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Project Information

"Box of Chocolates" was designed to showcase the beautiful raw material Mother Nature graced us with…wood. It took over 400 hours in a six month period to design and build. It is made up of over 450 pieces. It is 21" x 15" x 12". The main body portion is made out of Quartersawn Spalted Sycamore with African Blackwood splines. The grain of the sycamore wraps around the box. It has been carved to give it the texture of hand dipped chocolate. The main lid portions are Ziricote. It has a floating frame made from Canary wood and the center panel is a book-matched piece of figured Ash. Splines in the lid are made from a stack up of Maple and African Blackwood. Concave cuts in the lid and base represent the over tightening of an imaginary ribbon.

The rear view shows off the wooden hinges. They are constructed of Quartersawn Cocobolo and have 95 degree stops designed into them. The finials and plugs are Gaboon Ebony. The spacer is African Blackwood. The base of "BoC" is constructed of Ziricote. The legs are Shedua and made using a miter fold joint. Making a concave cut into that joint makes for an interesting grain pattern. Paduak dowels are used to further strengthen leg mounting.

The view with the lid open shows the 24 "Chocolates" inside. The "Chocolates" are 2.5" square boxes made from Spalted Maple. The grain runs around and entire box and they are all box jointed. Each lid is made from a different type of wood and contains a unique carving or design. The different lid woods are Wenge, Jatoba, East Indian Rosewood, Cocobolo, Purpleheart, Paduak, Redheart, Bloodwood, Birdseye Maple, Spalted Maple, Curly Maple, African Mahogany, Bolivian Rosewood, American Holly, Bubinga, Honduras Rosewood, Zebrawood, Leopardwood, Osage Orange, Canarywood, Bocote, Chechen, Yellowheart and Claro Walnut. The "Chocolates" are flush to the top of the divider. To remove them you reach under the main box and slide one of three lifting mechanisms towards you. 8 boxes will rise out of the main box per lifting mechanism. The far right boxes are in the up position. There is also more detailed picture of the 24 "Chocolate" tops showing the carvings and different woods. The divider that separates them is made from African Mahogany and was made using sliding dovetail joints…accuracy was key. You can also see the Koa butterflies that have been inserted into the lid.

The straight down overhead view shows the "layers". "Chocolates" on the left, lifting trays in middle and a view of the lifting dowels on the right. The "Chocolates" sit on trays made from Spalted Maple. The trays are lifted by the lifting dowels. The idea is that when you remove a "Chocolate" you see a tray and not a dowel. The "Chocolates" and trays are lined with a "chocolate" colored fabric.

There is one picture that shows the body of the box removed giving a clear view of the three lifting mechanisms in different states. They are made from Quartersawn Spalted Maple, Cherry and Oak. All dowels had a tenon turned onto the ends to guarantee straightness when mounted. They fit into a blind round mortise. On the left I show the lifting dowel plate removed. The middle shows the mechanism in a lowered position. The far right shows the mechanism in a lifted position. Position stops were designed into the cams so you cannot engage or disengage them too far. They are actuated by sliding a Bolivian Rosewood handle under the box. All the mechanism hardware, except for the handles, was finished with a hand rubbed polyurethane finish for durability.

All the other pieces of the box where sanded to 400 grit and finished with four coats of Danish Oil followed by two buffings with Briwax.

Sorry if I got a bit wordy in this…I still feel like I left something out! I also have a few pictures of it pre-finish if anybody is interested.

Gallery

Comments

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1,527 Posts
This is incredible!!!!!!

Thank you
 

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6,911 Posts
wow….I voted…wow
 

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You have allot of time in that one - looks great.

Thanks for sharing
 

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That is truly one incredible box. From the ingenuity of the design to the fantastic construction, it's a work of art.

My only criticism, if you could call it that, is that the way it is photographed it almost doesn't look real. I went through to photos before reading the description, and I was convinced this was a Sketchup or some other type of CAD drawing.
 

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Not sure what to say about this . . . .WOW!!!!!!
 

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250 Posts
Outstanding! What a creative mind you have…and then to actually carry it off so well.
Congratulations on a fine design.

I must say that I was quite surprised to see this. My current box is about done and has similarities to yours, though not as elaborate. I have been working on mine for about 6 weeks and I am busy fitting all the small pieces.
I am not copying your work, but who could blame me if I did. :)
Hopefully, it will be posted in a week or two.
 

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Andy…I can't wait to see it! I saw your boxes when I first joined and was very, very impressed….which would be why I added you to my buddies list right away:) Your comments, and everybody else's comments are very humbling…I am glad you like it.

Charlie…I have some "pre-finish" pictures of the box…but I just have them on my local computer so I can't load them…seems like I have to have a photobucket account or something along those lines to load them in the comments section….I will see what I can do…
 

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93 Posts
Wow is right! Stunning work!
 

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Fantastic box. It almost seems out of line to call it a box, it is truly a work of art. Very nicely done indeed. I intend to vote as well.
 

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Beautiful box! I especially like the hinges.
 

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Wow, very nice, lots of creativity and excellent execution. You must have lots of patience and dedication. By the way where in Illinois are you located? I am in Peoria.
 

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I guess that all tht is left to be said is "WOW" Again…......... there aren't to many other words that can describe something so absolutely unique, beautiful, gorgeous, a work of art, splendid, ........... well, you get the idea !!!!!!

Just fantastic, I love the do detailed design, the uniqeness, the wonderful selection of woods, the flow of the entire box, the carving, ................... well, again, I guess I kinda like the box !!!!
 

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Just incredible! And here I thought it actually WAS chocolate!

I am having trouble visualizing the lifting mechanism, though. How is it actuated?

This is really cool!

Greg
 

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real nice work, i don't know how u got so many pieces of wood together and make it come out so beautifull.
 

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this is just over the top…...what a piece of art this is…you out a beautiful job…and that's an understatement
 

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mgb_2x….I have the dedication and my girlfriend has the patience:) I am up in Waukegan…basically a hop skip from Wisconsin on the east side.

Greg.. underneath the box there are three handles. The handles are attached the the cam plates (the cam plates have the vertical ramps attached to them. When you slide the handle towards yourself that moves the vertical ramps towards you. The dowel plates(they have the eight dowels attached to them) have followers on them that ride up on the vertical ramps. There are two stationary dowels per lifting mechanism that guide the dowel plate and the cam plate. So….you pull the handle which moves the cam plate which lifts the dowel plate. Wow…this is pretty confusing to write out.
 

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incomprehensible wow great and wonderful amazing project very cool
 
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