.

I only have to do a final fit on the doors and screw them into place then give the whole thing a light final sanding and a couple more coats of Boiled Linseed Oil.

Brown Wood Rectangle Gas Hardwood


Wood Wood stain Hardwood Flooring Tool


Wood Rectangle Flooring Shelving Floor


Furniture Cabinetry Table Wood Drawer


Cabinetry Drawer Wood Chest of drawers Table
 

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#13 ·
Assembly and Hinges

Today I began assembly. Everything went really well. One small error I had to fix, Once the glue was dry, I noticed the little drawers were slightly proud of the side panel. This would prevent the door from closing. I just took out each drawer and sanded a bit off the face. They fit fine now.

I had to chisel out eight tiny hinge mortises. I've also never done those before. They turned out quite nice.

I only have to do a final fit on the doors and screw them into place then give the whole thing a light final sanding and a couple more coats of Boiled Linseed Oil.

Brown Wood Rectangle Gas Hardwood


Wood Wood stain Hardwood Flooring Tool


Wood Rectangle Flooring Shelving Floor


Furniture Cabinetry Table Wood Drawer


Cabinetry Drawer Wood Chest of drawers Table
Nicely done, Brad. Make sure you post this as a project.
 

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#15 ·
Installing Doors, Final Sanding, Applying Finish

I'm so close to finishing this little project. I looked back at the date on the beginning of this blog series and it's nearly 70 days ago!

Today I fussed with the little doors, getting them aligned as best as I can. There must be some trick to this that I'm missing, if anyone knows, please let me know!

I had applied a coat of Boiled Linseed Oil a while ago so once the assembly was complete, I sanded everything to 360 grit. The fine sanding dust mixed with the BLO made a natural filler for the small pores in the walnut. The surface is very smooth now. I'm quite pleased.

I have only to install some drawer lining and a thing in a drawer to hold rings, then I can clean all the glass and mirrors and call it complete. I won't get to give the case to my niece until mid-August so it'll have to sit aside for a few weeks.

Wood Cabinetry Varnish Wood stain Hardwood


Brown Cabinetry Wood Wood stain Hardwood


Wood Interior design Door Hardwood Wood stain
 

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#16 ·
Installing Doors, Final Sanding, Applying Finish

I'm so close to finishing this little project. I looked back at the date on the beginning of this blog series and it's nearly 70 days ago!

Today I fussed with the little doors, getting them aligned as best as I can. There must be some trick to this that I'm missing, if anyone knows, please let me know!

I had applied a coat of Boiled Linseed Oil a while ago so once the assembly was complete, I sanded everything to 360 grit. The fine sanding dust mixed with the BLO made a natural filler for the small pores in the walnut. The surface is very smooth now. I'm quite pleased.

I have only to install some drawer lining and a thing in a drawer to hold rings, then I can clean all the glass and mirrors and call it complete. I won't get to give the case to my niece until mid-August so it'll have to sit aside for a few weeks.

Wood Cabinetry Varnish Wood stain Hardwood


Brown Cabinetry Wood Wood stain Hardwood


Wood Interior design Door Hardwood Wood stain
That's a beautiful Jewelry Case with plenty of room for her to 'grow' her collection of "Bling".

This case should also score you some major 'Favorite Uncle' points.

Very nicely appointed.
Work Safely and have Fun. - Grandpa Len.
 

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#18 ·
Finished

There's not much more to say than, I'm done! This little project took me a long time but I enjoyed every minute of the build, well, except the hinge installation part, I hated that! It finished well and cleaned up nicely. I learned a lot along the way, one thing I learned is that I love working with Walnut…I'll be looking for more Walnut projects in the future. Here are some pictures.

Cabinetry Chest of drawers Wood Rectangle Drawer


Pet supply Rectangle Wood Hardwood Plywood


Rectangle Wood Wood stain Cabinetry Hardwood


Rectangle Wood Shelving Wood stain Pet supply
 

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