Spider Web Box

This box measures 6.75"x 3.25"x 2.75". I don't know what the dark wood is, but the rest of the box is hard maple. It has a leather insert that is removable if desired. 

I finished this box even though I was sure it was going to be thrown out. I made a mistake early on and should have started over. I just kept adjusting what ever I had to in order to finish it. I’m sure you all know how that goes. I should have just started over instead of trying to save a few steps by pressing on.

I assembled the box and the insert before I noticed I had one panel upside down when I ran it through my laser for some details. Not wanting to start over I removed about 1/16” from all the outside of the box, removing all the laser design areas. Once I decide to fix something, I can’t let it go. After it was all sanded smooth, I wanted to add a stripe around the box where the top and bottom meet. I didn’t like the way it looked because it made the dimensions look wrong. The stripe made the top look like about one sixth or less of the height of the box. So I made a new top from the same wood used for the insert.

Now the box looked ok, but I still wasn’t happy because it was too plain and the sides were so thin in spots that only a small amount of wood wrapped around the bottom. I wasn’t worried about the box coming apart because there was enough surface with glue to hold it together.

I was about to give up with thinking this would ever become something anyone would want. A couple of days earlier my son had to do some linoleum prints for a course he is taking in college. He used some of my old tools I've had for over 40 years and had forgotten about. I decided to try and put some design on this box to hopefully make it a little more attractive. I’m not sure why I thought of a spider web, but I thought I’d give it a try since this box was a lost cause anyway.

Once I was done carving a design, I kind of liked it again. Not sure if anyone else would feel the same way, someone might want it, and if not I’ll use it for something in my shop. Thanks for looking, and reading all this crap.