Quintuplets

These will be Christmas presents for my female friends and family members this year. Overall dimensions are 2-3/4”x 5-1/2”x 7-1/2”. Materials used were 4/4 cherry and poplar, 1/4” cherry plywood, 1” stop hinges, and black felt for the box bottoms. The finish is 4 coats of lacquer 3 of which were gloss followed by 1 final coat of satin.

In the picture below shows how I put together the lid. I used bridal joints for the frame. The cherry and poplar checkerboard panels are an overlay panel the fits into interlocking grooves in the frame members. I routed the grooves in the frame members and overlay panel about 1/16” deeper to allow for expansion and contraction. The panels are spot glued on the ends only and so they are still able to expand and contract across their widths.
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In the picture below shows the step involving cutting the alternating cherry and poplar glue up into 1” wide strips. Once these strips were cut, then they were glued into the 5 panels. To make the checkerboard effect, every other strip was turned end for end.
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In the picture below shows the boxes getting slots cut for the poplar splines. I divided the box into thirds and cut 2 equally spaced slots.
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The picture below shows the boxes during the finishing stage. In the forefront are the box dividers. The dividers are made from poplar strips that are cut with half laps and glued together as a unit. Each section of the divider is 2” x 2”. My thinking here was to make them with simple joinery and make them so they are easily removable. Since these are relatively small boxes the dividers may or may not be practical for the intended user.
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I like the contrast of the poplar and cherry. The checkerboard panels aren’t something you would commonly see in a small decorative box and so this added to the fun I had in making them. Thanks for looking!