Project Information
Cherry pie, cherry slushies, chocolate covered cherries, I love them all. But, I love cherry wood even more. I recently got my hands on a beautiful piece of wide, black cherry lumber. I decided to build a big, elegant box entirely of cherry. It is 12" long, x 8" wide, and 8 inches tall. The lid is from the same board, and the splines are a contrasting hard rock maple.
My wife is my woodworking partner, I couldn't do it without her, and she does ALL of the finishing. (After I sand and sand and sand) She wipes the wood with mineral spirits, hand rubs two coats of tung oil, followed by two, three, or four coats of hand-rubbed poly. She uses steel wool between coats and allows a day or more between each coat. When the last coat is dry she then cuts and applies real leather to both the bottom of the box and the tray as well. Sometimes I get impatient and go down to her workshop and try to put on a coat of tung oil or poly, she gets very defensive. She owns the finishing department, and if I know what's good for me, I better stay the heck out!
I make sliding trays to fit inside the box. Sometimes full trays, but this one is half. It is also cherry, with maple splines. I like to insert dividers and recess them into the sides of the trays. That's a little tricky, because after milling the box sides, I have to cut in a dado for the bottom, then cut grooves in each side to accommodate the divider. Any little mistakes and I have to remill some matching wood (if I have any left) and do it all over again.
This box has a latch, which is not all that common for me. I usually sand in a groove under the lid to use as a lift. This is a nice and attractive change for me.
This box came out very well. I'm pleased with it. It's one of those I'd be happy to sell, and I'd be happy to keep if it didn't sell. I get attached to my boxes sometimes!
It was fun to build and I enjoyed the process. Years ago I learned that one of the most enjoyable things to do is to work hard and when finished, look at and admire your work. I still enjoy it. The only better feeling is presenting someone with my work seeing that they really, really like it.
I hope you like my box and I appreciate your time in looking at it!
Jerry
My wife is my woodworking partner, I couldn't do it without her, and she does ALL of the finishing. (After I sand and sand and sand) She wipes the wood with mineral spirits, hand rubs two coats of tung oil, followed by two, three, or four coats of hand-rubbed poly. She uses steel wool between coats and allows a day or more between each coat. When the last coat is dry she then cuts and applies real leather to both the bottom of the box and the tray as well. Sometimes I get impatient and go down to her workshop and try to put on a coat of tung oil or poly, she gets very defensive. She owns the finishing department, and if I know what's good for me, I better stay the heck out!
I make sliding trays to fit inside the box. Sometimes full trays, but this one is half. It is also cherry, with maple splines. I like to insert dividers and recess them into the sides of the trays. That's a little tricky, because after milling the box sides, I have to cut in a dado for the bottom, then cut grooves in each side to accommodate the divider. Any little mistakes and I have to remill some matching wood (if I have any left) and do it all over again.
This box has a latch, which is not all that common for me. I usually sand in a groove under the lid to use as a lift. This is a nice and attractive change for me.
This box came out very well. I'm pleased with it. It's one of those I'd be happy to sell, and I'd be happy to keep if it didn't sell. I get attached to my boxes sometimes!
It was fun to build and I enjoyed the process. Years ago I learned that one of the most enjoyable things to do is to work hard and when finished, look at and admire your work. I still enjoy it. The only better feeling is presenting someone with my work seeing that they really, really like it.
I hope you like my box and I appreciate your time in looking at it!
Jerry