In my tech class Im making the Take-Apart Vanish box that is in the Mark Wilson book.
I will Venear the top of the box and put dovetail joints on the sides. What else will make this boxs look nice?

I am really looking forward to reading your posts.

P.S. I am really glad I joined this forum everyone is so nice.

If you are looking for a fine handcrafted box of any kind it is best to use good wood. Use hardwoods that look great even before they are stained. Walnut is nice. If you can afford it bird's eye maple or fiddle back maple has some striking grains that really show.

But for my budget stick with walnut or cherry.

Unless you have some reason to veneer the top I wouldn't bother. (Maybe you have to for your grade) With some careful planning you should be able to re-saw your top piece (i.e. cut its thickness in half), open it like a book, and glue it together along the edge. You will end up with the grain identical on both halves of the top.

If you have the jigs or the patience you might want to consider finger joints instead of dovetails. Each joint is smaller and appears on both sides of the corner.

I no longer have it, but in Fine Woodworking magazine 15 - 20 years ago there was an article about making small boxes by re-sawing wood and matching the grain so it "chases itself" around the box.

You may want to check out Mel Babcock's site to see the kind of magic props he builds out of cherry and walnut. http://www.nwinternet.com/~magicmel/

Most important READ BOOKS! There is a wealth of information about woodworking. The FINE WOODWORKING publications are great as well as others. The libraries are a good place to start. Look for books and articles on making jewelry boxes and the like and you should come up with some good ideas.

Have fun and make sawdust. Plan well. Just remember what my woodworking mentor told me: Paper is cheaper than wood.

Good Luck. Let us know how you did.

If you are into brass accents, etc. check out
Van Dykes Restorers

http://www.vandykes.com/

ed

Wikiro
Jeff pretty well covered everything. I would add something I have wanted to do, and that is, make boxes using contrasting colors of wood, i.e. a light and a dark wood makes dovetails and fingerjoints show up beautifully. Again, as Jeff said, Look for wood with a special grain pattern, there are some beautiful Burl patterns also.
Steve
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