re: My first woodworking creation...a sewing box

Thanks everybody! I had a lot of fun making it, and learned a lot of valuable lessons along the way. KDC68, the finish was exactly what we were looking for. The stain woke the grain up and the shellac highlighted it. I figured the carnauba would protect the shellac, but I don’t know if it will or not.

Shipwright and Mike, I didn’t know how complex this was going in. It’s probably better that I didn’t, or I may not have done it. Project number two will involve a whole different set of skills such as mortise and tenon joinery, maybe dovetails, a bowed drawer front and tapered legs.

Thanks Ianwater. I’m very happy with how the cherry stands out against the ash, but doesn’t shout at you. The only jig I used was one I found here It worked well enough, but if I ever do it again, I will make a deeper jig. Holding large boxes in the 2×4 was difficult. The keys were much harder to make. I started with 3/4 stock and crept up on the final thickness with the dovetail bit until they fit snugly. The problem was, when I tried the initial fit it was fine, but the further into the long stock I got, the looser the keys were. I finally discovered that the cheap plastic fence on my router table was moving slightly, not matter how much I tightened it. I got around it by cutting the stock shorter and also clamping bracing blocks behind the fence. I have been researching shop built router tables, so at some point in the near future I’ll build one.