Houndstooth Keepsake Box
After making a houndstooth cutting board, I knew that I wanted to use that houndstooth pattern to make a box. I decided that I wanted it as the lid, but I wanted the pattern to be as tiny as possible. A challenge for sure. Since the pattern is the main feature, I started there.
I cut six different types of wood strips to make the houndstooth pattern. I cut 1/2” thick maple, 1/2” walnut, 1/4” maple, 1/4” walnut, 1/8” maple, and 1/8” walnut strips. The thin strips are the important pieces. I needed to glue strips together so that I had four stripes per board that were of equal thickness (1/8”). Because we’re dealing with thin boards that can have a tendency to warp during glue up, I made a striped sandwich. The pattern goes like this: 1/4” maple | 1/8” walnut | 1/8” maple | 1/4” walnut. Having thicker stripes on the sides allowed me to mill the pieces again after they were glued together, ensuring that my stripes are flat. I milled away 1/8” of material from both sides and was left with: 1/8” maple | 1/8” walnut | 1/8” maple | 1/8” walnut.
I need my stripes to run at an angle, not up and down. This is fairly easy to do. I set my table saw blade at a 45 degree angle and cut one side of my pieces. I then turned the blade back to 90 degrees and cut the remaining sides. I was left with squares that were approximately 5/16”, with all of the stripes running diagonal. Now, that I know the final size of my squares, I milled down those remaining 1/2” thick maple and walnut boards until they were the same size as my striped pieces.The pattern is glued up in two patterns. One panel is alternating maple and stripes; the other panel is alternating walnut and stripes. Once dry, those were cut to about 3/4” thick strips at the table saw. When those strips are placed on their edges and alternating with strips from the other pattern, it creates houndstooth!
Once my houndstooth pattern was glued together, I resawed it in half at the bandsaw. I used those two halves to make a houndstooth sandwich, placing the pieces on the top and bottom of a piece of 1/4” thick Baltic Birch plywood. The lid can now be sanded down to whatever thickness I want. I made it about a 1/2” thick. I know that these are a lot of steps to take, but it’s one of the best ways to ensure that I have a completely stable lid that won’t suffer from wood movement over time.
I dug through my walnut pile to find some boards that had really cool grain. These are for the outside of the box. Those were milled down and cut to length and width at the table saw. I used a ripping blade to cut grooves into the inside faces of my walnut boards. I like to sneak up on my fit, making multiple passes, nudging my table saw fence each time, until the box lid and the bottom of the box (a 1/4” thick piece of walnut) fit perfectly into their respective grooves. Everything was glued together to make a completed enclosed box.
After looking at it for a while, I decided that it needed maple splines. It needed that splash of color to visually break up the walnut, plus it coordinates with the maple in the houndstooth pattern. I just finished making a spline jig so adding these was a piece of cake. Cutting the lid off of the box is pretty easy as well. Typically, woodworkers fall into one of two camps: table saw cutters or bandsaw cutters. I prefer the table saw because I feel like I get a little too much drift when using the bandsaw. But either tool works well for the job. I cut three sides of my box, and then added a 1/8” thick piece of wood into the kerf before cutting the fourth side. This isn’t necessary, but it will result in a cleaner cut, which means less sanding later.
I milled some maple to make an inside liner for the box. I thought it was a good idea to have it be maple, that way you see that pop of color when removing the lid. The liner is about 3/16” thick and simply glued onto the inside faces of the box. The whole box was sanded with 120 grit and then 180 grit. After it was all prepped, I applied three coats of Osmo Top Oil to it. I really love this product and it’s becoming my go-to finish recently.
I have to say that this project exceeded my expectations. It turned out beautiful. I didn’t make it to serve a specific purpose other than the desire to push my skills and make as small of a pattern as I could. I’m sure I’ll quickly figure out a purpose for it!
