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Well, this is my first post here on lumber jocks. This is going to be a gift for my mom for christmas, started about a month and half ago at this point. I started getting really into woodworking about a year ago and luckily since I'm in college the shop here has a full set of tools and I've been fortunate to have access to everything.

Anyways, the woods on here are zebrawood, paduak, purpleheart, jatoba, walnut, spanish cedar, and ash burl veneer for the lid. It's a lot, but I like the colorful look that it gives the box. I still have to make the inserts but I ran out of time and studying for my nuclear engineering exams took priority, mother's day gift? Haha, anyway, enjoy and as always I welcome any feedback. This is my second box project and probably my most time consuming project yet, a little over 100 hours. Thanks for looking!

- Matt

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Welcome to Ljs again Matt
This box is fantastic a real work of art . a beautiful piece ,your mother had to love it.
 

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Very, very nice! I'd respectfully describe it as busily beautiful, but it works and is a great show case for your many skills. Your mother is going to love it.
 

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Great lookng box. This looks like it was built by true craftsman. You mom should love this gift I'm sure!
Nice work!
 

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What a great gift for your mother…one that she will certainly cherish forever.
 

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Thank you all for the comments! This box was a lot of firsts for me in terms of trying new techniques and things I otherwise wouldn't normally have to do like the double double joints. Our shop did not have a sawstop mech. for the dado blade so I had to do those by hand with the dovetail, coping saw, and chisel. All in all it added up to 20 repetitions of cutting the slots by hand so I did get a lot of practice during this time and I feel much more confident about my ability to do it again in the future with more accuracy.

Like I said, I'm still really new to the hobby but I feed off of seeing others projects and knowing that with enough work I have the potential to create some of the amazing project online. Challenges tend to drive me to produce my best work.

*HillbillyShooter - I definitely think "busy" is completely accurate. I thought about it after that the corners might have looked better if I had used the walnut/paduak instead of the jatoba/purpleheart but in the end I think it another small element that works alright in this fashion. Definitely something for me to consider more carefully in a future build!
 

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Welcome to LJ's

Absolutely stunning work.
 

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Excellent workmanship …100 hours at a nuclear engineers salary. Can't sell it mom will have to appreciate it! LOL. I'm sure she will.
 

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Matt….super nice work….looks like an elegant box you'd see in a movie like National Treasure….a box to hold something very old and important. Your work right…"OUT OF THE BOX" gives some of the seasoned box guys here at LJs a run for it.
Tim
 

· In Loving Memory
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Hi Matt and welcome to LJ. This box is really hot (if not radioactive). Wonderful workmanship.
 

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Hi Matt beautiful box, The details finish and combination of wood look fantastic, Your mother must love it :)
 

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Thanks for the compliments all of you, I do appreciate it! I'm giving it to her on Christmas day and she doesn't have any idea that something is coming, as long as my Dad or sister doesn't let the secret out ahead of time!
 

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Welcome, and I have to write this is very nice. It reminds me of some of my travels…
 

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Welcome Matt, and congratulations on crafting a phenomenal box. You have a lot of different skills at work there, the inlay for example. And it works very well.

I spent an entire quarter at Oregon State University studying nuclear engineering. I knew that it wasn't for me when one of the homework problems required me to set up a triple integral. I figured that getting a low grade in the Nuclear Reactor Theory class was not conducive to a successful career in that field. So I switched to Psychology and loved it.
 

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Thanks Brad. Nuke definitely isn't easy but sometimes those ridiculous math problems are what makes me strive to get better! Right now I'm still liking it but who knows what'll happen in the future?
 

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this box is out of the park for me, its fabulous, you did a wonderful job and its a box your mom will love, welcome to lumberjocks, you will find many talented wood workers here who will inspire you and even help you if you come to need it on a certain project, i salute you on this project, you have done an excellent job, and its one i shall add to my favorites..keep at it, your on a good trail of becoming a great wood worker.
 

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First of welcome to the Greatest Web Site Around! What a fist project! While it is a little busy for me like you mentioned, looking at all the details separately allows you to really appreciate your craftsmanship and design. Great wood choices and colors. Great work, your Mom will Love this.
Again welcome. Look fwd to seeing more.
 

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This is an exceptional box. Are all the side decorations veneers? Also, did you make that inlay banding yourself? The fit and finish looks superb. I really like the angled cuts into the corner splines on the lid. It's nice to see a fellow engineer woodworker on here.
 
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