Liquor in Church

Upon occasion, we go to the tiny little town of Los Olivos in California for wine tasting. (You may know of the area from the movie “Sideways” or for being a stone’s throw from Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch.) It really is a tiny town and they don’t have any public restrooms—just a lot of great restaurants and wine tasting rooms. In the wake of this civic omission, the kind folks of St. Marks of the Valley Episcopal Church have really stepped up. They’ve warmheartedly opened their restrooms to the wine tasters visiting the town.

So, when it was time to gift some liquor to one of our wine-tasting friends, it felt right to do it in a way that pays tribute to St. Marks. I took some liberties in creating a box that is a loose interpretation of the St. Mark’s steeple.

It’s made from 2 sheets of 1/4" maple ply. I used one of the online box generators and customized the result in Adobe Illustrator. The only real challenge with this build was that I entered the wrong kerf value in the box generator and didn’t realize it until after the print. That meant adjusting every finger joint with a band saw. It worked out good enough for a solid pressure fit in most places, and where that didn’t work, CA glue came to the rescue. I considered making windows out of clear acrylic, but that seemed like overkill for a gift box. I know I’m not the first to use the GF for a steeple liquor gift box. Much appreciation to those who inspired this.

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Forgot to mention, the recipient was very pleased with the gift. That’s the best part of having a GF—being able to make things so personal that people can’t help but love them.

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That’s lovely on the part of both of you! :smile:

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It looks great! What is the “opening” on your box?

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Thanks! The top just pulls off to open. I made the box and then cut the top off on the bandsaw. I glued a few scraps on the inside so that it wouldn’t fall off the base.

Yes, and this is one item that will never find itself in the garage sale pile. Very well done!

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I’m sure your friend was tipsy in appreciation!

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what setting did you use to cut / engrave on the 1/4" maple ply?

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Sorry for the delayed response. I used the standard proofgrade settings.