A Simple Box with pretty good wood

[John Huber]

The box faces are book-matched canarywood panels in bloodwood frames. The panels stand proud of the frame by 1/16". The raised portion of the panel is 1/8" smaller than the inside of the frame. The tray has handles that recess when the lid is closed and extend to lift the tray from the box. The wood is from my local Woodcraft store. The hinges are Brusso from Lee Valley. The finish is General Finishes Polyacrylic. The box has a pedestal 1" tall and so appears to float slightly. The dimensions are 20" w x 11" h x 14" d. Please comment.

[Ted Calver]

It's 'simply' beautiful John. The extendable handles are very clever and I like the floating look. Very well done!

[Mike Null]

Terrific work and design.

[Mike Henderson]

Nice job. How did you make the extendable handles? That is, what did you do to stop the handle slide when it reaches the top of the tray?

Or are the handles folding handles, with a pivot at the top? If so, how did you set the pivot pins into the tray and handles? And do they fold to the inside or to the outside?

If the user forgets to retract the handles, will lowering the top push them down?

Mike

[Gus Dundon]

This is a tremendous piece of work. Great work!

[Jim Rimmer]

Beautiful wood and great craftsmanship. The signature is a nice touch.

[John Huber]

The handles slide in a loose tongue-and-groove. A bloodwood strip is glued to the bottom edge of the canarywood handle and bears against the bloodwood strip at the top of the tray in the extended position. The handles are loose enough that the lid will push them into the retracted position. Some white powder lubricant helps a lot.

[glenn bradley]

Very nice. I love the three-way mitered corners. the colors of the material really set with each other well. The careful detail of the moving handles on the tray really steps this one up there.

[Bruce Page]

There's a lot of cool features in that "Simple" box.
Well done!

[Mike Henderson]

The handles slide in a loose tongue-and-groove. A bloodwood strip is glued to the bottom edge of the canarywood handle and bears against the bloodwood strip at the top of the tray in the extended position. The handles are loose enough that the lid will push them into the retracted position. Some white powder lubricant helps a lot.

Thanks. Good design.

Mike

[Mark Valsi]

Nice work. I love that tray !!!

[Jim Tobias]

Beautiful! The combination of woods are excellent and the miters and tray details make it unique!!
Very nice box!!
Jim

[John Huber]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your kind compliments! I am thinking about changes for the next box. Would it look better if the height were reduced slightly, if there were a frame on the bottom to mimic the overhang of the lid, and/or if the pedestal were taller to increase the "floating" appearance? Or perhaps, some of you might have suggestions?

[Shawn Pixley]

Very pretty!

[Floyd Cox]

Beautiful Box, excellent craftsmanship