What:

A jewelry box for my mom. It ended up being more of just a box.

Ideas:

My original idea was some sort of box that had draws, this didn’t pan out because I was not sure how I would get the draws to work and buying the draw components ended up making the design look very bulky.

Final:

My final design ended up being much simpler than my original ideas. Though it is simpler in shape the method of using box joints rather than my original dowel idea was far more difficult. I am happy with the result and think that rather than being used for just jewelry it will be a much more general box that my mom can keep a variety of things in.

How:

I started by cutting each side of my box to its general size, I do not have pictures of this step because it went very quickly. After I finished that I started the painstaking process of sketching each box joint cut out on all sides of the wood with a pencil. This ended up being relatively pointless because as I went to make my first cuts none of the sides lined up. I then place a cut piece next to an uncut piece it was supposed to mesh with and drew in exactly what needed to be cut to ensure they would come together.

After all the box joints were cut filing of edges was still necessary to get all pieces to fit together.  

After this was done I could begin assembling my puzzle of pieces! I added glue to each mating surface to ensure that the pieces bonded together strongly and didn’t just rely on my poorly made box joints to hold it together.

Lastly, it was time to add the hinges so the box can be opened and closed.

Cost vs. Budget:

In total, my box cost me about $60. My budget for this project was the price of a textbook, $80-$110. I managed to come in under budget. My most expensive purchase was the wood. The wood was African Mahogany and I purchased it for $50. It may not sound like too much but all that got me was 2 boards, each ½ inch thick, 8 inches wide, and 3 feet long. The only other thing I needed to buy on top of this was 2 hinges. The hinges were inexpensive and only cost $6 plus shipping for both with the necessary screws.

Acknowledgments of Assistance:

The most help I got from this project was from Marc Eaton in the ITLL woodshop. He helped me with the design of my box, and most importantly the making of it. I would go as far to say he held my hand through cutting all the different box joints.