Treasure Chest #3 – “Treasure”

The key thing with this project was assembling it in the right order. The bottoms of the  two main compartments, as well as the bottoms of the two recesses in the central block, were to be lined with baize. Therefore, the interior of the box needed to be finished before the baize went in because I didn’t want to get shellac or wax all over it. Also, I needed to finish the interior, before the base went on because if any wax got onto the base, the baize wouldn’t stick to it. 

So, with the box stained inside and out, and the interior waxed, I dimensioned the base, rounded the edges and glued it onto the box.

 

Next, I applied my maker’s mark to the base. At this stage I took a break from the box and turned instead to the contents.

 

 

I began by turning the recesses for the two pieces of wood that would make up the tray, as well as the finial for it. They were laminated together and then dimensioned it to fit the box.

Then it was time to turn the large lidded box that sits in the main compartment, and the two smaller lidded boxes that sit in the central block. The idea behind these boxes is that they increase the usable size of the piece. The central block that the smaller boxes sit in wastes a certain amount of space. This is more than made up for by the boxes, which can be stored outside the box if space becomes an issue. The smaller boxes would be perfect for holding small items such as earrings, and the larger boxes and tray have finials which can hold rings.

Onto the home straight now, which began with sorting out some brass banding. The four straight pieces for the front and back were simple enough, but the two pieces for the lid required me to cut out a plywood form to bend them around.

I them centre punched, drilled and countersunk some holes for the brass screws on each of the six pieces, before giving them a polish.

The final stage was to shellac and wax the exterior surfaces of the box, before fitting the banding, and putting the boxes inside.

The wood species used for this box are:

• Main box and lid – Ash
• Central block – Cherry
• Large lidded box – Canary, walnut lid and kingwood finial
• Small lidded boxes – Purpleheart and kingwood
• Tray – Walnut and beech with zebrano finial

 

I printed off this website’s address and put that in the box as well, so that the birthday girl can access these posts.

Then it was time to box up the box, ready for delivery. The only box of the right size that I could find was the one that our new iron came in (other brands are available).

Job done. The package has been delivered and the customer seems very happy with it. I only hope the birthday girl likes it as much.