Correspondence Box

clarkatron, member

5 users recommend

The drawer fronts and front face were made by resawing, cutting to length, joining, then re-gluing the front piece.

The two top panels are constructed from four shop-sawn, bookmatched afzelia veneers, laid over 1/16" aircraft plywood.

Detail of deep-socket dovetails.  The depth of each socket (there is a corresponding socket on the other drawer) is half the thickness of the drawer runner/divider.

Detail of removable trays.  Each tray has a hinged "floor" with an attached tab to facilitate removal of your stationary; that way, you don't have to turn the tray over to get the cards out.

Detail of the tray tabs.

The drawer fronts and front face were made by resawing, cutting to length, joining, then re-gluing the front piece.

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This piece came about after re-watching one of my favorite movies, "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou." There is a line at some point where Steve Zissou mentions to his wife Eleanor that they need to write a thank-you note to Eleanor's parents "on the good correspondence stock."

It seemed to me that good correspondence stock should have an appropriate place to live, so I built this box. The sides are dovetailed by hand, and the lid is frame-and-panel. There are two asymmetrical drawers built in to the front of the box - a smaller one for pens, and a larger one for stamps. The interior of the box houses two removable trays, one slightly larger than the other. The smaller tray holds standard 4 1/4" x 6 3/8" cards (such as Crane's), and the larger tray holds the corresponding envelopes. (Smythsons stock will also fit.) Each tray has a small brass tab you can use to pull the stationary out of the tray.

The box is made out of Kwila. The trays and drawer sides are made out of Afzelia. All brass hardware (besides the hinges) is shop-made. The bottoms of the drawers are made from Port Orford Cedar, giving the box a nice small when you pull out the drawers. The exterior is finished with Liberon Oil, and the interior is polished with shellac and wax.

From start to finish, this box took nearly 400 hours of labor to complete.

posted in: The Gallery, box, dovetails, frame and panel, veneer, brass, port orford cedar, drawers, kwila, afzelia

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Walnut Hallway Table with Bookmatched Top

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Comments (3)

MayorGlen writes: When you do the Resolute Desk (with hidden compartments) let me know. You do very nice work. Love the little details.

Thanks.
Posted: 8:05 am on September 9th

Jurgen01 writes: Beautiful design and craftsmanship. Every detail is right on the mark. Well done!
Posted: 4:43 pm on August 3rd

amishness writes: Amazing as always clark. i see you have awesome taste in movies do i see the Hellrasier puzzle box coming up next?
Posted: 10:59 am on July 31st

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