Shut The Box

This is a Fathers Day gift my wife and I made for my father. I pretty much just followed Steve Ramsey’s WWMM build, and simply changed a few decorative options. It didn’t go quite as well as planned, and it was a last minute decision to build it, so it is what it is at this point. I bought my wife a wood burner recently, as she’s expressed interest in trying that, so this is her first wood burning project! We attempted a photo transfer on the front of our three sons, but it didn’t turn out quite as clear as we had hoped for.

The box is Peruvian Walnut with Mahogany splines, a Cherry lift handle, Oak dowels, Padauk and Peruvian Walnut number flippers, Bubinga dice and Maple plywood top and bottom. We lined the bottom with cork and then applied some faux leather to that with spray adhesive. On the back, my wife burned in a quick message with the date. The flippers were different sizes because I only had enough Padauk for the 10 numbers, but the last one split as I drilled through, so I used left over Peruvian Walnut scraps for the others, which had been already ripped to a different width. The finish is Lacquer, followed by some wax applied with 4ought steel wool. I finished it up this morning with the wax, and really wish I hadn’t. The wood is so porous that there are now white wax deposits all over in the grain. I leave for Baltimore tomorrow to go spend the weekend with him. I’ll try to undo that tonight, but it may just have to stay as is.

edit: Sorry about the photos. I really need to get better at that…