Jewelry Box
This was supposed to be a Christmas present for my wife, but I was a few months late getting it done. I wanted something kind of unique that would challenge me. I think I overdid it. It had been a while since I had done any “fine” woodworking, and this was pretty ambitious. There was basically no room for error. Once the frame was built, everything else had to be built to size around those dimensions.
The drawers and sides are solid cherry. The frame is 1/2″ walnut with 1/4″ dividers. I used 1/4″ thick pieces for the drawer sides and bottoms, and 3/8″ thick pieces for the side doors. The drawer fronts are a single piece of cherry cut so the grain flows across them. I intentionally avoided using any “standard” 3/4″ lumber. On a box this small, that size lumber is way too beefy so I stuck with more proportionally appropriate thicknesses. I couldn’t find any pulls I liked, so I turned these from a piece of 1/2″ solid brass.
The sides open to reveal some posts for hanging necklaces. The hinges are solid brass Brusso Stop Hinges. The necklace hangers are also made by Brusso. The 2 bottom drawers are 3″ deep and the two top are 2″ deep. At this point, I haven’t lined the drawers, but I have some ring holders I can install if that’s what my wife wants.
From different angles, some details become clearer. You can see the grain wrapping around the edge and get a better look at the profiles I cut for the pulls. The pulls were all 3/4″ long with about a 1/2″ stem that is threaded for an 8-32 machine screw. The tops were then rounded off with a profile bit.
The left is much like the right, showing the deep grain and color differences that can be brought out by a nice oil finish. The entire box is finished with several coats of Watco natural tint Danish Oil.
Overall this was challenging because I was out of practice with fine, precise woodworking, and I had a few mistakes where I had to remake pieces from scratch. As I neared completion, that worried me more and more. If I screwed up on a drawer, I’d have to remake them all as the grain flow was important to the overall appearance. I am mostly pleased with how it came out and am ready for my next project.
Kitchen Island
A birthday present for my wife. This island is 50″ x 22″ and is 1 1/2″ thick. The top is a lamination of Purpleheart, Maple, Walnut, and Mahogany finished with a coat of Waterlox Original Marine Sealer followed with two coats of Waterlox Marine Gloss Sheen . The shelves are Alder, stained with Old Master Dark Walnut Wiping Stain. The frame is Poplar with standard Behr latex paint.
Kitchen Stool for Grand Nephews
My sister saw this online, and figured I could make her some. I thought it might be fun, so I reverse engineered them from the online photos and put them together. Some improvements I made include lining the height adjustment holes with stainless steel tubing, so they don’t get wallowed out over time, and my own ideas on how everything fits together. They were a huge success, and we hope to get many years of use from them.
Graduation Gift
When my nephew graduated high school, I had a hard time coming up with a gift idea. I settled on this dresser valet organizer. I made it from maple with bloodwood trim. His high school colors were red and white, so I thought it would be fitting.
Bubinga Spoon Display Case
My mom filled her spoon display cases, so she needed another one. This time I made it from bubinga. This is a very hard wood, but is one of my favorite looking hardwoods. Since it is available in as such wide pieces, I was able to make the back from a single board. I added the glass after delivery.
Shoe Dresser
My wife was getting tired of my shoes and boots being scattered all over the house, so I decided to do something about it. I found a what I thought was a really nice solution, and built it. Pretty simple build, all from baltic birch plywood. It easily stores several pairs of shoes and boots.
Welcome Desk
I was asked by the pastor at church to make a welcome desk for an upcoming event. He had a rough sketch describing what he wanted, and I was able to get this built and delivered in just a few days. Since it was intended to live outdoors, the whole thing was built from redwood.
Recipe Box
My sister wanted a recipe box as a house warming gift for her daughter. This was made from Monkeypod wood.
Charity Auction Jewelry Box
Another charity auction. I didn’t have much time to prepare for this, so I made a small bandsaw jewelry box. The box is solid cherry.
Graduation Jewelry Box
My youngest niece graduated, and I wanted to make her a nice jewelry box. I built this from canarywood and used bloodwood as the trim.
Decorative Outdoor Bridge
My wife and I volunteer with a non-profit that helps out local families in need. One of the ladies whom I often did work for had a small bridge over a rock waterway in her yard. It was falling apart, and was too dangerous to walk on, so I built her another. The supports underneath are redwood 2x8s cut into an arch, with cedar slats screwed on top, and redwood 4×4’s as the towers. It came out looking pretty nice and she was thrilled with it.
Raised Bed Garden
We have a small back yard, and my wife wanted to grow some vegetables and flowers, so I built her a raised bed garden. The shells are made from cedar and the corners are redwood. To make the corners, I took a redwood 4×4, and cut out a 2 1/2″ square piece out leaving a solid piece for the corner. The bottoms are covered with 1/4″ hardware cloth to keep out the critters, and a layer of landscape cloth on top of that to hold in the dirt. A 3/4″ PVC pipe comes up into each to provide watering. I added some 4×4 steel fencing panel to the back later to allow plants to be tied up.
Outdoor Gate
One of my best friends needed his outdoor gate replaced. He liked the original design, as it was not a standard off the shelf gate. The two of us spent an afternoon building this and then installed it the next day. We reused the original hinges, and added a new locking mechanism. The inset boards are cut tongue and groove into the outer frame. This was all built from alder, so should have pretty good durability.
Charity Auction Items
One of my wife’s friends was having a charity auction and was looking for submissions. I put in two items. The first was a basic eight bottle wine rack. It was made from cherry, and finished with a deep cherry stain and lacquer finish. The 2nd item was a bread and oil serving tray done in walnut and maple, with a matching cutting board. This was one of the top priced items at the auction.
Guest Bathroom Fixtures
In an effort to update the look of our guest bathroom, I made two new fixtures. The first is a basic mirror that hangs above the sink. It was made with a poplar frame and crown molding for a top. The towel rack is made with the same technique, but it is attached to the wall with a dovetail block in back that it slides into. This allows it to be securely attached to the wall, while not showing any fasteners in front.
Jewelry Boxes
These were high school graduation gifts for two of my nieces, and for a foreign exchange student that was living with one of them. The smaller box was made from cherry, with a purpleheart pull. The two larger boxes were made from different species of ironwood with wenge pulls.
Spoon Display Case
This was a gift for my Mom, who collects souvenir spoons. The case is made from solid Cherry. The back is a bookmark glue up with some nice grain.
