Walnut and Maple Jewelry Box

Walnut and Maple Jewelry Box Maple made from solid walnut, maple, and veneered maple panels. Features dovetailed corner keys on main box and inner trays, and 1/8” brass pins that hinge the box. Finished in lacquer and lined in ruby red velvet.
I’ve included photos of how I do the dovetailed keys.

It starts with the jig. This has an adjustable stop and removable zero clearance inserts to accommodate the type of bit used.

Once the slots are cut, the keys are made with the same bit. Adjust the height and use the fence to make the key size a friction fit in the slots. I use an oversize piece that gets cut down later.

I rip the piece down to a manageable size. I like to leave a portion of the flat to act as a handle for gluing and a surface for clamping. Once ripped, crosscut oversized. All the excess material will be removed later on.

Dry fit before gluing. Should be a snug fit

I like to use these cauls and clamps in the glue up stage, although the keys do fit snug into the slots without the clamps.

I trim off excess with a bandsaw, removing most of the waste. I like to use a block plane and adhesive backed sandpaper on a dead flat surface to flush them up