A woman I work with asked me to make a jewelry box to give to her mother for this past Mother’s Day.  Her brother, who also works with us and is a very good artist, came up with the basic design.

The covers and spine are sassafras, the pages are ash, and the cross is black palm.

The Soss barrel hinges that I got from Rockler worked great and were actually the only hinge option that would be completely concealed when the lid was shut in order to maintain the appearance of a real book.  But because they have to be mounted so close to the edge, I had to add the leather lid stop straps.

The box lining is Donjer spray on flocking.

The small sassafras box inside holds a music box movement that plays “Amazing Grace”. I designed the stop mechanism which is a walnut dowel, a brass bushing and washer, and a small length of a scroll saw blade to act as a spring.

The finish is paste wax over teak oil.

This was probably the most challenging project that I’ve attempted to date.

 “Even when you’re thinking outside of the box,
There’s always a larger box that you have to think inside of.” – me

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