toolbox - wip - top view

walnut with honduran mahogany inlay
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

finally glued up. it was a little nerve-racking, since a good amount of effort and time got me to this point. seams aren't perfect, but they will do. box joints look cool, but they are a pain in the ass to do. i've heard you can buy special blades that cut them all at once. i did mine one at a time with a simple dado on a table saw. there were lots of practice cuts to get them to fit not too loose & not too tight. oh, and did i mention the sanding? there's always sanding. whether it's jewelry, plastic or wood. if i got paid for the time i spent sanding...well, i could pay my credit card bills.

the little cut outs on the insides are for the inserts that will divide up the box into compartments. i'm working on a tray that will sit inside the box on top of the inserts made of the mahogany. the handle consists of three layers of wood--mahogany sandwiched between walnut. the sides that will connect the handle to the box will also be mahogany & walnut face glued.

i had some problems with rip-sawing it ( used a table saw & band saw to saw a 6/4 board of walnut into 1/2" thick boards ), but after the planing, it came out to be a little less. it's a thinner box, but i like that it is not as heavy, and looks somehow more crafted with the thinner walls. well, i won't be carrying around anything heavy in it.