Hi Marc. Thanks for posting some beginner projects here – it’s been encouraging to see a wide variety of skill levels on The Wood Whisperer. The Jewelry Box was my wife’s anniversary present this past June. She granted permission to send you a few pictures – but I think she would have wanted to ‘rearrange’ the jewelry inside before snapping these! In any case, I’m new to woodworking and I learned a lot in the process of ‘creating’ the design and I’ve learned a lot from your videos. Seriously, thanks for what you do.
Here are some specifics about the project:
The Honduras Mahogany I received for free from a woodshop that had accidentally planed the rough lumber too thin for their use! Tragic. The grain pattern shifts around in the light – which I thought was interesting and Denise was able to select the pieces herself – which was also cool. (The box was a surprise, but the lumber wasn’t.)
I don’t own a planer – so I left it 3/4 – which might be strange for such a small box – but works for a new guy! It was my first drawer box and it took a little while to get sized just right. I opted to not try anything fancier than a dado…but it’s tight enough for this small stuff.
I made up the dimensions and the basic design, partly from your maple/bubinga box (awesome by the way) and partly from the sizes of the pieces I was trying to use up. Your design video also helped. The earring holder I saw in a magazine on someone else’s box and tried it out with just some blade kerfs. The rest of it was made-up-as-you-go.
By the way – there is a sliding dovetail joint in there above the dbox. My first one. I’ll probably use that a lot more because it’s pretty strong and easy to make. Plus it looks like I know what I’m doing. Personally, I can see a number of places to self-improve– the finish, the open grain issue on Mahogany, etc. I think I’ll need to buy your finishing video for the next one! In any case. I hope you enjoy it.
Nice work Jeff. That wood is beautiful.
Good job. Those doors and sides with the swirling grain are beautiful.
Nice work, the design is unique for a jewelry box. The grain pattern on the side is wonderfull.
Great project Jeff. Keep it up. I hope to make a jewelry box for my daughter soon.
Your jewelry box definitely has a “WOW” factor. As expensive as mahogany is, I’ve just gotta try this wood in the future.
Great results – I have yet to try my hand at dovetails, I will probably try them this weekend(as far as I know the wife has no plans for me) Wife is probably very pleased with your efforts I can’t even tell that you are a beginner.
That is some nice looking wood. Great job with the box.
Nice work that wood is awesome. I also loke the drawer.
Hey Jeff,
That is a truly beautiful piece. I love the dovetails. I,m still practicing with that. I have the other jewelry box on the viewer projects and I know what kind of work goes into these. Great job!
Bob
Hey Bob. You’re right. There IS a lot of work in these…especially for a beginner like me. I don’t really even know how many hours…since it’s part-time mostly.
Someone asked me today what tools I used and I was honest when I said, “A table saw, a shaper, a miter saw, four band-aids and an advil.”
Thanks for looking at the box and for the kind comments!