This is a Pennsylvania Spice Box that I began building the summer before my junior year of college when I was 19 years old. I worked on it during my college summer breaks for the next few years and just finished it this past summer 2011. At this point I am in my second year teaching middle school woodshop. The spice box is based off of Steve Latta’s spice box that was in Fine Woodworking, however I changed some design elements and added a few secret compartments.

I wanted a project that would give me practice with hand-cut dovetails and this one was perfect. All of the dovetails you see are hand-cut (casework, rear feet, drawers). There are 11 drawers and 4 secret compartments. The primary wood is mahogany and the secondary wood is poplar. The back panel is ash and the line and berry inlay is made of holly and aromatic red cedar. The drawer fronts were made from one panel of solid mahogany substrate that I veneered with crotch mahogany and then cut into the drawer fronts. I decided to make a tombstone door for the front instead of a flat panel like Steve Latta did, which is why I did the line and berry inlay on the inside. The door frame is mortise and tenon construction with decorative pinned tenons. 

The finish is lacquer and the hardware is from Londonderry Brasses.

 

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