# Small Box for my wife



## ESmithIII (Jan 15, 2011)

This is a box that I made for my wife for Christmas. Although she is a westerner, she speaks Vietnamese, and her viet name is Yến, which means Swallow. For this reason, I put a small inlay of a barn swallow in the bottom left corner of the top of the box.

This was my first attempt at using an inlay. I cut the shape from a mother of pearl blank, and then used a mini-router (dremel) to cut the pocket for the inlay.

The box measures roughly 10"x16"x6". The sides are rosewood (Dalbergia *****), the top is American Black Walnut (Juglans *****) with a maple (Acer rubrum) and Bloodwood (Brosimum rubescens ) frame. The bottom of the box (although you can't see it) is cedar (Thuja plicata).

The hinges on the back are brass, and are pocketed in small mortises.
I finished the box with about 10 coats of wipe on poly that was then sanded to p2500 grit, and then buffed to a piano-like shine. I will add a wax later this week.

The photos don't do the irridescent top justice. The chatoyancy of the figured black walnut and the bloodwood is outstanding.

I still have some work to do with the inside, and there are a few small mistakes, but overall I am pleased with this box.


Box Top by esmithiii2003, on Flickr


Box Corner by esmithiii2003, on Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/erniesmith/5361976275/


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## Kirkus (Dec 19, 2010)

Now _that_ is beautiful. Very very nice.


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## ben arnott (Nov 15, 2008)

Gorgeous!! Beautiful design. The inlay came out great. Your wife must be thrilled! Thanks for sharing. I like the scientific names of all the woods btw.


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## Fishbucket (Aug 18, 2010)

Yep, Beautiful alright :thumbsup:


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Great looking box, nicely done. I'll bet it does look different than in pictures. 












 









.


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## burkhome (Sep 5, 2010)

Nice!!!


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## robert421960 (Dec 9, 2010)

yea that really looks great


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## apprentice (Mar 31, 2010)

beautiful! How long did it take?


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Having never done anything quite as delicate as that Swallow, I'd sure be interested in your process. Can you elaborate?


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## byron9393 (Nov 19, 2010)

Nice box. Great work on the inlays. Bloodwood and black walnut are a great combo.


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## Chippin-in (Feb 4, 2010)

Extremely well done. She will love it.


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## ESmithIII (Jan 15, 2011)

Gene-

Here is a great tutorial on doing mother of pearl (MOP) inlays:
http://lumberjocks.com/Autumn/blog/11850

In my case, I first searched the internet for images of swallows, and then drew the outline of a swallow using MS Powerpoint. I sized it to my liking, then printed it out on normal paper. I then cut out the shape of the swallow and used simple paper glue to glue it to my MOP blank (which you can get here: http://www.stewmac.com/shopby/item/...e&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=2010-07-gp

I used a coping saw and a "bird beak board" as a support for the piece during cutting. Cutting precisely with the coping saw was easier than I had imagined, and a made a near-perfect swallow on the first try.

Once the design was cut out of the MOP blank, I then washed it to remove the paper, and sanded some rough edges.

Next I traced it on the top of my box. Here is where I made my first mistake. The tutorial says to glue the MOP to the wood using cyanoacrylate (super glue) to hold it in place while tracing. I chose to skip this step and hold it down with one hand while tracing using a scribe with my other hand. The piece moved a bit on me, and therefore I ended up with some small gaps.

I then put some babypowder on the scribe lines so that I could see them, and used a dremel in a small router base to cut a small mortise in the shape of the swallow.

Then I used a two part epoxy to put the inlay in place. I used some wood dust to fill in the edges where the gaps were.

Once the epoxy dried, the whole thing is like a single piece of wood. You can sand on it, finish it, polish it, etc.

Hope this helps.


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## ESmithIII (Jan 15, 2011)

Thanks for the kind words guys. It took about 20 man hours to complete this. It was a lot of fun.


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## Firewalker (Jan 3, 2011)

Well done!!! Does she love it???


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## burkhome (Sep 5, 2010)

Great! Thanks for the play by play. May have to try it sometime.


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## mn pete (Dec 10, 2010)

That's a real stunner! The finish makes you want to touch it. Really well done. 

Thanks for the inlay info too. I've not been bold enough to give inlays a shot yet, but I'm inspired to move it up on the to-do list!


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## ESmithIII (Jan 15, 2011)

Guys- thanks for the nice notes about the box. She does love it.

I have to say that the inlay was pretty fun to do. I am going to try something more intricate soon. I will keep you posted.

Ernie


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## jdixon (Nov 21, 2007)

Wow that is beautiful. Bet you scored some major points with that!

John


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## Texas Sawduster (Apr 27, 2009)

*Wow !!!*

Wow. What great work that box is.

Your wife must be proud of that.


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## CutNCrown (Feb 29, 2012)

Very Impressed with this box, great work!


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## boxerman (Oct 11, 2011)

Super nice looking box.


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## tcleve4911 (Dec 16, 2006)

I love the simplicity and color choices....well done


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