show me your jewelry box joinery

[Dave Cohen]

I'm making some jewelry boxes for a craft show...

In the past I've used lock miter joints which are not bad (no metal fasteners) but was looking for a cleaner more elegant look (but not as much work as dovetails).

Would like to see or hear about how other WNers perform thie box corner joinery to make it look aesthetically appealing.

Thanks in advance.

[Lee Schierer]

I like the locking rabbet joint for small boxes. It is strong and not unattractive and relatively easy to make.

http://www.home.earthlink.net/~us71na/maplebox.jpg
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~us71na/cherrybox1.jpg

[Dave Cohen]

yes I've seen it on other boxes

Do you do it with a bit or on the TS?

[Jack Camillo]

box joinery

[scott spencer]

I've made 3 JB's and have used different joinery in each. First used a box joint, 2nd used splines (no pic), the 3rd just supported miters.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/Projects/LW-OAKJB1.jpg 95704

[Lee Schierer]

yes I've seen it on other boxes

Do you do it with a bit or on the TS?

I cut the joints on my TS. If the wood is 3/8 thick then the 1/8" kerf is perfectly sized for the cuts. Basically, what ever thickness material the parts of the joint are 1/3 of the thickness.

[Jeff Craven]

I did one similar to Jack's above.

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/1551/img8303uz1.jpg

[Bill Huber]

Here is my box, I made two of them just alike, one for each daughter.

They are maple and purpleheart, scraps left from my cutting boards.

This year I am going to work on 2 more, with zebra and curly maple I just hope they turn out good.


95746 95747

[Dave Cohen]

Beautiful boxes

[Dave Cohen]

Nice! How do you make the curved (convex) sides ?

[Jeff Craven]

Nice! How do you make the curved (convex) sides ?
I did all the joinery while it was square and then shaped the outside with a handplane and a scraper.

[Don Mitchell]

A couple of boxes I did in cherry.

[Joe Jensen]

I mitered the corners and then used a dovetail bit in a router to cut dovetail shaped splines.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=63593&d=1177885474

[Lee Schierer]

I mitered the corners and then used a dovetail bit in a router to cut dovetail shaped splines.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=63593&d=1177885474

What finish did you use on the boxes?

[Joe Jensen]

What finish did you use on the boxes?

My first attempt at French Polish. I spent a ridiculous amount of time learning how on a deadline. I must have tried and removed it 10 times before I finally got the hang of it. Normally I'd have sprayed lac but it was winter in AZ and too cold to spray when I needed to.

[John Keeton]

Boy, this is a neat thread! Some really well done and interesting methods. Ed Sallee needs to post some pics, too, and I know there are others out there that regularly do boxes.

I am not a boxmaker, but have always felt that it is much more difficult than it looks to get grain/wood match, balance, close tolerances, and finish to come together in one small project. They are so subject to close inspection that flaws jump off a box that might otherwise go unnoticed in a larger project. These are some fine examples of great craftsmanship and design.

Hope to see even more examples! I would love to try my hand at this in the near future and have already bookmarked this thread!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Here is my little rock box

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=55076

[Lee DeRaud]

Not jewelry boxes, but a variation on box joints:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=21082