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This was a very special box to me. My father-in-law has a 1969 Mustang that he drove my wife and I away from our wedding in. I have had the privilege of riding in it a couple other times as well. He takes very good care of it, and always makes it a point to care of our CR-V as well.

So when father's day came along, it only made sense to make him a box with the mustang logo on top, with a couple pictures from the mustang's life that he could look back on every once in awhile.

This is by far the best box that has ever come out of the shop, and is my first try at true inlay. It was a tedious process, especially when it came to the horse. But it was all worth it in the end, and I couldn't have chosen anyone better to give it too. The box itself is made from a piece of curly maple I actually found in the lumber section at Menards. If only they had known that this wasn't "typical" maple, although I am betting that the time it would have taken to sort it out would have offset the cost of milling it separately. Regardless, it meant a sweet deal for me! The inlays and splines are made out of wenge, and after doing this project, I am not sure that I would choose wenge to work with inlays anymore. The grain can be too deep in some places, meaning small divots if your not super careful when flush cutting. The inside is lined with felt wrapped around a 1/4 piece of scrap wood, and glued to the side. The hinges are also made of maple using a hingecrafter.

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Comments

· In Loving Memory
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That whole box is spectacular! The pony inlay appears perfect as do those cool hinges.
 

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Congratulations! Great work,great gift!
 

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That is a great looking box! I am a Mustang Nut I owne a 1966 Candy Apple Red convertiable, I have to make myself one like it, I just hope it comes out like yours, great job.
 

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Awesome box!!! I have a 70' Fastback. I bet your FIL will love this!!
 

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Great job! I have 2006 convertible Roush mustang
 

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Perfection….............."the hoof-beat of America!"

Great job.
 

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Very Fine Box, excellent inlay work, Great taste and style with superb craftsmanship, the added meaning of the gift always sets these type projects apart, Great job, thanks for sharing

ps. any pics of the process of the inlay, was it cut by hand or cnc, or ?
 

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Minion,

Your short list of projects is impressive. I really liked all three. This box is a masterpiece of inlay. The craftsmanship and patience shown in your work is first rate. The inlay in the front rim is eye catching too. This is great, thoughtful gift for a man who has obviously earned your respect.

What is a "Hinge Crafter"?
 

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Absolutely beautiful and a very thoughtful gift .

Kiefer
 

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Thanks for the words of encouragement everyone. To answer a couple questions…

The inlay was cut by router and scroll saw. I first cut out the rectangular profile, and inlayed the pieces as I went using an INCRA LS positioner on a router table to get the lines exactly where I wanted them. Then I cut the horse out on the scrollsaw out of 1/4 thick stock. The reason I didn't use any lower was because I was afraid that a smaller thickness would allow the piece to crack while setting it into the inlay, especially after clamping. Anyways, the next step was to stick the horse onto the top, about where I wanted to inlay it, and use doublesided tape to stick it to the surface, while I traced around it with an exacto blade. After the tracing was complete I took a router with a 1/8, and 1/16 bit and hogged out the inlay, slowly, and very carefully. To fine tune some of the corners, and tighter angles, I used an exacto blade. Once the the inlay was to a place where I felt comfortable placing the horse in, I filled it with glue, got the horse positioned slightly inside the hole, then took another piece of maple that covered the horse, and pipe clamped the two together, until the horse was all the way in. After that it's just a matter of sanding.

A hingecrafter is a product made by INCRA which allows the user to make wooden hinges, assuming you have a router table equipped with a INCRA LS positioner, or some type of box joint jig that can cut the necessary size box joints.
 

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Thanks for the detail on the inlay, it's Great to learn how You did it, it really looks Great, and I hope to try out that method in the future, thanks for sharing the info Mic
 
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