Going to make a keepsake box - trying to decide on wood [must be amazingly beautiful]

[Mike Dowell]

So I'm going to be making a little box for a loved one, which will be just large enough to hold 4/6 photos (laying flat). I was thinking I would make something simple, but elegant. Hand cut dove tails and hinged lid, with a small half-mortise lock.

And so, I'm here for suggestions. I'm more than capable of making a box, but I'd like suggestions, tips, advice etc anyhow, because this project is on the highest order of special there is. If I'm being honest(and I always am), I'd tell you that I haven't worked very many woods. Walnut, Cherry, Mahogany, Oak, Poplar, Ash, Maple - all the usual suspects. While I'm not opposed to just using my go-to, Walnut, this project is a big enough deal that I'm entertaining something more "top shelf".

What wood works well? I don't want anything that flakes and breaks, because of how I'm constructing this, especially due to having to mortise out for the lock and such. I'm very open minded, so light, dark, medium, brown, red, purple, whatever will do. I just want to get some ideas on what some of you might use for something like this. Also, as I mentioned before, please share any design ideas,you've used with success. I know a box is a simple thing to make, but there are thousands of designs, and when it all comes down to it, I'm actually quite a novice despite some of the nice furniture I've built for my home.

Thanks in advance!

[Mel Fulks]

It sounds a little small for dovetails, you could do it ,but I think for an elegant look it doesn't help on that project. Things like tea caddys were sometimes dovetailed but then usually veneered over. I think something color shifting like figured satinwood might be good as ,like a photograph ,it makes flat surfaces appear three diminsional.

[Prashun Patel]

For hand cut dovetails, I prefer to work with the softer hard woods.

My gut reaction was curly cherry. It only gets richer, deeper and more beautiful over time. It saws and chisels easily, so it makes even mine look better than they are. Cherry also takes a finish very well.

As for the elegance of dovetails, tiny pinned, half blinds can look quite elegant and refined.

[Mike Dowell]

This is great feedback - thank you.

@Mel Fulks - if not dovetails, how would you do it?

How about design? I was thinking the walls would be 3/8" and the top would also be 3'8" thick, beveled. I saw a guy on Youtube scribe an inch in around the perimeter of his box top, then he beveled it down to almost nothing. He was using a Stanley 4 1/2, but I'll use a 6" edge sander.

[Mel Fulks]

I would try to keep it as thin as possible. Thickest pieces perhaps 5/16. Think it could be made with material half that thick and then lapped with another staggered layer for stength. Second layer could be held down low enough to leave a lip for the top to lap. Still another way would be to make the box big enough for 4 stacks of photos, pieces could then be thicker and still give a lean look.

[Lee Schierer]

A locking rabbet joint would be the strongest corner and relatively easy to do. As far as wood goes. Koa has probably the most interesting grain patterns, but it probably isn't available in Maryland. My next go to wood would be curly cherry.emilyjewel2.jpg or curly maple maplebox.jpg.

[Mike Dowell]

Does Koa work well? I'm sure my wood guy either has it, or can get it. His warehouse is unreal.

[Mike Dowell]

For hand cut dovetails, I prefer to work with the softer hard woods.

My gut reaction was curly cherry. It only gets richer, deeper and more beautiful over time. It saws and chisels easily, so it makes even mine look better than they are. Cherry also takes a finish very well.

As for the elegance of dovetails, tiny pinned, half blinds can look quite elegant and refined.

That's two votes for curly cherry. I've never made a half blind dovetail before. They look like they require a much higher skill - no?

[Prashun Patel]

One would think half blinds require higher skill because the waste in the pins must be mortised out. However, there's two ways to make this less daunting:

1) Learn a quick mortising technique. Chop down near the base line, then turn the board on its end and strike into the end grain. The mortise will come away in big chips. This is where having an easy to work with wood helps. I also find having a fishtail (I made one) or skew chisels helps to get into those pesky corners - which must be chopped out since you can't get a saw in there. Once you get the technique down, it goes really fast.

2) If you have pin router and a 1/4" spiral bit, you can route out the waste quickly. This has the benefit of resulting in a perfect pinsocket bottom. You then pare away the residual manual. This method results in flawless fits but does take a tad bit of practice and confidence.


this can go quite quickly. Also, because the end grain of the tails does not show, hb's can sometimes be more forgiving than through dovetails. The critical thing is being able to mark and chisel cleanly that base line.

[Brian Tymchak]

My gut reaction was curly cherry. It only gets richer, deeper and more beautiful over time. It saws and chisels easily, so it makes even mine look better than they are. Cherry also takes a finish very well.

+1 Exactly my first thought as well.

Edit: Although I did see some curly Koa here on the Creek a few years ago that left me speechless. Might have been a humidor.

[Cody Colston]

Curly Cherry, Tiger Maple, QS Sycamore, Flame Birch or just about any of the exotics would be a striking wood. Just remember that if using hand-cut dovetails, they must be absolutely precise to fit well with the harder hardwoods. There's no give to the wood like there is with a soft hardwood like Mahogany. On a small piece like a box, any mistakes are magnified.

Walnut is more of a masculine wood so if the loved one is female, a lighter-colored wood would be more appropriate, I think. A simple, well proportioned box with flawless construction is a beautiful thing. No need for a fancy design IMHO.

[Mike Dowell]

A simple, well proportioned box with flawless construction is a beautiful thing. No need for a fancy design IMHO.

Agreed. It's for my daughter. I think I'll probably go for the curly cherry. What are those hinges called that just look like brass pins when the box is open?

[Adam Herman]

non-mortise soss hinges?

[lowell holmes]

Sapele is a good wood. It is an African Mahogany.

[Mike Dowell]

The box is finished. Thanks to every for their input. Also, thanks for the help in my other two threads regarding problems I was having. This is the first box I've ever made, and I think it came out nicely. Bird's Eye is what was in stock at my supplier, so that's what I used. 3/8" walls, bottom and top(beveled down).