Project Information
Pictured is a jewelry box (12 x 7 x 6) with nesting trays. The sides are sloped with a slightly curved sweep at the bottom. The outer box is made with American Walnut sides and Movingui top and corner splines.
There are two striped inner trays. The top one is made of African Mahogany. The bottom one is made of American walnut. Both have a continuous inlayed stripe of 1/8 inch maple-walnut-maple running around the whole tray. I purposely cut into the top of the inlay on one corner because I liked the effect that you see on the forward corner.
There is a continuous hinge, inset in the back, and cut to fit. It is finished with 3 coats of poly and one coat of wax.
As you can see the stripe runs around all four corners and meets up perfectly.
Personal Note: This is an early box that I made in 2008. I borrowed it back to photograph from my first and most loyal customer. This early sale started me on a path of making boxes to sell. Such small things can make a big difference. As you can see I was experimenting with many different ideas here. It was fun to see this box again…like unexpectedly meeting an old friend that you really like, but hadn't seen in a while.
Focus: This stripe was made by starting with a board an inch and a quarter thick and two feet long. You cannot do this with a board much thinner as they will buckle as you apply clamping pressure later in the process. I laid the board flat on the band saw and cut an undulating curve down the full length staying about an inch away from the two edges with the bandsaw cut. The board is then separated and I inserted a strip of 1/8 inch maple, then 1/8 inch walnut, then 1/8 inch thick maple between the two halves of the board. Turn one half of the board up on edge and coat the bandsaw cut with a spread layer of carpenter's glue. Quickly coat the first piece of 1/8 maple with well spread glue, then one side of the walnut now coat the bandsawn edge of the board. You only need to coat one side of the 1/8 inch inserts with glue.
For good results make your 1/8 inch strips wider than the board and about a foot longer than the board. The curved line will be much longer than a straight line. Start clamping in the middle. I warn you everything will want to slip around with the coat of glue on it. Screw clamps work best for this as you will need quite a bit of pressure. Now work your way to the ends by applying clamps and pressure first on one side then another. Don't clamp the boards too tight too soon. Give the 1/8 inch strips time to bend, slide, and conform to the cut shape. Finish with a good tightening of all the clamps to compress the strips into the saw cut.
Give the glue a day to dry, plane the board's two sides flat and parallel. First, trim both ends square, then resaw the board. With the sawn faces up you now have a stripe that matches end to end. Lay out your box or tray from the center point where the two halves meet. Starting from the center point measure out a short side and a long side on the left board, then from the center measure out a long side and a short side on the right side. When you finish and are looking down at the two boards butted up with the bandsawn side up you should have some scrap, a long side, a short side, the butt joint, a long side, a short side, and some scrap.
This is tough to do with words. I'll do it with pictures as a turotial when my hip heals. Nice to know they are still stocking new parts for old guys.
Thanks: As always, thanks to all of you who looked at this project. A special thanks to all who took the extra time to comment or ask questions. I respond to all comments you make. My responses will be in batches during the next day or so. Please, check back on this posting.
There are two striped inner trays. The top one is made of African Mahogany. The bottom one is made of American walnut. Both have a continuous inlayed stripe of 1/8 inch maple-walnut-maple running around the whole tray. I purposely cut into the top of the inlay on one corner because I liked the effect that you see on the forward corner.
There is a continuous hinge, inset in the back, and cut to fit. It is finished with 3 coats of poly and one coat of wax.
As you can see the stripe runs around all four corners and meets up perfectly.
Personal Note: This is an early box that I made in 2008. I borrowed it back to photograph from my first and most loyal customer. This early sale started me on a path of making boxes to sell. Such small things can make a big difference. As you can see I was experimenting with many different ideas here. It was fun to see this box again…like unexpectedly meeting an old friend that you really like, but hadn't seen in a while.
Focus: This stripe was made by starting with a board an inch and a quarter thick and two feet long. You cannot do this with a board much thinner as they will buckle as you apply clamping pressure later in the process. I laid the board flat on the band saw and cut an undulating curve down the full length staying about an inch away from the two edges with the bandsaw cut. The board is then separated and I inserted a strip of 1/8 inch maple, then 1/8 inch walnut, then 1/8 inch thick maple between the two halves of the board. Turn one half of the board up on edge and coat the bandsaw cut with a spread layer of carpenter's glue. Quickly coat the first piece of 1/8 maple with well spread glue, then one side of the walnut now coat the bandsawn edge of the board. You only need to coat one side of the 1/8 inch inserts with glue.
For good results make your 1/8 inch strips wider than the board and about a foot longer than the board. The curved line will be much longer than a straight line. Start clamping in the middle. I warn you everything will want to slip around with the coat of glue on it. Screw clamps work best for this as you will need quite a bit of pressure. Now work your way to the ends by applying clamps and pressure first on one side then another. Don't clamp the boards too tight too soon. Give the 1/8 inch strips time to bend, slide, and conform to the cut shape. Finish with a good tightening of all the clamps to compress the strips into the saw cut.
Give the glue a day to dry, plane the board's two sides flat and parallel. First, trim both ends square, then resaw the board. With the sawn faces up you now have a stripe that matches end to end. Lay out your box or tray from the center point where the two halves meet. Starting from the center point measure out a short side and a long side on the left board, then from the center measure out a long side and a short side on the right side. When you finish and are looking down at the two boards butted up with the bandsawn side up you should have some scrap, a long side, a short side, the butt joint, a long side, a short side, and some scrap.
This is tough to do with words. I'll do it with pictures as a turotial when my hip heals. Nice to know they are still stocking new parts for old guys.
Thanks: As always, thanks to all of you who looked at this project. A special thanks to all who took the extra time to comment or ask questions. I respond to all comments you make. My responses will be in batches during the next day or so. Please, check back on this posting.