Jewelry Box

Like so many others I made this as a 5th anniversary gift over a year ago now. This was my first purchased guild project and when I took this on I would say this project was WAY outside of my skill level. I had done some test dovetails, made the free stepstool project, etc. but there were a ton of techniques in here I had not done at all (half-blind dovetails, raised panels, hinge installation, drawers, stopped dados) and the ones I had performed I was certainly no expert. To say I loved this class would be an understatement. Mark taught everything in a way that was easy to understand and very approachable for someone to duplicate. I made a ton of mistakes along the way and it took me some time to finish it but in the end I came away with an amazing jewelry box that people hardly believe I made. Also I used it as an excuse to purchase some new tools…

Personally I feel the price I paid was worth it just to watch the videos for as much time as I got out of it. I have since purchased two projects that I’m not even building right now just because I loved watching them and they did not disappoint.

Side note I followed everything in the video as presented even though, as I said, some of the techniques were outside of my skill level. It took time and patience but it was all pretty forgiving. Nobody notices any of my errors unless I point them out.

Made this as a 5th anniversary present for my wife (since the 5th is wood, it just made sense). It was my first guild project and my first real fine woodworking project as well. Made a lot of mistakes along the way but I had a great time learning all the techniques that Marc uses in the videos, particularly the alternatives for joinery. The plans and instructional videos from Marc were excellent and really helped me to stay on track with the project. I used the Bell Forest kit for the box since I don’t have a jointer or planer, and it was a lifesaver for me to able to get this finished.

Overall, a great project and a great start for someone looking to delve into fine woodworking. I will definitely move on to some other guild projects now.

I made this as a birthday present for my wife. My biggest regret was not making a second for my daughter! I made mine with birds eye maple fronts/panels and cherry frame. It turned out very nicely and was a great exercise in details. I was most concerned about curving the front doors by hand and that turned out to be my favorite part of the project!

The plans and video instruction were great. It was the first time doing a few of this project’s techniques and the videos did a great job breaking down the tasks and demonstrating the approach.