Final Project Process

My final project process was a bit difficult but it was also an incredible learning experience for me. I started out with select pine and ended up also using 1/2" plywood and 1/4" lauan. The process of cutting the pieces down was not difficult, however I quickly realized how important it was for every single piece to be the exact same length in order to make certain that the box is symmetric. I first started out with the plan to use a biscuit joiner to attach the sides of the jewelry box, however I made mistakes and the box did not fit together well. So after discussion with Tim, we decided to alter the dimensions of the box to include dados to attach the sides.

After attaching the sides of the box, the rest of the process was a lot easier because I used pocket screws to connect everything. I did this before attaching any of the wood and measured it out to fit well with the drawer dividers. The pictures below are before and after pocket screwing the back of the box in. 

The next challenge that came about was creating drawers that properly fit the box. My original dimensions would not have worked because the dados made the box a bit wider. Tim suggested that rather than using the select pine for the drawers, that I use 1/2" plywood and 1/4" lauan plywood. After attaching the drawers with wood, I used a T-nailer to secure everything.

After securing the drawers, I went on to focus on the aesthetic value of the jewelry box by adding in drawer faces (as seen below) and the top panel of wood.  

But before I attached the drawer faces I first drilled holes in them for the decorative knobs.




After I attached the drawer faces, I used a router to create a decorative edge on them. I also did this with the top piece of the box in order to soften the edges.

After sanding the edges of the box and checking for small imperfections, I was really pleased with my project! The process was definitely a learning experience for me in terms of patience, the importance of precision, as well as being able to think and make decisions quickly. Even though I hit a few road bumps in the beginning of the process, I am really glad that I ended up using dados because it made the process of putting everything together simple(well not really simple, but easier than it would have been otherwise). Overall, I am very happy with my project and I can't wait to stain it and use it in the future!