Thread: First Project: Jewellery Box - handtools only

Hia,
I've caught the woodworking bug and wanted to try out a few concepts I have read about. I just completed a jewellery box for my 3 year old daughter. Apart from my cordless drill to help me round the feet, I used only (cheap) hand tools...by necessity.

The box is 12mm maple. I cut the dovetails free hand and the keen of eye will notice the unusual rear join. This is my attempt at salvaging a joint after I cut the first tail out with the fret saw instead of the waste! I cut a rabbet into the sides to accept a piece of ply for the bottom. I used a dovetail saw to cut the edges and a chisel to clean it up. Slid in the bottom and glued up the sides.

The lid is made up of a keyed, mitre-joint frame cut with a handsaw in a mitre block. The top piece was cut and planed to size then a rebate was pared in with chisels to allow it to sit inside the frame. The edges of the frame and top piece had a chamfer nervously planed in with my No5 but my over zealous sanding has rounded them out some.

The tray and rails are made from pine. Keyed mitre joints and some more saw and chisel dados for the segments. Finally a rebate in the base to accept a veneered ply bottom (picture box_04).

I sanded everything 80, 180, 240, 320, 400. I stained the pine (should have wiped it down earlier for a more consistent finish) then I applied 3 coats of shellac to the whole project. I cut some soft art foam to sit in all of the segments and lined it with purple velvet ($3 from spotlight) careful only to glue on the underside.

My daughter helped me with various stages of the project, was excited seeing it take shape and now loves her little treasure box. A couple of weekends and a few bandaids later, I reckon I've probably learnt a few things - including a new appreciation for power tools.

Inspiration from this forum as well as this project --> Hand Tool Project - Jewelry Box - by Kerry @ LumberJocks.com ~ woodworking community