First Marquetry Box

I’m sure the box will go for more than $100. I wish I had the patience to try marquetry – I admire those who do.

-- You can't get a hug from Facebook.

Beautifull box! Fantastic job on the marquetry. Great job on the curved front. I’m not that brave yet. Still trying to keep my boxes square! :-)

Great choice of contransting woods. All in all a very fine project that I am sure will bring more than the $100 starting price.

The mirror is also a nice added touch. Most jewelry boxes are so small a mirror won’t work good, but yours is a fine addition to the box.

Keep up the great work.

Scrappy

-- Scrap Wood's the best...the projects are smaller, and so is the mess!

Nice job Tom. I still haven’t tried marquetry but seeing this may inspire me! I’m sure the lucky winner will be very happy with it. Kind of you to donate it. Keep up the good work, and thanks for sharing!

-- Jim, www.greenteawoodworking.com

great looking box. I was wondering about your hinges. I’ve heard that similar ones are very tedious to install. Where did you get yours and were you happy with the installation?

-- It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.

That’s a fantastic looking box all around! Especially the inlays.

I like the quadrant hinges.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Very nice job. I look forward to seeing many more. Thanks for sharing.

-- ~ Inspiring those who inspire me ~

Top notch work beautiful

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Very very beautiful.
Great work!

-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.

Beautiful work. $100 would be a steal

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas

Wow, very, very nice !!!
Love the design, the curved front, wood combination, marquetry, quality…......... what else, I Love It!!!
Great job and thanks for sharing.

What are the dimensions and also, what did you use to stick the mirror on without taking off the silvering on the back of the mirror?

tks

-- Gene, Majestic Eagle Woodworks, http://majesticeagleww.etsy.com/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/majesticeagle/

Double that n double again says I.

-- Drink once, cut twice. New website up.... lazylarrywoodworks.com.au

A masterpiece. If you look at jewelry boxes on the web you will see that boxes not nearly as nice as yours are going for $1500-$2000 dollars from retailers. Don’t let someone steal it for $100, especially since it is for charity!

-- Mike, American in Norway

Very beautiful ~~

I also had the good fortune of meeting Jane Burke, and buying her starter kit at a woodworking show in Richmond – nearly two years ago. Guess what. Except for moving all that I purchased into a nice box with drawers in my shop, and purchasing a nifty Exacto set (also place in the same box), I’ve yet to make my first marquetry attempt. Chicken! Perhaps. But I think it is lack of creative inspiration. I love your leaves on this box. The green works so very well with the walnut. I’m afraid that after working long and hard on a box, I’ll make a royal mess with the marquetry. Even if it’s technically OK, I’m still anxious that the design will look amateurish. Your design looks perfect. I’m inspired again. Perhaps with rain scheduled for this weekend, I’ll give it a try again. Thank you for sharing this fine example of craftsmanship.

-- Whatever

Iam new to marquetry also and if this is your first box you are going to do great things. Thanks for sharing.

-- Billp

Tom, very nice work in all aspects and for a charity auction too – good on you.

-- Phil in British Columbia

Great looking box. You did a beautiful job on this piece. Excellent craftsmanship. Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa

Hi Tom, Wow, great job. beautiful box

-- Ron, Michigan

Gorgeous.

-- When the tide goes out you see who's been skinny dipping.

Thanks everyone so much for the comments. I was really nervous building this one.

Croquetman – I bought that exact same exacto knife and ruler kit. In fact the veneer used on this box came from the veneer pack that Jane sold me. Besides that little variety pack, I’ve actually never bought any veneer. I think I’d be so intimidated because I’d have no clue what I’d be buying. Jane’s little pack gave me a bunch of different samples and I just started cutting. One cool thing I found about marquetry, is that I could do it on the coffee table (with a mat) in front of the TV. That way I could spend an evening with my wife and wood work at the same time. Best of both worlds!

majeagle – The box is about 12 long X6 deep and 5.5 high. The mirror is actually an acrylic mirror I got on ebay. It comes with paper stuck to both sides. You can cut it with a bandsaw, which is how I got the curve. I then installed it with the lid and let it float so I actually didn’t glue it or anything. I learned this, because the last box I made (shown below), I glued the mirror to the bottom side of the lid. Within a few days, it split the lid to form a crack, and then about a year later, my mom (who I gave it to) said the mirror cracked from corner to corner. I hope the “floating” acrylic mirror solves these problems

ryno – the hinges are a pain, but they look really cool and they’re cheap ($10-$15). If you want something that looks cool and a ton easier to install, check out the kind on the humidor I just posted. The only problem is that they are around $30-$35. I got both kinds at woodcraft, but they are also at rockler.com

Hope I didn’t miss anyone’s question…

-- Tom, Simsbury, CT

Normally Im not interested in boxes when looking the projects section, but this one really caught my attention…this is a beautiful box, the colors are so relaxed, refined, the motiv on top of the lid is gorgeous with the green-yellow leaves….outstanding box in every detail…...Thats going to raise the price at the auction!

-- Francisco Luna, San Francisco Bay Area.

That is a beautiful box.

John

-- John

I love your boxes and your choice of quadrant hinges. are they difficult to install?

-- All bleeding will eventually stop.

Thanks TraumaJacques. I would call quad hinges more annoying than difficult. I’ve only done them twice and both times they turned out well. They do require a little bit of thought and set up with router table. But if you want a simple way to do it, check out the Beal Tool Company website. They sell a jig that lines them up. If memory serves, the jig isn’t too expensive. I’ve been meaning to purchase it, but haven’t got around to it…

Tom

-- Tom, Simsbury, CT

Great looking box!

-- It's better to have people think you're stupid rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Gorgeous Box and the lid is just perfect !

-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .