| Project by ferstler | posted 897 days ago | 1678 views | 14 times favorited | 18 comments |  |
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This is actually a Christmas present for my wife, and so she has not even seen it yet. I got the idea from seeing something at a crafts show recently, but I wanted to do my own take on the item.
The lid is select pine and was done quite simply with table saw, miter saw, jointer, planer, table-top shaper, and lots of hand sanding. There are six coats of satin-finish enamel on the piece. The knob was a store-purchased item.
The bottom section is in two pieces. The black part (four enamel coats this time) is select pine and was done about as conventionally as the lid. The stained part (douglas fir) was done separately, and that involved the most work. First, after cutting it to size I drilled out the holes using several forstner bits. Then, I rounded off the cuts at the tops using a roundover bit and a bench shaper. I also used a rabbit bit to very slightly (1/32nd inch) undercut the bottoms of each drilled hole. More on that, below.
The two pieces were glued together and once the glue was dried I used a planer, table shaper, and lots of hand-sanding elbow grease to smooth things over. The assembly (including the black enameled part) was then given four coats of clear satin polyurethane. Three small oak dowels were installed in the top of the bottom part, with corresponding holes in the lid to allow it to be properly aligned when installed. I used pins instead of hinges, because I wanted a clean look all the way around with the lid on.
OK, so why did I undercut the bottoms of the drilled holes? Well, the unit I saw at the crafts show had each hole bottom covered with thin felt pads. However, the builder could not cut them perfectly to size, and so you could see the irregularities at the bottom. My solution was to undercut the hole bottoms before gluing the two pieces together and then cut the pads for the bottom very slightly oversized. That way, they could be fitted into the recessed areas all the way around for a clean edge as dictated by the circle cuts themselves.
Howard Ferstler
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18 comments so far
Chip
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1904 posts in 2263 days
#1 posted 897 days ago
Wonderful box Howard. I like the soft edges you gave to the compartments that picks up on the lid edges. And I really like your pin registration. A very elegant, classy piece for sure.
-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt!
Dennis Zongker
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#2 posted 897 days ago
Very nice! Clean & Crisp. Super job!
-- Dennis Zongker
kolwdwrkrsgirl
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#3 posted 897 days ago
Pretty slick finish job! I like it
-- Heidi :) “The only source of knowledge is experience”
dustyal
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#4 posted 897 days ago
Nicely constructed. I like the idea of the undercutting for the felt and the pin pegs for holding the lid. Ingenious.
Actually, it seems to be a very useful jewelry box. Most ladies seem to accumulate more jewelry than can be held by any one box—regardless of size. On the other hand, they only wear their favorite stuff that can fix in your box. Very practical. Now, I will be told differently by the lady Lumberjocks out there… but then, it is just my theory.
-- Al H. - small shop, small projects...
CharlieM1958
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#5 posted 897 days ago
Sleeeeeek!
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
Loucarb
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#6 posted 897 days ago
Well done. Fantastic design & craftsmanship.
a1Jim
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#7 posted 897 days ago
Smooth clean lines, simple but elegant.
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
dpow
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#8 posted 897 days ago
Simple yet very unique. Great contrast with the finishes. Thanks for sharing.
-- Doug
Mark Blomster
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#9 posted 897 days ago
Nice work. That is a sleek looking box she is sure to love.
littlecope
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#10 posted 896 days ago
Slick and Sleek and Sharp!! Nice Work, my Friend, on a very appealing Box!!
-- Mike in Concord, NH---Unpleasant tasks are simply worthy challenges to improve skills.
stefang
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#11 posted 896 days ago
I like 3 things about your box Howard. It’s stylish, different and well made.
-- Mike, American in Norway
Eagle1
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#12 posted 896 days ago
Very interesting box. Well designed, soft simple lines. What did you use inside the holes?
-- Tim, Missouri ....Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the heck happened
Firefighter
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#13 posted 896 days ago
I always enjoy seeing solutions like undercutting the holes. The imperfect felt would drive me crazy, but I don’t think I would have thought of your solution. Great work.
patron
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#14 posted 896 days ago
very well done
elegant
she will love it
-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle
SPalm
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#15 posted 896 days ago
Nice.
And very clever.
Good job,
Steve
-- -- I'm no rocket surgeon
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