Jewelry Box

The Concept

This jewelry box is a personal project that I undertook throughout this past year. The concept for this box was to have a cavity under the lid and two drawers, which would provide ample amounts of jewelry storage space. The box would be 8" wide x 5" tall x 5" deep and made out of 1/2" thick wood with grooves in the lips of both the lid and cavity to ensure that the two would lock together. The drawers would be made out of 1/4" thick wood with a lip that would let them hang off of projections on the insides of the box's walls. I sketched my ideas and made a rapid prototype out of foam core before attempting to make this product out of wood.

The Issues

The first issue to present itself was that I couldn't find 8" wide x 1/2" thick wood at any lumber supplier near my apartment. I was limited to choosing between 1/4" and 3/4" pieces. In the end, I went with 1/4" pieces so that there would be more storage space and I wouldn't spend as much time sanding the 3/4" pieces down to 1/2" thickness. However, due to their thinness, many of the 1/4" pieces were warped. Warped wood was much harder to measure, cut, sand, and screw together than flat pieces of wood, which I should have considered when choosing a thickness to work with.

The second issue I faced was the inaccuracy of hand-held power tools. Sawing and sanding flat, straight edges and drilling straight holes in precisely the right location are much more difficult with hand-held tools compared to free-standing tools. Unfortunately, my job schedule prevented free-standing tools from being an option. These challenges meant that my final product was not manufactured precisely the way it was designed, but they did not prevent me from building a functional product.

The Final Product

The final product is a 8" wide x 5" tall x 5 1/4" deep jewelry box made of 1/4" red oak. The thinness of the wood did not allow for grooves in the lid and cavity, so I attached a latch to the front of the box to keep the box closed when desired. The hinges attached to the lid have enough friction to support the weight of the lid while it's open, which prevents it from closing on the user's fingers. The cavity and drawers are all 3/4" tall, which allows for ample storage space, and the drawers rest on shelves rather than hang from projections on the box's walls. The entire box is lacquered with a satin finish.