Build a Better Box, Box.

Inspired by the many great LJs boxmakers, recent FWW Magazine articles, and FWW's latest video series by Matt Kenney, I decided to explore this aspect of woodworking. I’ve made some artist's pastel boxes and a couple others a few years ago, but this time around I want to try to learn more about this art. This was my first one in this series and I have several in production now. This one is made out of Wenge and Birdseye Maple. I bought some felt at a fabric store and followed the directions in FWW and the lining came out alright. A couple years ago I built a jewelry armoire and used some self adhering felt from Rockler, I think, and it was much better to work with. I’ve just ordered some from Woodcraft along with some barrell hinges. This box was a retirement gift for a co-worker. I applied a thin coat of Seal-A-Cell then used a pore filler on the Wenge followed by several coats of Naptha/GF Topcoat (see TWW’s A Simple Varnish Finish). I then applied a coat of Renaissance Wax and buffed it out to a nice shine and feel.

-- tim hill www.newcalshop.com