cherry helmet case

My former commander retired yesterday and he had commissioned me to make him a helmet case. The enlisted of our group wanted to give him something and stepped in and paid for the case and gave it to him yesterday at his ceremony (he’s been an amazing officer, leader, and brother-in-arms for us… one of those special commanders that only comes around once or twice a career) The hat is one he flew with for many (many) years and he wanted it to be on display too.

At any rate, here is the case. It is cherry with only one carving on the front (at his request) I did the carving (of course) with my carvewright. The top lifts off to allow access to the basepiece (covered with spray glued velvet) The only thing that I am still unhappy about is the way the top and bottom mitered “frames” connect to the side pieces. Basically, I made two frames and then used dowels to connect the top and bottom to the sides. The glass also has adhesive in it which helps support the piece. I really want to figure out how to do a three-way miter joint similar to this one for future pieces

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/46953/see-it-in-motion-three-way-miter-joint

I did the glass etching myself too- After cutting the glass, I cut vinyl stencils out on my silhouette machine and then sand blasted on the engravings.

The finish is simple shellac followed by wax. He likes cherry as natural as it can be and still be protected (I like the way he thinks)

Thanks for comments/suggestions/critiques

V/r
Lawrence