First off, credit must be given where it is due. My sole influence in building this was Ben's Jewelry Box. Thanks to Ben for such a captivating design, I chose this as my first serious project. The decor in our bedroom is Asian styled, so I knew this design would be right at home.

One obvious departure I took from the original is a different selection of wood. The reddish wood is Paduak and the dark wood is Wenge. No stain was used. It’s finished with three coats of a wipe-on mixture of satin polyurethane, boiled linseed oil, and mineral spirits. The box, drawers, and legs are constructed with interlocking glue joints, and the only metal in the entire piece is three tiny screws that attach to the drawer pulls.

The outer curves on the legs were rough cut with a bandsaw and finished by hand. A spindle sander would’ve been really handy here. Perhaps that should be my next investment. Everything else was done with my tablesaw.

I included my original hand sketch, slight errors and all. Dimensions were approximate only. The other shots highlight the glue joints that were cut on my table saw. The legs are held onto the box by glue alone. The last few pictures illustrate the Wenge drawer runners that are inserted into a series of kerfs along the sides and back of the box. The drawer dividers help to strengthen the front of the box and create some visual contrast with the Paduak drawer fronts, which have matching grain orientation, since they are cut from the same board. I also attached felt pads with some strong spray adhesive to the back of the box. This allows the drawers to close softly, and to a uniform depth.

I was working down the wire to get this done (remotely presentable!) before Christmas. I still want to flock the drawers with black velvet and install dividers in the top drawer. Apart from that, I felt good enough about it to post here as my first project. Sorry about the picture quality, all shots are taken with my phone and some turned out better than others.

Any comments and criticisms are welcome.

Brian

Arlington, TX

-- Brian Timmons - http://www.BigTWoodworks.com