Candle Box

This is another small candle box made from two bits of scrap curly maple and a little Honduran Rosewood. I made the box easily enough once I built a miter cutoff sled for the table saw but….I got stumped how to top the box. I looked at the recent Fine Woodworking magazine which, serendipitously, had an article on how to top boxes using 4-5 different techniques. Anyway, I pounced on the idea of building another 5 sided box to fit atop the existing box; for that purpose, I picked up some of the rosewood which had streaks of pink, grey, green and blue. I also used a tiny bit of the rosewood scrap to make a pair of feet since the box looked too top heavy with the lid. Next time, I think I’ll use a 1/4” top box instead of 3/8”. Live and learn, eh?

The only unusual thing I tried dealt with the finish. I didn’t like the chatoyance with just a plain oil finish and the darker oil treatments let the effect too muddy. With this curly maple, I wiped down the pieces with natural finish and then I did a light wash with Watco Dark Walnut Danish Oil. I think that got the effect I wanted.

Anyway, I’ll let it cure for a few days and then I ship it off to California.

It’s a simple enough project, but like most of my woodworking, it takes about 10-15 times longer than it should.