I decided to try my hand at a jewelry box similar to the dice box made by @evansd2. I loved the fluted look of the box and the color combination of the wood. Here is my result:
It is 11 layers of 3mm walnut hardwood. About 5 inches in diameter. Inlay is Padauk and Yellowheart.
This project was a beast. I have new (er,… renewed) appreciation for the insane amount of work that all of you put into the projects you post. @evansd2 did a thorough write-up of his process (for which I am very grateful) in his original post so I will not replicate that here.
A few notes:
In the future, I would benefit from mocking up a prototype from cheap wood and not start out with the spendy stuff. I learned a lot in the process and I wish I had learned it on draftboard and not walnut hardwood
Getting the wood grain to line up in the inlay so it looked like a single piece of wood was a challenge. I ended up numbering the larger pieces on the backside to line them up and using my eyecrometer to align the smaller pieces. It is not perfect, but I am really happy with it
I would not be a Dad if I didn’t take the opportunity to share a life lesson with my 16 year old as I was sanding. I can focus on all of the imperfections that this piece has–and there are many–or I can look at the piece as a whole and be impressed with its beauty.
Great job. Your son may have rolled his eyes, but I have a feeling he is also impressed with the beauty of this piece and the interplay of the wood types.
I know there are many threads about inlay calculation, but how did you get the layers together so smoothly for both the lid and the lower part of the box? Lots and lots and lots of sanding and finishing, or is there another trick?
