Hand-Cut Triple Dovetail Box

Absolutely Beautiful ! ! ! My wife wants me to make her one now.

-- - " If you want square work, You don't cut corners. " - -- Tom Goodman, Santa Maria, CA. woodworkertom@gmail.com

My first reaction is WOW how can you do that by hand!

I did read your blog on cutting these dovetails but I doubt that I will ever achieve the patience or skills to master even those. I like the color and grain combinations but I think it would have been just as awesome without the inlay strips on the side.

Just my opinion.

The blog wasn’t mine, it was Woodhacker’s …... and I hated the inlay strips after I did it but it was too late.

-- Chris

Great piece of craftsmanship, Chris.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Chris,
First Reaction = Beautiful, great execution of a great design.
(Remember, you promised)
Constructive Criticism = I can’t see enough details in the pictures. Use a higher resolution on your camera. Get real closeups of all the features. Suggestions – the triple dovetails, the lid and the joinery used, the inside, the bottom, the hinges, etc. There can never be too many pictures because you can never predict when someone will get an idea or what it will come from. Learn how to add pictures to the body of the post. Add descriptive language so the pictures will be as clear as possible. If you can share a technique or a description of the result, you can inspire people to stretch their skills.

Thanks for the post, hope to see more of your quality work soon.

-- Jim

Great looking box. I like idea of using multiple wood species – we can learn many species in one project.

I’m a box making enthusiast and dovetail joinery fan, but never succeed in making hand-cut dovetail joints
as clean and snug-fit as your box. When I failed, I always blame the saw. Then, I tend to use router.
What type of dovetail saw you use?

-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.

Hate it?? No way. That box is the mark of a master craftsman. I think the wood tone and selection are just right. You can’t make a triple dovetail with similar woods, or no one would appreciate it!

Steve

-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17) †

woodworm, I use a coping saw and chisels

-- Chris

pow! you knocked one out of the park…

-- /\/\/\ BarryW /\/\/\ Stay so busy you don't have time to die.

Wow Chris,

Those detail pictures really show the quality of this piece.

Thanks a million,

-- Jim

I’m astounded. Amazing. If there is a flaw, it is that the piece is too busy. Sometimes, I find that it’s best to let spectacular details dawn on a person slowly. Using such high contrasting species is a very aggressive approach. Nonetheless, beautiful work!

-- Paul, Shelbyville, KY; (Ps 145: 1-2)

Chris, this is a stunning piece. It does make a bold statement as, Paul, suggested but I think that is part of the beauty of it.

Have you ever considered adding flocking the interior? To me that would add a nice detail to the box, not that it really needs anything else.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

definitely a 10! great work

-- making sawdust....

Terrific!! Thanks for posting.
I made some jewerly boxes for Christmas presents and I thought they were great until I looked at this. I really like the contrast of the different woods and the design in general.

Great design and great craftsmanship.

-- "A goal without a plan is a wish."

This is an absolutely wonderful example of how good craftsmanship can be. The ability to do all the different disiplines it took to build this box is outstanding, to say the least. That said, I will add a caution which I’ve seen in my other profession, saddlemaking; we must be careful that we don’t start to make pieces merely to impress our peers. As a prospective buyer, I might consider this box too busy of even gaudy. As a craftsman, I applaud your skills and patience.

-- Thos. Angle

Geometrically excellent!!! Perfect Craftsmanship. Great Job.

-- Dennis Zongker

Hi Chris, I’m totally envious….but it a good way! :)

Seriously…WAY TO GO! This is absolutely and completely 100% gorgeous. You’ve got so many woodworking skills going on in the one project here. The inlays don’t bother me one bit…gives me a lot to think about for future projects…and I like your bowtie (butterfly) miter keys. Some might wonder that it’s too busy, but man, in looking at this, there are so many skills you’ve displayed here to absorb and appreciate…to me that’s part of the beauty. This couldn’t do anything but make you very satisfied in pulling this off. If you do nothing else with it, simply keep it to showcase your obvious talent and skill. Great Job!

I don’t know about others but personally, I’d love to see a blog.

Thanks for sharing it.

-- Martin, Kansas

Wow! Nice work!

That is a truly amazing piece, you should be very proud. I agree with the above, that it might be too busy, but what are you gonna do? It’s a triple dovetailed box! The purple heart is kinda bright. Maybe subtle variations in different colors, and mill cuts of the same species, or similar would tone it down and be more subtle? I only say this to get you to build another, so that we can see. Funny thing about criticism, often the critics couldn’t do the work if their life depended on it (not without a lot of practice at least)!

Amazing.

-- Search out the Kavanah in occupation, acheive peace in life.

That is wonderfull!!!!
I can’t imagine the patience it would take to hand cut all those tails. If I had a weekend, I could not accomplish half this with an incra jig and a boatload of patience.

Again, very nice.

Tom

-- Anybody can become a woodworker, but only a Craftsman can hide his mistakes.

This is one of the coolest boxes I have seen. Great looking box. I love it.

-- Davesfunwoodworking

W O W !!! Love it !!! Great box !!!

-- ^_^ Zero education... zero experience... - that's me...^_^

Chris,

Your box is exceptional—especially impressive being all hand work. I have one suggestion. The outside appearance of the box is very dynamic with its contrasting woods and “moving” lines. But, the inside is quite plain. I think you could solve that easily enough (once you’ve decided on the purpose of the box) by creating an insert or lift-out that uses some of the same design elements as the outside of the box.

Dan in WV