01/06/07

 This Jewelry Box design is one from the New Yankee Workshop by Norm Abram.  After watching the episode where  Norm builds it, we decided it would make an excellent gift for Michelle's cousins!  Norm made his from Cherry, but we decided Walnut would be an excellent choice.  We found some S2S Walnut in various widths between 4" and 6", averaging about 6' in length. You can see the raw lumber on the left.  It was all planed to about 7/8" thick, but had several defects throughout, causing us to examine each board carefully to select the best.  The lumber is furniture grade, but since it had so many defects, they reduced the price to $4.30/bd. ft. It normally is around $6.40/bd. ft.  Since most of the wood that makes up the Jewelry box is 4" wide or less, it wasn't difficult to work around the defects, most of them were simply cut out during the trimming process.

 One attractive feature of the Jewelry box is the hidden compartment!  You'll see how that's made in the following descriptions toward the end.

 The lid of the Jewelry Box measures 9" x 18", and the two sides measure about 9" x 12 1/2".  Since the lumber we chose averaged only about 4 to 5 inches wide, the first thing I had to do was select and glue up enough for the lid and sides.  This board had the fewest defects, but was bowed a bit across its length.  After crosscutting the board, I did the glue up reversing the bow by swapping one piece end-for-end, and using several biscuits on the joint before clamping.  This took the bow out of the board completely!  You can see in the picture on the right, how the end-grain appears after glue-up.  Having the board grain going in opposite directions will help prevent cupping, so the lid and sides will remain straight.

The next step is to identify the remaing pieces that need to be 1/2" thick, and prepare them so all this can go through the planer at the same time, ensuring that all the 1/2" pieces are a uniform thickness.

After planing those pieces that will be 1/2", I laid out the dimensions and shape, and cut out the two sides of the Jewelry Box.  Here, you can see that I also shaped a small piece that will be the slide on which the Hidden Drawer will glide on.  Next, you can see the two sides laid next to each other, demonstrating that the dados for the shelves are identical in measurement and placement to ensure a perfect match when the shelves are put in.  The white pieces are the biscuits that were used to "join" the edges of the wood when I glued it up.  The Dados cut halfway through the board, and just happen to be where the biscuits were placed.  It doesn't matter, since shelves will be permanently installed in the Dados, you won't be able to see them anyway.  For details on making the Dados, just click on the picture to the right.

With the two sides of the Jewelry Box more or less complete, it's now time to turn my attention to the making of the shelves that will support the top storage area and the two drawers.

Since Walnut is relatively expensive, I decided that 1/2" plywood would be cheaper, and more stable as a shelf between the drawers than glued-up panels of Walnut.  So ripping and cutting to size some plywood to form the shelves was next.  By trimming the front of each shelf with a piece of Walnut that I ripped to length, once assembled, you won't see that most of the shelf is plywood!

With a small notch cut into the front of each shelf, you can see by the photos above, that once assembled with the drawers in place, all that will be visible is the Walnut edge!  To the right, you can see the back of box, where the shelves fit into the dados.  The vertical dado is made to accept a 1/4" plywood panel for the back.

The bottom of the back panel has a simple profile cut into it so it doesn't extend all the way to the bottom of the feet.  I did this with my Jig Saw, and completed the profile with a drum sander attachment on my Drill Press.  The back of the plywood was covered with a Walnut Veneer so it would match the rest of the Box.  To the left, you can see the box from the back in clamps with the shelves and the back installed.  At this point, there was nothing left to do until the glue had setup overnight

Below, you can see views from the front and the back.  On the right, a piece placed on the top opening is a false drawer front, since it only appears to be another drawer, it actually is the front of the top compartment that is accessed by raising the lid, which is in place below, but is not attached.

With the carcass together, I began working on the bottom drawer - - - not the one you think!  This Jewelry Box has a surprise!  Under the bottom drawer will be yet a third, hidden drawer, that will only be accessible if you know about its location.  Looking at the box turned upside-down, you can see the drawer sides, front and back in the photo on the right.  The rabbet was made to receive a bottom shelf of plywood.  The drawer fits snugly between the four support legs, and will glide smoothly in dado cut into the drawer sides. 

The two main drawers in this Jewelry Box have dovetailed joints on the front, and rabbet joints on the back.  Here's how I made the drawers.

I didn't take any pictures of building the final trim detail around the bottom.  Basically laid out the pattern on a piece of template material, transferred it to the wood, and cut it our with a sabre saw.  A band saw would have been much easier - some day I'll get one!  The miters were done on my router with a 45 deg. chamfering bit, and the cove was done with a 1/2" Cove Molding bit after the glue-up was done.  The bottom trim was cut from a single piece so the grain pattern continues across the whole piece!

To the right you can now see the hidden drawer that appears when you pull out the trim molding at the base!  It took a little tweeking here and there to make sure it slid smoothly in and out of the box.  But I was able to line it up and get a nice square glue-up so the trim piece mates right up to the main body so you really can't tell that any part of the trim isn't just glued or nailed to the box!

The final step...Danish Oil.  Below, you can see how I apply the Danish Oil finish to this Walnut.  After a final sanding to 320 grit, I wetsanded with Wet/Dry 320 after flooding the surfaces with oil.  This creates a paste that fills the small pores of the wood for a super mirror-smooth finish!  This is the first time I have tried this technique, hope it goes smoothly!

 To the right here you can see how I applied the oil finish.  Using Watco Danish Oil, I flooded the surface of the case, and wetsanded with 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper.  This creates a sort of slurry that fills the tiny pores in the grain of the Walnut.  I let the box stand overnight to dry somewhat, and lightly sanded with 220 grit paper again to remove the residue.  The result is an extremely smooth surface that develops a sheen almost like a mirror!  This is the first time I attempted this, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

This is the second Jewelry box...I finished this one in a similar fashion as the first, but instead of Danish Oil, I used my old favorite, Tung oil.  It develops a brighter sheen I think, and has better build-up properties than Danish oil.  You can see the suede-cloth interior that protects the jewelry items from scratches.  This picture demonstrates how the bottom drawer, usually hidden from view, pulls out to reveal a secure drawer behind the trim molding.

Below, you can see three views, the left one with the bottom drawer extended, the center with the second drawer extended with the box inserts that I made, and the right picture that shows the left half of the drawer with ring-holders, and the right half with dividers.

Below is a side-view with the drawers extended showing off the dovetail construction of the drawers.  On the right is another shot of the top drawer showing the ring-holder and divider construction.  These Jewelry boxes were made for my wife's cousins, Tamara and Kara, for Christmas 2003.  I hope they treasure them and pass them on to their children as family heirlooms.