I admired the box created by Gary Rogowski, featured in Fine Woodworking, issue #139.  In the background of the cover photo, he had a box made from ebonized walnut.  I knew my wife would admire such an elegant design in dark, handsome walnut, so I made the box for her.  It will be her Christmas gift this season.  I changed the design to use through dovetails for joinery.  I also changed the dimensions to be a little more broad, for storage, and to fit the proportions of our large arts and crafts dining table.  The body of the box is black walnut (not ebonized), and the handle is spalted ash that I had left over from the construction of my workbench.  The finishing schedule used Fruitwood Danish Oil, covered by five coats of 1lb amber shellac.  As a final step, I used Jacobean paste wax to accentuate the open pores of the wood.  Rogowski’s design is a pleasure to implement as it requires some shaping via hand planes, and it is feasible, even for beginners.

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