I will be building this spice box for a couple of dear friends. It will be a gift for their 20th anniversary in the middle of July, so that means I have a deadline. Actually, the deadline will probably be the latter half of June, as I intend to visit them and would like to present it to them then.

case.jpg

I’m very much looking forward to this project and the challenges I face. The most daunting tasks for me will be personalizing it with inlay lettering. The rest of the inlay work should not be too bad. Lots of it to do, so I’ll just go slow and steady. Another challenge may be the joinery on the door with the beveled interior edges that are mitered. I may deviate from the plan in this area. Even though I have only done a few large dovetails on my workbench, I don’t anticipate the dovetails on this project to be an issue. I’ll be sure to practice before the real thing.

At this time I’ve already cut the material for the sides and top and will begin the layout work for the many grooves, notches, rabbets and dovetails in the case as well as figuring out an order in which to do them. Speaking of dovetails, in particular the ones for the case top and bottom, not much of this work will be seen: The ones at the top will only be seen on the very top, the sides will be covered by crown molding and the bottom ones, other than an eighth of an inch will also be covered by some molding. Are dovetails worth the effort or should I just use a lapped joint? I think with a lapped joint the top will look cleaner, being a solid piece from side to side. The possible reason against a lapped joint would be the fact that the back is not fixed to give it the strength to stay square. In fact the back is removable to reveal some hidden compartments. Here's a better look at the case:

case assembly.jpg

You should be able to see how little of the dovetails on the case will show. Dovetails or lapped joint for the case?

Updates and photos coming as I progress.

Dennis