This box project was made for my Grandson’s 6th birthday. I guess I’m in charge of creating those lasting memories that we all talk about. Hopefully, this one will hang around long enough for him to remember us old folks.
I decorated all the flat sides with vcarving things that he’s expressed interest in for a few years. Unsurprisingly, the most difficult item was one that had the most detail in the graphic file. I had to edit many vectors to simplify the detail, but preserve it at the same time.
Of course, the intensity / apprehension was there at all stages, because the vcarving had to be done and finished before the box could be assembled. Then there was the ubiquitous sliding lid to be engineered to fit. While I was planning, I got the bright idea to add a hidden compartment for those “secrets” we all had when we were young. That compartment required some engineering to create a strong magnetic latching mechanism.
One of the key components was the addition of a windup music box that was saved from an old jewelry box that I gave my wife back in the day. Our Grandson has always been fascinated by the simplicity of a music box compared to his parents iPhone music. Go figger.
I made it out of walnut planks that came sanded and sized, but there were enough variations in thickness to cause me to do lots of fitting to the inside components. The finishing was actually a cherry stain that I added until I got the darkness needed. In the process, I was able to darken the vcarving to an acceptable level. I started by sealing with shellac before cutting. After cutting, I applied an espresso stain but quickly wiped it off the surface. When that dried in the vcarve, I lightly sanded the flat surfaces to remove the shellac as much as possible. That’s when I started the cherry stain process. I think I applied the stain 3 times. That also darkened the vcarve areas. The point was that I wanted a “brown” for the vcarve and not a “black.”
In any case, the Grandson likes it, and he alternately hides and unhides various items. I wish that I had had a hidden compartment to hide all my lousy school report cards!
