Crane Jewelry Box

[Mark Rainey]

Looking forward to your progress Chris.

[Phil Mueller]

I think I might try a leather hole punch...I believe they come in a 3/32” size. Then a small drill hole in the center of that. However you solve it, looking forward to seeing the progress.

[Christopher Charles]

I decided to order epoxy and some dyes. Somehow ended up with the fruit colored dye set...black currant and mango (with white) and then black currant for the iris. The epoxy set a little soft (or I was impatient) and the dyes didn't pop or provide as much contrast as I'd like, but this project needs to move.... Here's the eye (click it to make it big)

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and the completed crane:

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And the jewelry box is now in clamps:

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Next will be sawing off the top and fitting trays.

[Larry Frank]

That crane is really well done !

[Jim Koepke]

Very Nice

jtk

[Adam Herman]

did you end up drilling for the eye? my only advice is go to Michaels and get a little googly eye. haha.

would love you see an update on your work.

oh heck, sometimes i don't get to see all the reply's


nice work.

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks gentlemen,

Adam, I did consider a googly eye and in fact the intended recipient would probably enjoy that more than the actual eye!

[Christopher Charles]

Hi all,

The elf had to do some overtime, but the box made it under the tree The recipient is very happy, which is the whole point, right?

I cut the top off on the bandsaw (though would have been straightforward to do by hand).

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Despite careful fitting of the hinges and using a drill press for the pilot holes, the alignment of the lid to the top was not quite what I wanted, with the far corners out by 1-2 mm. Thought it might be alright until I had a couple coat of shellac on. Good news is shellac is so forgiving that I could flush and refinish without too much effort.

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The last task was to build and fit some trays. This also took a couple tries as I had them piston fit before finishing and had to plane a couple sides and refinish to account for the shellac and wax. The trays sit proud a bit and serve as a dust lip for the lid.

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And here's the finished top. Glad to have this one off the bench-3 years and 3 shops to complete!

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Best,
Chris

[Mel Fulks]

Looks like I'm movin'up in the line !! I think that even vinyl place mats ..."suitable for framing " would be popular.
Put me down for two dozen.

[Phil Mueller]

Beautiful work, Chris. Don’t feel alone. Seems every time after I fit hinges the sides need a little scraping to even them out. It really turned out well.

[ken hatch]

Chris,

Nice, sometimes I wish I had the skill and patience to do that good of work but I kid myself. I'd find a way to add a wedged tenon or two .

ken

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks gentlemen. Ken, the amazing thing about the marquetry is that it is pretty straightforward once one gets started. And good for small project that might fit in a motorhome

Best,
Chris

[michael langman]

Really nice box Chris. Your wife must be delighted, I know I am.

[Christopher Charles]

Thanks Michael, she is pleased and that was the main idea

Best,
Chris