Jewelry Boxes: Update 4

Class this week was kind of a comedy of errors. I carpool to class with my friend Kristin and this week when she picked me up I handed her a soda for the ride and tucked one into my purse for myself. As we’re driving down the street I feel something wet and realize that my soda is leaking. We have to pull over so I can pour an inch of soda out of my bag. My cellphone, wallet, and camera all got wet; the wallet and camera are okay but the cellphone is kaput. Out of the three things the phone was the most expendable since it was a cheap Go phone I got at Target but I’m worried that my sim card is ruined and I’ll have lost all of my contacts. *Grrr.*

Anyway, when we got to class I promptly realize that I left my plans at home! This, on top of the Great Soda Debacle of Aught Nine, was almost too much and I wasted a good 10 minutes fuming and pacing about in frustration. Then I calmed down and got to work on the box lids which I didn’t need my plans for anyway.

Instead of doing a true panel for the lid I am gluing the trim onto the middle panel and then sanding it smooth. I’m using African lacewood for the middle and some gorgeous curly maple for the sides of the lid.

After cutting the middle panel to size I cut the maple pieces on a chop saw set at a 45 degree angle. It was painstaking work. I took multiple passes at cutting the pieces because they need to be exactly the right size and I didn’t want to cut them too short. Sometimes it would take me 6 or 7 passes to get it right. But it paid off; I only cut one piece too short.

Then I glued the lids together.

A lid in clamps being glued.

Three sets of gluey lid goodness.

My instructor was super nice and let me glue up even though there wasn’t enough time left during class. (We’re only supposed to glue up if there’s enough time in class to take our projects out of the clamps before class is over.) I was pretty desperate to get the lids glued this week so I can sand them next week. He said he would take care of the lids and put them in my locker the next morning. (Being one of only two girls in the class really pays off sometimes!)

There’s only four more classes left but I still think I’ll be able to finish on time (fingers crossed). I think it will mostly depend on what I can get done next week. One thing’s for sure: I’m going to be certain to bring my plans!