Wine bottle treasure chest

[J.R. Rutter]

I made this box as a donation to a school fund raising auction. The theme and main focus of the auction is wine, so this sort of thing has been my donation for the past couple of years. Instead of the fine furniture route that I tried for last year, I wanted to have a low pressure, distressed piece. I got the idea for this style box after seeing the rusty strap hinges in a Lee Valley catalog. I used alder because it is soft enough to distress easily and blotchiness would not be an issue with the glazed finish. The end pieces were just cut on the bandsaw and glued in place with dowels. The 4 step finish is dyed shellac seal coat / mahogany stain / (then install hinges) / black gel stain as a glaze / clear poly wipe on. I bent the hinges to match the angles in the lid as best I could, drilled extra holes in them, and used tacks to attach them to keep with the rustic theme.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_7ftZyQvHxr8/TQu84vvLNeI/AAAAAAAAA2s/JTuEmlVath8/s800/P1020986.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_7ftZyQvHxr8/TQu85P9BTII/AAAAAAAAA2w/FiWGmTIG5Bw/s512/P1020987.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_7ftZyQvHxr8/TQu85YS0rMI/AAAAAAAAA20/4YFXJuIRLRQ/s800/P1020988.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_7ftZyQvHxr8/TQu85znEoMI/AAAAAAAAA24/OWOixnmksGI/s640/P1020989.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_7ftZyQvHxr8/TQu86c9A7TI/AAAAAAAAA28/FqEkbc2eSdc/s640/P1020990.JPG

[Seamus Day]

Nice work! the distressing makes it look like a genuine antique.

[Kyle Kaldor]

Very Nice!! My wife would love that. Can you give an explanation or link to the distressing process?

[Jeremy Brant]

Looks good. I think my wife would definitely like something like that. Is there any sort of latch on it (doesn't appear to be?), or is it meant more as a display piece?

[Jerry Olexa]

Very nice results!!! For a good cause too...

[Ben Arnott]

This is excellent work! I can totally see what you were going for and you nailed it. When the bottle sits in the case, it really sets the whole piece off. I'd like to see some of your other wine bottle cases.