A nod to the shoe shine box Sean made which I had made as well for a buddy. This one was different proportions of course, but same design which I really liked - thanks for that, Sean. Reason for the box was to have a nice place to keep my Opa’s old hunting binoculars. They’ve been in my care since he passed years ago when I was in college and I’ve most recently had them in a drawer in my shop for quite some time. He was a woodworker and a great man so I wanted to create something that he’d be proud of. I had a nice piece of curly maple I picked up years ago and have been sitting on. It made for a beautiful box in my opinion and I’m pretty happy with the end result.

I don’t get to hand cut dovetails often at all so I took my time and still managed to mess some various areas up. One in particular, was a big one, I dropped my fret saw in the kerf and cut the wrong way! Of course I was ticked, but instead of wasting that board, I kept it. My thought was that this will be a clear reminder to me every time I see that kerf right in my tail to slow down and think. In the end it’s not horribly noticeable, I mixed some glue and saw dust to help fill along with any gaps I had in my dovetails.

Lid is pretty nice, had a little curl, but not distracting from the maple. Pin/hinged with brass rods which I really enjoy. Makes a nice design element and also very functional and easy to achieve. It was hand shaped with my n0.4 – that is my favorite part of this I have to say. It’s fun to work that piece of square stock down to that barrel shape with hand tools.

Finish at this point is just Danish Oil and I’m not sure if I’ll even top coat, or not – any thoughts on that? I’m all ears if you have any advice. Whatever helps to make that maple shine more, I’m willing to try.

Last thing, that picture was Sunday morning here in Ohio – one of those days where you’re grateful to be a part of with sunshine like that.

Thanks for checking it out and any feedback is welcomed