Decorative Keepsake Box

Lacewood contrasts with walnut on a long, low box you can build in a weekend.

Small boxes make perfect projects for those too-beautiful-to-toss scraps. For the sides and ends of this box, we used a long-saved cutoff of lacewood, a species with chatoyant grain that shows an almost three-dimensional depth. The walnut feet and lid stand out against the lighter box. A handle combining both woods tops it off.

Build the box

1 Cut the sides (A) and ends (B) to width and slightly longer than listed [Materials List]. Bevel-cut the ends to bring the pieces to finished length [Exploded View]. Cut the grooves to accept the bottom (C).

2 Finish-sand the inside faces. Cut the bottom (C) to size, dry-fit the box, and adjust the bottom’s fit, if necessary.

3 Align the sides and ends (A, B) end to end, outside face up, and apply painter’s tape across the three joints. Flip the assembly over, brush glue onto the miters and grooves, and assemble the box [Photo A].

Fabricate feet

1 Apply a copy of the Foot Patterns to the face of a 3⁄4×1×12" blank. Make a relief cut with a pass over a tablesaw blade to define the shoulder of the notch in each foot. Cut the feet (D) to length and bandsaw the notch

[Photos B and C].

2 Bandsaw and sand the curve on each foot, maintaining a crisp edge on the curved face.

3 Remove the patterns, finish-sand the feet, and glue them to the box [Exploded

View], clamping from one end of the box to the other.

Handcraft a lid and handle

1 Cut the lid (E) to size [Exploded View], round over the top face, and rabbet the bottom face. The lid should fit just a touch loose in the box opening. Finish-sand the lid.

Apply a copy of the Handle Base Pattern to a

2

3⁄8×1×10" blank. Drill the hole, then rip a centered groove [Photo D].

Bandsaw and sand the handle base (F) to

3

shape. Remove the pattern and round over the hole on both faces.

Plane a blank to fit the groove in the

4

handle base (F) and apply the Handle Pattern to it. Cut and sand to the lines, then remove the pattern. Finish-sand the handle base (F) and handle (G), then glue the handle into the base.

5 After the glue dries, glue the handle (F/G) to the lid, centered. Apply a finish. (We sprayed on aerosol satin-finish lacquer.)

Chatoyance: The color-changing property of wood depending on how light reflects off the grain.

A Wrap the taped sides and ends (A, B) around the bottom (C), then close the last corner with another strip of tape. B Cut a birdsmouth notch in a scrap to create a pushstick that moves the foot (D) forward while pressing it against the bandsaw fence. C Apply self-adhesive sandpaper to a flat scrap and sand the notches smooth.