My First Box

[jhart]

Probably would have taken me longer than 18 months to complete. That's one beautiful box Bruce. Love the colors and handles.

[leehljp]

Bruce,

That IS nice looking! Well worth the patience to make it so professional!

[Popeye]

Very very nice. I passed it on to a friend of mine who has been promising his daughters jewelery boxes. Pat

[SARGE..g-47]

Exotic.. erotic.. glowing with beauty.. a touth of mystique.. fine.. that's all I could think of unless you want to throw in.. dang nice box! I can see Sherlock Holmes inspecting it now with Dr. Watson peeking from over his shoulder. There has to be a hidden compartment somewhere that contains some very valuable clue that will solve the mystery?

Now... build something else that nice while I think of more accolades.

Regareds

[HarmsWay]

Wow! And wow! That's very nice. Great photos as well. Wouldn't be out of place in Fine Woodworking.

Bob

[SHADOWFOX]

Nicely done!! That is one gorgeous looking box. Thank you for sharing!

[Hoakie]

WOWZERS!!!! That is beeee-aaaa-uuuutiful. I feel inspired. Now I just gotta get my shop back together)

[cabinetman]

Been hearing about that box for a while now and Bruce, you really outdid yourself. Exceptional craftsmanship and a magnificent finish. Do ya think a 6" .357 will fit in there.
.

[Larryl]

Simply beautiful! You really set the bar high for the rest of us, love your use of contrasting woods. As someone mentioned - good photography also.

[John Hunter]

Very nice!

[Crash2510]

very nice!
like the handles
are they bamboo?

[crokett]

Very nice work indeed Bruce. I want to know about the handles too.

[ironhat]

Incredible work, Bruce. Can you tell us more about the effect of the rods on the lid? Also, how did you post those pics as floating in a sea of white without backround?

[BadeMillsap]

OUTSTANDING example of quality design and execution!

Well done!

[Bruce Cohen]

A Response to such nice remarks

First of all, many thanks for all your really kind comments about the jewelry box. As I said when I posted it, it’s not my design (maybe someday I’ll get that good). What I did was follow the instructions (as vague as they were).

For those of you asking about the handles:
The first photo shows how they’re supposed to look.



Needless to say, this was one of a few (all right, many) mistakes I made. The handles ended with a tenon that was to fit into the lids. Well, when I routed the mortises into the lids, I used different sides of the lids to index to the router fence, the mortises ended up being off by about a fat 1/16”. And to make matters even worse, I couldn’t cut the handles into the triangular shape, so I gave up and redesigned then into something I could make. Ended up cutting them with a Japanese dovetail saw.

Next, I used CA glue to adhere the handles to the lids and cover up the now useless mortises. Screwed up again. Remember my post about to unstuck parts glued with CA. Acetone doesn’t work for beans. I ended up sawing one off with a flexible Japanese Saw. Worked like a charm.

Reed for Handles:
The reed sticking thru the handles was purchases at Michaels (a crafts store, or you can get them at AC Moore) I scanned the label (see photo)



on the package if you want to match them up exactly. I also soaked them in a bath of dark brown RIT fabric die for two hours to darken them down a bit. Even though I redesigned the handles to make up for my inability to cut them correctly, I still feel that the Idea came from Doug Stowe (the author). They're held to the handles with silver plated wire and another (very carefully applied CA glue.

Metal Pins:
The metal pins act as hinges and are stainless rod from HD, simply inserted into holes drilled into the lids and thru (another screw-up, but I kind of like the look) the body of the box. They’re held into the lids only with CA. Although, I did mess up and use a little more than I should have for one pin, took a while to work it out a bit (that side is a bit stiff.

The other wood pins are stops for the lids, couldn’t find small enough dowel so I cut the tips off Miller Mini-X dowels (maple).

The photography:
I shot the box using my daughter’s point and shoot Sony camera (not a great one). Luckily, being a graphic designer, I have some knowledge of studio photography and used a sheet of Water Color paper, you can get it in art stores, it comes in sheets measuring 20” x 30”. See the illustration,



all I did was tape the paper to the wall and let if fall (curved) onto my drawing board. The only light source was the Quartz light clamped to the board.
I did cheat and removed some minor shadows with Photoshop, but this lighting set-up pretty much reduces the shadows.

And one last thing, Cab, no it’s not big enough for a 6” .357, But if I remove the inner dividers, I can either get my Detonics .45 and a spare mag or about a pound of C-4 and some det cord into the box.

Lastly, both the inside of the box and the “secret” drawer are lined with black leather suede also from Michaels (Tandy carries it too).

Sorry this was so long, but I just carried away, I’m really happy how it came out, makes me feel proud especially with all the nifty feedback from you guys.

Bruce