The Woodshop Shed

Horse Chestnut Box

Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)


I found this site by accident several years ago and it inspired me to try and learn how to make boxes for a hobby. You “box-maker” dudes really impress me. I've been practicing and hope to keep improving my skills until I'm as proud of my boxes as I am of my wood. I'm retired now so there “should” be enough time…This wood came from a 60 foot tall Horse Chestnut tree that I planted as a child of about five years old. My father was an amateur nurseryman and very talented wood turner and carver. He kept the tree root pruned and when my wife and I bought our first and only home, he drug the tree over and we replanted it together in our new yard.40-plus years went by and the tree had to come down. My brother in law has a bandsaw mill and he cut the tree into 2-inch slabs about three years ago. I hope to make some furniture at some point, but right now I'm learning skills with boxes.This one is about 11×6 x 5-1/2 inches tall. The sides are 3/8 inches thick as is the lid which was glued to the sides and then cut off. The edges of the lid were trimmed with some scraps of unknown wood that my Dad had salvaged from a scrap bin at a local guitar shop many years ago. (Somewhere there is a matching electric guitar). The handle was also made from some of the guitar scraps. The bottom is 1/4 inch chestnut that matches the sides. I rattle-canned several coats of shellac, then rattle-canned several more coats of lacquer which I wet-sanded with 1000 grit and buffed with paste wax.The pictures show all of the mistakes that I had to figure out how best to hide. I'll sure be glad if I can finish one someday without so many mistakes. But I think I am getting better at hiding them…Give me an honest opinion and critique. And if anyone can tell me how they put a glass finish on a box that has handles and legs attached that isn't as freaking tedious as wet sanding with a very small block and 1000 grit, PLEASE let me know the secret.Thanks for looking.

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