# 3 Keepsake boxes



## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

A few months back I ran across an article that featured the plans for a small keepsake box. I thought the box was rather nice and certainly would make a welcome gift. So I decided to take those plans and with a few twists here and there, These are what I ended up with...All three boxes are essentially the same. Or I should say started out the same (dimension wise). I had a heck of a time getting satisfactory miters for the lid. The cherry kept wanting to splinter while on the shooting board, no matter what I did... so it is about an inch smaller all around than the other two. Here is a brief description of each box...

#1: Hard maple (originally destined to be a MLB baseball bat...) with "Ribbon Sapele" veneer center panel. The edge banding on all three boxes is either from Rockler or off of Ebay. The felt liners for all three were from Eagle America...With the exception of the Red, which came from Michaels craft stores...The chains and hinges are from Lee Valley. 

#2: Mahogany with Quilted Maple veneer center panel...

#3: Cherry with Birdseye Maple veneer center panel. ..


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## dutchman 46 (May 23, 2007)

Those are super nice,Bill! That's a great job, I would love to do something that nice! Love It.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank you for the kind words Howard *S*...They did turn out nicely, but I do have to admit that each one has its own little flaws here and there..The level of difficulty would be what I might call moderate with getting the mitre's correct being the most difficult part..... basically a straight forward kind of construction. the real seller for em is the finish I think...The finish schedule for each is/was a bit different due to the type of wood and open pours. Essentially shellac base followed by Lacquer (wet sanded between coats) and then a good polish...


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

The real beauty of this kind of box is that they can be turned into just about anything, from a keepsake box to jewerly box, ring box, music box etc... with an unlimited number of combinations of wood. Number of splines, type of spline etc...


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

Spectacular Bill! Love the inlays!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Bill

Very Nice job on the boxes, I looked for errors and I only see one or two all in all great job 

===



TwoSkies57 said:


> A few months back I ran across an article that featured the plans for a small keepsake box. I thought the box was rather nice and certainly would make a welcome gift. So I decided to take those plans and with a few twists here and there, These are what I ended up with...All three boxes are essentially the same. Or I should say started out the same (dimension wise). I had a heck of a time getting satisfactory miters for the lid. The cherry kept wanting to splinter while on the shooting board, no matter what I did... so it is about an inch smaller all around than the other two. Here is a brief description of each box...
> 
> #1: Hard maple (originally destined to be a MLB baseball bat...) with "Ribbon Sapele" veneer center panel. The edge banding on all three boxes is either from Rockler or off of Ebay. The felt liners for all three were from Eagle America...With the exception of the Red, which came from Michaels craft stores...The chains and hinges are from Lee Valley.
> 
> ...


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## dutchman 46 (May 23, 2007)

Remember! You are always Your worst critic! That's where You come to become an expert. They are great no mater what, in My opinion.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thanks Deb..
the inlay does 'add' to the boxes doesn't it.The inlay on the mahogany box is from Rocklers and I was quite please with the quality. 

..I picked up the new dewalt 611pk for just that purpose. Now its just practice, practice, practice...




CanuckGal said:


> Spectacular Bill! Love the inlays!


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank you Bob, appreciate that! 

Yeah, the errors are all minor in nature and most are the kinda thing that only someone looking for em would find, This was my first attempt at shellac/lacquer finish and learned that patience is without a doubt demanded. 



bobj3 said:


> Hi Bill
> 
> Very Nice job on the boxes, I looked for errors and I only see one or two all in all great job
> 
> ===


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Howard, 

ain't that the truth!! I'm very hard on my work, but I guess the good thing is that the more I do, the things that might have been a problem on a previous project are ok and its something new to work at improving...

thanks again for the kind words



dutchman 46 said:


> Remember! You are always Your worst critic! That's where You come to become an expert. They are great no mater what, in My opinion.


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## gal turner (Mar 3, 2010)

Hey 2S..lovely boxes. have to admit box #1 with the center inlay is just stunning. Zowie! Knocks my socks off!


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Well thank you GT  very nice of you to say...

the box you like happens to be the one that gave me the most fits. Having had to redo the finish on 3 different occasions. In fact, the pictures i have posted of it, it still is not finished. I need to do a finish sanding and then wax. Everything I've read says to let lacquer dry thoroughly for several days. I figured I would give this one the chance. The other two were wet sanded and waxed the next day. I'm just curious if it makes that much difference. The "ribbon Sapele" is finished to a mirror sheen, right up there with a french polish in terms of reflection. Its unfortunate that I didn't get the real look in any of the pics. 

I don't think you can beat the look of quilted maple....I just love the stuff




gal turner said:


> Hey 2S..lovely boxes. have to admit box #1 with the center inlay is just stunning. Zowie! Knocks my socks off!


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

BTW.... the boxes are spoken for *S*.. 

the maple/ribbon sapele will be going to an older couple as a gift for their wedding vow renewal. 

the cherry/birdsyeye maple is for the newest addition to the family, a beautiful grand daughter Mia Rose and will be for used to keep all of her "firsts"... (i'm busy looking for a source to make me a oval insert with her name and birthday to be attached to the inside lid..

and the Mahagony/quilted maple is going to the son in law....He's a real computer whiz kid and loves all things electronic...I probably been better off using an Ipad for a lid *L*


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

goes back and looks.. #1... *LOL* the maple box?...

God I hate technology....


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## gal turner (Mar 3, 2010)

glad all are going to a good home..make sure you get visitation rights!!! Lacquer really does need a few dry days to set properly. Do you have a buffing system? Like the Beall? Helps tremendously. You can even buff the raw wood with the tripoli & white diamond.. check for any imperfections clean it then do your lacquer..then buff the lacquer & hit it with a good wax
Again, super boxes. the new owners will be delighted.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Beall.. hmmmmmmm says I.. thanks GT.. i'm looking at the youtube video's now. I used a buffing wheel from Lee Valley. More a "cone" than a wheel which worked well enough I suppose. This Beall kit looks very promising... thanks for the heads up

What I did was apply 3-5 thin coats of shellac, the first 3 were build ups, and 4-5 were sanded between coats. The lacquer was a spray can variety which I thought worked nicely. Only problem is that because it is a spray can, they need to thin the lacquer out dramatically. so it was 4-5 coats of lacquer as well, for 2-3 were built up then a wet sanding with up to a 1200 automotive paper between....followed by a couple coats of paste wax. 

have you ever tried pure carnubba wax? I understand that it is a much 'harder" wax that will produce a much higher sheen?


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## vikingcraftsman (Mar 31, 2006)

Really nice boxes. I hope who ever gets them realizes the amout of time and effort that goes into them. I made the mistake of buying one of those books on how to price your work. From that day forward I see the price of our wood work go through the roof. Again you did a great job and I love seeing them.


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## Damir 66 (Dec 18, 2009)

This is masterpiece!


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## gal turner (Mar 3, 2010)

yes, I have used carnauba..it is harder. It's what the beall 3 buff system uses. As a turner I prefer Reniassance (spelling?) wax. microcrystalline wax...Expensive & comes in a tiny tin for about 20.00. YIKES..the advantage is that it does not show fingerprints. i used it exclusively when I did shows & had my gallery. Kept me from having to wipe down everything constantly. Lacquer is a great finish, but hard on your lungs. Your shellac pre-finish is super good, then the lacquer over it. but it is time consuming. If you believe it will get a ton of hands on it, then poly (thinned in many coats) and buffed is tough as nails. I love shellac & did most stuff in it and wax over.It's tougher than most folks think.(and eco & me friendly) But turned with shellac has the advantage of the spinning lathe. the shellac melts into any imperfections and makes a very soft, baby butt smooth finish, and it dries very very quickly. i have changed finishes 300 times over the years. I have tried just about everything NEW, and Because I turn I use shellac. Old is good!!! You will find a finish you like best & will stick with it too.


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## Cookie Monster (Jun 30, 2011)

Great looking job, I watched Rough Cut do a inlay jobs sometime back, not the easiest thing to do. Even Norm Abram admits to have made a lot of mistake. I think we all have and will likely make some more.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Thank you John... always appreciate a kind word from you. 

as for the recipients knowing how much work went into them... naaaaaaaaa they don't have a clue *L* and thats fine by me. I've been asked several times to do different projects for folks for pay, I just don't have a clue as to where to begin figuring out what somethings are worth....in fact, i have a good friend who owns a high end crafty kinda store (more of a country arts market) who has been after me for years to put things out on consignment in his shop. I often think about it, but have never pulled the trigger. but it sure would be a nice way to fund future tool purchases and keep the Mrs. happy at the same time 




vikingcraftsman said:


> Really nice boxes. I hope who ever gets them realizes the amout of time and effort that goes into them. I made the mistake of buying one of those books on how to price your work. From that day forward I see the price of our wood work go through the roof. Again you did a great job and I love seeing them.


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Three beautiful boxes Bill....something to be proud of. I especially like the Mahogany with Quilted Maple veneer center panel... Thanks for explaining about the finishes and techniques you used.... again beautiful boxes!


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

DAMIR66/Cookie Monster...

thanks for the kind words guys... glad ya like em..




DAMIR66 said:


> This is masterpiece!


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Hey Marco... thanks for the kind words.... very much appreciated 



Marco said:


> Three beautiful boxes Bill....something to be proud of. I especially like the Mahogany with Quilted Maple veneer center panel... Thanks for explaining about the finishes and techniques you used.... again beautiful boxes!


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

I have really been out of pocket, so this is the first time to see these, very fine workmanship Bill, very well done. I only hope to do that well.


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

thanks Jerry  very much appreciate the compliment...

these were pretty straight forward with just a bit of 'extra' and some nice wood I had sitting around the shop. The only parts I hard to order was the hardware. 




xplorx4 said:


> I have really been out of pocket, so this is the first time to see these, very fine workmanship Bill, very well done. I only hope to do that well.


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