A wedding gift

[Ben Ellenberger]

My co-worker is getting married and she asked if I would make a little keepsake box for her fiancé. This basically follows a Paul Sellers design. I made this out of cherry, with a brushed on shellac and wax finish. I’m pretty happy with how it came out. There are a couple of spots where the dovetails aren’t perfect and I still end up with one or two little runs in shellac when I use it as a finish. But, overall I think it looks decent and I think she’ll be happy with it. I’ve made three boxes like this now, and each one seems to be a little better than the last.

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[Frederick Skelly]

Looks good. Nice and simple!

[Lee Schierer]

Nice looking box. How did you do the top? Is it a frame and panel?

[Ben Ellenberger]

The top is a panel. I cut a groove in it, with the bottom edge of the groove sized to fit into a groove in the box. So the spacing of the groove in the top of the box and the spacing of the groove in the panel have to be just right for everything to fit. Also, after cutting the groove extra deep in the panel, I cut the bottom edges that fit into the box back. So, the “tongue” that fits into the box is only about 3/16, while the top edge overlaps about 3/8 or so (I forget exactly how much).

[Paul F Franklin]

Very elegant, I like it! Are the sides bowed or is that just a photo artifact?

[Ben Ellenberger]

I put a little curve in the sides. The baselines for the tails have a slight angle too, to complement the curves.

[Paul F Franklin]

I put a little curve in the sides. The baselines for the tails have a slight angle too, to complement the curves.

Nice touch!

[Lee Schierer]

The top is a panel. I cut a groove in it, with the bottom edge of the groove sized to fit into a groove in the box. So the spacing of the groove in the top of the box and the spacing of the groove in the panel have to be just right for everything to fit. Also, after cutting the groove extra deep in the panel, I cut the bottom edges that fit into the box back. So, the “tongue” that fits into the box is only about 3/16, while the top edge overlaps about 3/8 or so (I forget exactly how much).

That's what I thought. It seems like it would make the lid heavier. I would guess that the panel would have to be at least 1/2" thick to do that. I've always disliked the gap that occurs in panel lids when the panel dries out more than when it was made. I like the concept and my use it in the future. Thanks for the idea.

[Rob Luter]

Very nice. I really like Cherry. The curves add a simple elegance too. I make boxes frequently and have never used your particular approach on the top. I think I may give it a whirl.

[Ben Ellenberger]

If you look up Paul Sellers Keepsake box you can find a video he made with more build details. I think his detailed build videos are pay-only, but the basic idea is fairly simple.
I didn’t follow his design exactly, but this is fairly close to it.
I also agree about the weight of the top. That is the part of this design that gave me the most pause. I made it as thin as I dared. I may try something different with the top if I make something like this again, just to experiment. This top feels fine though when I open the box, and I expect it will feel even more solid once it has a little weight in the box.

[Ron Citerone]

She will be happy with it I am sure. Real nice looking piece there! Love cherry!

[Christopher Charles]

Great looking box Ben. I like both the curves and lid. And how you selected the grain. Did you brush on the shellac? I've had good luck padding it on, french polish style.

[Ben Ellenberger]

I brushed on the shellac. I will probably try padding it on next time. I try to be careful about not putting it on too thick, but I still ended up with a few little runs that needed to be sanded out.

[Lee Schierer]

I've had issues with runs as well when brushing on a finish. Now I tend to only apply finish to horizontal surfaces. It takes longer to finish a project, but the results is much better.