Oak and Mesquite Box with Organic Shaped Lid

This is one of the first boxes I made a few years ago. I did a series trying different joinery methods. This one is one example of the dovetails I made. I used oak and mesquite. I confess, I used a jig for the dovetails and have since moved on to handwork. I will post some of the hand cut dovetails I've made when I finish the new boxes.



The lid is a glue up of three different mesquite pieces with curves floating in a mitered frame. The handmade hinges are made of Lignum Vitae. I used thin strips of maple and walnut as accents in the mitered joints. I used some of the wormy mesquite because it adds an interesting detail to the lid. I shaped the boards to emphasize some flowing organic shapes in the profile of the lid and the "handle" on top is really a knob for opening the box. I used tung oil to finish the box as I really wanted to showcase the natural tones of the woods.