Continuous Grain Gift Boxes

Welcome to my shop. I have not been out here doing anything creative in a ridiculously long time. We went from the renovation right to the barn build. So I figured it was time to do something fun and creative in the shop so I can get reconnected with my love of woodworking.

So my quick creative project for today are a couple of quick boxes. For a while, I have been wanting to make a box where the lid comes off and there is a liner inside the box that holds the lid, kind of like a piston fit. I will do a continuous grain wrap all the way around with some miters. And because I am going to make a couple, I will probably do a couple different sizes.

Here is the wood I am going to use. This is actually some birdseye maple that I got at Home Depot. This has got some really nice birdseye and a fair amount of curl. 

I also have this piece of cherry with some fun crotch figure, so I can play with that for the lid, maybe. 

I’m going to start with the birdseye maple. I’m going to cut some chunks off and process those down to get my blanks. 

I am also going to sand all of these pieces while they are still larger, because they are going to get small pretty quick.

With our stock made, we can start making them into boxes. Because I am going for continuous grain, it’s important that I keep the faces marked. 

I want to do a captive top, so the top will be set down into a groove. But I am going to do an applied panel on the bottom. Then I’ll put a chamfer on, so that when the box is sitting on a table, it looks like it’s elevated because of the shadow line. 

Now that I have everything laid out, let’s run these grooves. 

The next thing that I need to do is decide on the final dimensions so I can chop these down to a blank size which has no no waste. I want the material to end up being completely used up all the way around for a continuous grain look. I have decided that I’m going to do two boxes that are 4×4 squares, and then I’m going to do two that are 3×6. 

So for the 4x4s, these blanks are going to be cut down to eight and an eighth, which is two sides plus the kerf. And then for the other size, it will be nine and an eighth.

Next I am going to make my bevel cuts. 

Now that those box parts are done, it’s time to make the top and bottom. I’m going to cut this crotch cherry, get it planed, and then cut to size to fit inside all of those boxes. 

With that prepped, I can start getting ready for the glue-up. At this point, make sure you sand your inside faces if you need to, because you won’t have access after this. I’m going to use some masking tape to help fold this box up. 

Now that I have gotten some glue in there, I can fold it up, check for gaps, and then get some clamps on there.

Once the glue is dry on here, we can get the bottom attached. I’m doing a rub joint, and that should start to suction itself down. Then I’ll throw a clamp on there and leave it alone. 

Once that is ready, I can slice off the remaining waste, then flush and trim the box at the router table, and then add the chamfer to the underside. 

After that is done, it’s time to cut off the lid. When making this cut, just make sure that you are cutting far enough down that you aren’t cutting into the top panel. 

Next step, making some liner stock. So chop this piece up, get it planed and cut to size.

So the liner pieces are just about ready to go in. I’m going to sand on the top edge a little bit, and it’s going to break the edges a little bit, which will make the lid slide on a little bit easier. Then I will conservatively apply some glue to the sides of the box and slide the liner in.

Now I am ready to finish these boxes. I’m going to use Total Boat Halcyon clear, water-based finish.

Look at that. Isn’t that nice? Really love that contrast. 

I gave a second coat of finish to help even things out and the build on here is a nice medium between close to the wood and thick film finish. I’m really happy with the way this one came out. The lid fits on there really nicely, and it’s very satisfying to take it on and off. I also love the chamfer on the bottom, giving it that elevated feel with that shadow line. That’s a cool little box. 

It was nice to get back to the shop and make something for the first time in a long time. So that’s going to do it for this one! Thank you as always for watching. I greatly appreciate it. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave me a comment. As always, I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have. And until next time, happy woodworking!