English Ivy box

jeffsech, member

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When I began this jewelry box, I completed the marquetry panel first and thought I would use James Krenov's oft-copied box in Andaman padouk from A Cabinet Maker's Notebook as a starting inspiration for the rest of the project. Right after I finished the marquetry, Mr. Krenov passed away and as a tribute I decided to make the box a more faithful copy. I doubt he would have approved of the marquetry, and I imagine he would have encouraged some more creativity on my part, but the proportions are so beautiful I just had to try and reproduce them.

The box is redwood, redwood burl and dyed veneers. Finish is wax over several thin washcoats of shellac.

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Comments (4)

Jurgen01 writes: Nice work! I agree with you about the proportions of this box. I recall being intrigued with the same box in Krenov's book. Whatever the late Mr. Krenov would say, I really like the ivy details you have added to the box. It is a real treasure to be enjoyed by some lucky person for a long, long time. Thanks for posting the photos.
Posted: 6:41 pm on November 17th

jeffsech writes: BC: Thanks, and yes the redwood seduced me with its straight grain, but my inexperience got the better of me: you are right, it is very soft and splintery. Even after careful easing of the edges I still picked up a running splinter or two. And although I've pretty much settled on using a western dovetail saw, I used a Japanese saw cause the wood was just so soft; even then I'd lose a splinter here and there which had to be fixed.

Tuco: I pretty much eyeballed the design out of Krenov's book (still in print and available through Amazon). He gives the dimensions of his original box, and I scaled up the proportions because it needed to be a little larger to match the marquetry panel. I made a photocopy and used calipers to estimate unknown dimensions from known ones.
Posted: 12:22 am on November 6th

BCJason writes: Nice work. I like the inlay. It gives it a special touch.
Nice straight grain on the Redwood.
Hows was it to work with? I find Red Cedar can be soft and splintery.
Posted: 3:52 pm on November 5th

tuco writes: I liked the box,how can I get the project?
Posted: 2:19 pm on November 5th

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