One of the things that I always assumed I'd make once the whole woodwork thing got up and running was a present for my wife. For over a year I've played with the notion of making a jewellery box for her but wanted to avoid the typical small box with hinge lid design. I fancied having a go at something a bit more elaborate and larger to sit on our wide bedroom windowsill.
I put of making one for Christmas 2012 because I couldn't decide what to make deciding I'd organise something for her birthday in May. Come May and I still hadn't worked it out so put things off until the following Christmas.
At some point in the autumn while the thought reared its ugly head again I saw on YouTube a thing called a Pennsylvania Spice Cabinet, as expected they are a traditional (often very large) cabinet that people could lock up their expensive spices in however these days cabinet makers tend to produce smaller versions that are mainly used as jewellery boxes. They usually follow a standard concept and it is traditional for them to have some hidden drawers inside - perfect.
I got my hands on some walnut (not cheap!) boards and started to prep the wood. Unfortunately whilst building a spate of christmas presents for family in amongst work during the run up to Christmas I didn't have as much time as I'd hoped. After a long five days (and one night) I'd got it sorted.
I'm reasonably pleased with the outcome, I got to practise many (very many) hand cut dovetails which are improving and learnt how to fit a lock. As expected at this early stage I made a few errors, one in particular with a couple of the drawers which is irritating but the dodgy bits are hidden from view and they work well so not much harm done.
My wife loved it and even though she got frustrated trying to find the three secret compartments I got her to look for she was pacified by the few bits of jewellery that some hunky, impressive man had left there. All good in the end.
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