A Simple Box

[Touchwood]

A couple of weeks back, I got a commission from a lady for a "
simple box"..something to keep papers in..and she meant a couple of large stacks of 8 1/2 X 11 stuff. So this box is more like a mini-chest.Dimensions 18 1/2"X12 1/2"X6 1/2".

I had a single board of beautiful, dark, nicely grained walnut and I could just squeak out the four pieces for the sides..but it had a knot in it. Luckily, she likes "features" and told me to put the knot right in the front. Love the way she thinks.

The top frame is from some wormy, but curly walnut so I worked around most of the worm holes. The birdseye maple speaks for itself and I used solid 1/2" thick tiger maple for the bottom.











I like the rounded over dovetails..the pins actually look curved and you get the gradual change in shading from the end grain to long grain. I used a Keller jig with a 1/2", 7 degree dovetail bit. I used open mortise/tenon joints for the floating panel top frame. I also used Brusso 95 degree stop hinges so there's no need for a lid support. These hinges are at least 3/16" thick, so more mortising to keep things interesting.










Since the sides were cut from a single board, I was able to get the grain "tracking" around the box...except for one of the four corners. Need a circular board for that

Thanks for looking,

Don

[KC7CN]

A simple box is for light switches or receptacles - that is not a simple box!

Very nice, thanks for sharing.

-Don