| Project by Blair Helgason | posted 1456 days ago | 1862 views | 18 times favorited | 15 comments |  |
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This jewelry box was my first commissioned piece as well as my first venture into solid-wood, woodworking. In spite of this, the project went very well, aside from a few set backs and mistakes.
The box was made for a friend, and fellow designer’s, wife. I was given complete design control so I started with some rough sketches and eventually completed a digital rendering. After that was approved we discussed price. Since this was my first piece and I couldn’t give the customer much of a guarantee on the quality we started fairly low. This was fine with me since I figured he was taking a bit of a chance.
I started with approx. 9’ of walnut and a half sheet of 1/8” baltic birch. I rough cut all of the pieces and milled them to their final thickness. I then moved on to the joinery using keyed mitres for the back corners and mortise and tennons for the front. The drawer was made with simple rabbets on the back and stopped dadoes on the front.
I sanded the whole box down to 180 grit and finished with Tung Oil, rubbing with fine steel wool between coats.
Both my friend and his wife couldn’t be happier with the box, so I guess it was a success. Thanks for reading!
P.S. I’d just like to thank James for taking a chance on me with this project and I hope it lasts for years.
-- Blair
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15 comments so far
a1Jim
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87370 posts in 1749 days
#1 posted 1456 days ago
Hey Blair
very nice jewelry box clean design and nice walnut
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
patron
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12073 posts in 1513 days
#2 posted 1456 days ago
very nice , easy to look at , majestic !
-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle
rrlumber
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25 posts in 1495 days
#3 posted 1456 days ago
Very nice… I like the flow of the grain around the piece. I also like the false drawer front and how you worked the lid into it.
-- Darrell, Round Rock
Ben
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150 posts in 1537 days
#4 posted 1456 days ago
Great piece. It looks very sturdy. I am sure your customer’s great grandchildren will still be enjoying it a century from now.
cobbler
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350 posts in 1963 days
#5 posted 1456 days ago
Nice box!
-- ''Carry on my wayward son''
Bradford
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1421 posts in 1995 days
#6 posted 1456 days ago
Beautiful results. Very accurate.
-- so much wood, so little time. Bradford. Wood-a-holics unanimous president
odie
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1675 posts in 2012 days
#7 posted 1456 days ago
Simple and elegant at the same time.
-- Odie, Confucius say, "He who laughs at one's self is BUTT of joke". http://woodstermangotwood.blogspot.com/ (my funny blog)
CharlieM1958
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14866 posts in 2391 days
#8 posted 1456 days ago
Nice and tight. Well done!
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
Douglas Bordner
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3907 posts in 2236 days
#9 posted 1456 days ago
Super clean design with all the internal bells and whistles. Great job!
-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.
Lee A. Jesberger
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6501 posts in 2152 days
#10 posted 1456 days ago
Hi Blair;
This is a nice box. I like the lines.
Lee
-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com
Ronnie Jackson
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44 posts in 1452 days
#11 posted 1451 days ago
very cool design, nice work
-- BlueMillWoodworking@gmail.com
Jay Neale III
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171 posts in 1507 days
#12 posted 1451 days ago
Excellent design! It should, indeed, last for years.
-- Read my amazingly insightful blog at http://jn3Woodworks.blogspot.com/
lou
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340 posts in 1615 days
#13 posted 996 days ago
good show,time for another.
NBeener
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4856 posts in 1346 days
#14 posted 996 days ago
Missed THIS one, first time around.
Wow !
Favorited.
I asked my mom if I could make her a tea box, but … her house has very little counter space. What she WOULD like is a jewelry box. This one is a real inspiration for me.
Well done !
-- -- Neil
LeslieC
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146 posts in 270 days
#15 posted 134 days ago
This is beautiful. I love the design and the wood you used.
-- There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert.
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