Jewelry Box
Unfortunately I have to go back to work tomorrow. :(Â But before I go, I wanted to finish a project up before I lost all my time again to my day job.
Jewelry Box open
I started on this project a couple of days ago, and was able to finish it fairly quickly. This is quite a bit quicker than I expected, even though the box is a simple design. I used my new dovetail and it was a dream to use. Comfortable, smooth and very effective, I highly recommend it.
The box is 1/2″ Poplar from the Home Depot, dovetailed on all four sides, and finished with two coats Bulls Eye Amber Shellac (another first for me.) The top and bottom are rebated to set into the body with the bottom glued in, and the top just resting. Funny story about the design though, I had all four sides dovetailed, and thought I was doing great until I realized that the wide board that I had bought with the side material was not as wide as I thought it was. I had to change my plans all together, and came up with this design. It works out pretty well, gives the box a floating appearance.
Jewelry Box closed
The shellac was super easy to use, I was surprised. I’ve been dreading learning finishing, but this went on easy (I could use work on my application for sure) and dried quickly enough to do two coats in one night. I’m going to use this stuff again for sure, I might try thinning it the first coat though, and getting a better brush like I’ve seen suggested.
Bulls Eye Amber Shellac
The wife was very pleased, to see such immediate return on the gift of the saw, and I’m pleased with how it turned out. Too bad I have to go back to work.
Badger
I used Zinsser’s amber shellac on the crib I built my daughter. I found that if you dilute it 1:1 with denatured alcohol, it is thin enough that you can wipe it on. Might be an avenue worth exploring, especially if you want to avoid buying a really nice brush!
Definitely worth exploring, I’m very happy with the results of my first test, and I’m keen to explore more. It’s kind of a relief to find an easy finishing method, I was quite a bit nervous about this part of woodworking.