10 Identical Jewelry Boxes
WoodGate Oct 24, 2022
Here are all 12 boxes I finished them all this weekend (finished 10, 2 were already done). They all have a single lift-out tray. The box interiors are sleeved as well. All interior parts are friction fit and removeable. I did glue the suede in the lift-out boxes but the leather on the bottom is held in by the interior parts. All boxes are finished in clear Danish oil with the exception of the top left and top right in this picture which were part of a previous batch of 3 boxes of this same style. Those are finished in gloss and satin polyurethane. I will charge more for the gloss finish box since that is a MAJOR PITA to do.
I make the interior parts friction fit because when I make my music boxes, the musical movement needs to be able to be removed should it ever need service. I got into the habit of making all boxes with removeable interiors. Interior is comprised of 8 individual pieces.
Boxes are Walnut, Maple, Ambrosia Maple and Mahogany. Walnut costs 3x as much as Cherry but not sure I will charge more for the Walnut boxes.
The lift out trays are made in pairs. See pics below for this technique. Not sure I invented this but it works very well for making consistent boxes.
Really torn what to charge for each box. I have around 6 hours of work and $25 worth of materials in each.
Also built myself a beveled miter sled for this project. I have no clue why I did not do this sooner. Wow what a total time-saver!
The 4 woods I used. Walnut, Mahogany, Wormy Ambrosia Maple and Birdseye Maple.
Making my beveled miter sled!
What a time saver!
Raw boxes right out of glue-up.
Inlay
This inlay is tedious!
Slots cut for miter splines.
Miter splines!
All glued in!
Interior sleeves cut!
Friction fit only.
All 10 done!
The jewelry divider slots.
Made an "oops" but fixed it.
Finishing time!
All 10!
Leather station.
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Man those are some really nice boxes. Really nice.
My opinion on pricing is that the most costly thing in your shop is your time. Don't sell yourself short on that aspect. 6 hours at $50/hr is $300.00 minimum and I don't think that is out of range from where similar hand made boxes are priced. Nicer materials and additions like leather interiors only drive up the price from there. Start high, see what the market will bear, and adjust or negotiate as needed.
Thank you Tim! I don't think I will get $300. I think anywhere from $100 - $150 is the best I will do. I'm also going to put a couple of my 50 note music boxes and they will be priced over $1000. I'll walk around the show and see if there is any competition. If it warrants it, I'll adjust the price.
These look great! You jumped from glue up to the inlay is complete. What do you use to make the inlay channel?
Thanks! I used a router table with left and right stops to route the channel. I carefully lowered the box down on the cutter and went left/right and carefully lifted up. Then cleaned up the corners with a chisel.