Help Making Mother's Day Present

[Stephen Clem]

Hello,

I am making my wife a keepsake box for mother's day. It is 6 3/4" square and 4 1/2" deep. The top is 8 inches square with a chamfered edgin that goes in 5/8" all around. I want to add a drawer to the bottom. What material would you suggest for the drawer carcass? Since it is a much smaller piece than I've ever done, I need your suggestions. I was thinking of using 1/4" oak plywook that I have already. But, how do you make a strong joint with 1/4" thick material? Box Joints? I meazsured it and it is actually only 3/16" thick, so I guess screws are out of the question. Also, does anyone know of a good place online or maybe hobby stores (may not have time to wait for delivery) that sell some sort of velvet for the inside? This is my first project of this type. I appreciate all the help you all give tremendously!

[Paul Dwight]

For a gift box, I would probably use solid poplar or something similar for the drawer carcasse, planed to 1/4"-3/8" thick. If I was going to use a man-made product, it would be baltic birch ply -- the exposed edges can look kinda cool (in a sleek, modern kind of way) when they're sanded and finished. I have done router-cut dovetails in 1/2" baltic birch drawer sides before and they worked fine. Don't know about the thinner stuff, though.

I saw some self-adhesive velvet drawer lining fabric at our local Woodcraft the other day. If you have a Woodcraft location near you, give them a call. Otherwise, you can almost certainly buy suitable velvet (without the self-adhesive backing) from any local fabric store. The raw fabric can be applied with spray adhesive. If you're just lining the bottom, you can cut a thin piece of ply or stiff cardboard a little undersize and wrap the velvet around that, using hot melt glue to secure it to the bottom of the cardboard.

Good luck! -- Paul

[Quinn McCarthy]

Stephan

I would make it out of solid wood. That way you have a true 1/4". I am not sure what tools you have. If you ripped a 3/4" board down to 2 5/16" pieces you could use them as is or plane them down to 1/4". I would make the drawers any thicker than 5/16". A box joint would be fine for the drawers. You can do that on a router or a table saw. The box joint is very strong and that is all you would need. Make sure you let the drawer bottom float in the rabbit slot.

Speaking from my experience. Your mother has a nose that works. When she opens the box and gets a whiff of the finish that has not cured fully she will let you know. I have gotten burned at both mothers day and Christmas. Giving her a half done present and telling her you will finish it next week doesn't work either. She can remember that for 20 years. :)

I hope this help.

Quinn