Bookmatched Walnut Box

That second corner looks like a set of mean looking teeth from some sort of alien movie.

Question . . how in the heck did you “stick” those 1/4” mitered corners together? Were they glued?

Im just started getting interested in boxes and am curious about joinery.

Nice box Giz

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

I like your favorite corner also. Has that feather grain.

Good job!

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

Great job Gizmo. Nice around the corner job on the grain.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Zuki: It is just glue holding it together.. Check out the blog and you can see how I taped the box together. It is really basic. The main trick is devising a safe way to cut tiny pieces on miter. I tilted the table saw blade to 45 and then used a backer board on my miter gauge along with a stop block for repeat cuts. You can add mitered keys for more strength, but I did not want to disrupt the grain pattern.

Gary: Thank you.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Looks great! It’s really visually appealing – I like how slender the the sides are, and with the rabbeted top edge it looks really delicate. Beautiful wood!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Thanks Grumpy and Dorje. I agree Dorje that I like the thin pieces. It is really light too and I am somewhat clumsy so I really did expect to break it during construction.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Nice grain matching, excellent job Gizmo!

-- Les, Wichita, Ks. (I'd rather be covered in saw dust!)

Very nice job with the grain. I like walnut and will have to use more of it.

-- My mind is like lightning...one brilliant flash and then it's gone.

Nice box. I like the way that the grain flows around the box. Nice piece of wood for the project.

-- Jack - Mission Viejo, Calif

Nice job John. Are these types of boxes fun? I like the lever action for the lid. I may have to snatch that up. Was it part of the original design from the FWW article?

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

This is a great example of good bookmatching and joinery. Very nice work.

-- so much wood, so little time. Bradford.

To all: Thanks for all of the comments.

Jeff: The article details a bunch of lid styles including this one.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Very sweet box in all respects!

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

Cool. Which is was in?

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

I have the link posted above.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Great job, Gizmo! I think I will stick to 5/8 or 3/4 thick sides on mine till I get a lot better at them.

I really like the book matching on sides and top.

God Bless,
Hawg

-- Saving barnwood from the scrapyards

Whoops. I remember what I read about as well as I type and form sentences apparently… Thanks for your patience (and the link).

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

Giz. A grate wraparound box. It looks fantastic. And the grain has enough distinctive features to make it visable.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Nice job, I’ve never done a complete wrapped around like that. I’ve only done it where three corners are consistant. But this is a really sweet box. I love the lid idea, very creative. I’ve always loved your work, it’s great. Thanks for sharing.

-- Kaleo , http://www.kaleosworkshop.com

Really nice, Gizmodyne. The wrapped grain pattern is very “smart” looking on this classy, clean looking box. Nice proportions, and keeping it simple worked really well. Are those curls in the corner from crotchwood? Very cool.

-- Dust collectors suck.

Really nice box Giz – I like the flowing grain. Looks like you are putting that new saw to good use. How are you enjoying it (the saw)?

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

a fantastic job with a beautiful piece of wood!!

I’m not sold on the bottom either, but then I am not seeing the true colouring.
And, besides, it is inside and something will be stored in it, so who will be checking out the bottom anyway?? It’s all about the wraparound grain!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Hi giz,

I really feel I should say something unique about the box but to be honest with 22 posts already there isn’t much left to be said that hasn’t already been covered. However I will say it anyway I don’t blame you for posting the successive pics. Seeing the grain flow around the box like that is a wonderful detail.

I am going to have to try something like this. Seeing this post makes me want to start rummaging through my stack of cherry and finding a really nice board to work with since I haven’t built anything in a while.

Thanks for the inspiration.

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

Giz you have a great eye for grain, and did a fantastic job wrapping it around that box. Is is simply fantastic. I wouldn’t worry about the bottom as it ages it should darken a little and will probalby look even better than it does now. Got to love those guys from FWW, of course, they make it look easy…LOL Great job that walnut is amazing.

-- Jim Hallada, Chesterfield, VA

Kaleo: Thanks!

Blake: It is not crotch wood. I don’t think anyway. It is just some strange grain. I bought this board for a tool tote project, but the project warped in storage before I could complete it. This was the last piece of an 12 ‘board. I will have to go look at the rest of the board. I acutally planed down a chunk of the tool tote to make the lid. Pic posted above.

Bill: I really am loving the saw. It helps tremendously with accuracy to use a large stable saw.

Scott: Thanks for the comment. You should go for it.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Debbie: I am going to stick the box in the window to darken the mahogany and take another picture without the flash. Thanks for your thoughts.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Critterman: Thanks for the compliment.

Planning out the grain and placement of the pieces is very interesting to me in all projectsIn my classes we learned to spend a lot of time studying our pieces of wood for grain match. The instructor would spend 30 – 40 minutes on discussing the placement of the panels in the top or which way to face the grain on the legs.

If I can buy long boards I try to as there is much more opportunity for consistency. That is one reason to try to get wood from the same tree. Though there can be so much variation in even a single board or set.

My wife is the owner of the new box; I will show here all the talk.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Good looking box Giz! I only wish I had a band saw so I could try something similar :)

-- "Give me your poor tools, your tired steel, your huddled masses of rust." Yep, I ripped off the Statue of Liberty. That's how I roll!

You are going to go framesaw/bowsaw yeah? Old school.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Uh…..actually….uh….yeah, pretty much :D

-- "Give me your poor tools, your tired steel, your huddled masses of rust." Yep, I ripped off the Statue of Liberty. That's how I roll!

Wow, great box Gizmo! Where’d you find that big chunk of Walnut in your neck of the woods? I may have to visit your local hardwood dealer when I go to visit the folks…. Las Vegas doesn’t have the greatest suppliers :-/ Is that from Throop lumber?

-- Looking for free wood working plans? Visit us at www.AwlFreePlans.com

Absolutely a wonderful box Giz. Well done.

-- Maplewood, MN

Thanks Mark and Rikkor.

I bought the walnut at school, but they are supplied by Bonhoff Lumber in Los Angeles. I will take a trip there and get some photos at some point. It is several airplane hanger sized rooms stacked to the ceiling with pallets of hardwood. They are nice and will let you pick through the wood. They offer some milling services.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

You are crazy I mean good crazy thats something I would do . I love the trip around the box

-- Billp

Great box and tour, John. Now just put in a fabric bottom and you’ll be free of the mahogany unless you flip it over. Thanks for the great link!

The link is a fww.com article with a technique from Emily Palm of Blue Heron Woodworks. First appeared in Fine Woodworking #185

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Interesting idea Douglas. I will check it out.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Fantastic job matchinbg the grain!

-- --Chuck

Thanks Chuck!

By the way it looks like the current finewoodworking has a new article and video on the technique used here.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Beautiful wood, and great job on the box. I’ve always loved walnut.

-- Hi, my name is Bloggstein, and I'm a wood addict.

Thanks Bloggstein.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne