Valentines Day Jewelry Box

Overview: This was a gift that I wanted to make for my wife for a few months now. I really only thought about making it a few days previous though. She also mentioned that she wanted one so this totally counted as marking something off of her "list" which is a bonus point for me.

I really wanted to make her this because I wanted to give her something nice that would last forever. I know that roses are lovely and so are chocolates but they are both gone faster than you can see sweet tooth. I was a few days late giving this to her but the suspense of her knowing that it was coming made it even more of a surprise. Building the project took about 3-4 hours and then another hour all together with the finish sanding and the three coats of stain that I applied.

I started out by buying a block of Mahogany wood from a local wood working store and then sanding the top and bottom to make them flat because they were "rough cut."

I cut the block almost in half so that I could start making the lid. I had to make the lid thick at first because I was going to use the lathe on it and I didn't want and screw holes in it.

I then screwed on the mounting bracket for the lathe to the back of the lid.

I cut a heart out of paper to use as a template for the lid.


Although the main grain line is in the middle with it running through the side of the heart, I later changed it to where the heart was turned so that the line runs through the top of the heart.

The lid on the lathe. I traced the heart so that I would know how big to make the circle around it.

After I cut out a circle, while still on the lathe, I sanded it down to make it a simple impression around the heart.

I then cut off another piece from the block that I would use as the base of the box.

These are all the sides with two being Mahogany and the other two lighter ones being Cypress wood.

These are the clamps that I used. I would've preferred smaller ones but this is all I had at my disposal. They worked out really well though.

The box after it was dry.

To make the box stronger, I needed to nail the pieces together.

Time Saving Tip: These are 18 gauge nails that I took from my finish nail gun. I didn't want to use the nail gun because since there is so much power in them, I didn't want to run the risk of splitting the wood. So I used my plyers and cut them into thirds and only used the top third.

I used a hammer to nail them in but it was hard. Since I cut them so much smaller, my fingers were now to big to hold them so I had to use needle nose pliers to hold them while I hammered them in.

This is the bottom after I nailed it.

I then cut off the back of the lid to make it roughly the same thickness of the base.

This part was pretty tricky. I used a drill press to make three holes for the heart. After these holes were drilled I used a very sharp chisel to scrape away the excess wood. I then wrapped 60 grid sand paper around my screwdriver so that I could more easily sand the sides of the heart.

Time Saving Tip: You should use a skil saw for this if you have one because then you will only need to drill one hole and you won't need a chisel.

I used the same heart template as before, traced it exactly, but cut it bigger everywhere. I did this so I would be able to get a tighter fit by sanding it down instead of cutting it. You will have more precision with sanding than cutting. I took the heart and the lid over to the belt sander and started sanding the heart down little by little until I was able to hit the heart into the heart hole. You want a very tight fit.

I made the heart thicker than the lid so that I would be able to sand down the remaining to make it a very snug fit.

This is the very beginning of the heart lid. I know that it didn't fit perfectly but that is nothing that we can't handle.

As you can see the inside of the back of the lid now has a lip. You can use either a router or a table saw for this. I made this so as to make a tighter fit on the box. I later put "Stainable Wood Putty" around the heart and over the nail holes to fill in the gaps.

I then sanded the whole box down when I got home with a 150 Grit and then a 220 Grit for a very smooth finish. I made sure all of the dust was off and then applied three coats of a Golden Oak 210B stain.

Anger Saving Tip: A big problem that I run into is having the wood not absorb the stain evenly. this can happen with hard and soft woods but predominantly in soft woods. To beat this, I used "MINWAX Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner" which is fairly inexpensive. It cost me under $10 for 1 Pint which lasts forever. Plus, if you are going to spend a lot of time on a project, you want it to turn out perfectly and this is the best way for it to look amazing.

Time Saving Tip: Get a stain with a built in sealer to not have to apply so many coats. I used a brand called "MINWAX."

Since I did use stainable wood putty around the heart and nail holes, I did have to sand those areas a few times even after I stained because sometimes, it does not accept the stain very well. In this case, sand it with 220 Grit sand paper until you see the remains go away and then stain it again. Patience is a great virtue in this instance. Remember, take your time and do a great job because you can really make your project look great with a little sanding.

I bought a product called "Gorilla Glue" to glue these straps onto the box to act as hinges. It works really well. The white spots are from the can of beans I used to rest on the glue over night and it ripped off a little bit of the paper. Do Not use a lot of this glue as it expands while it dries.

Overall, my Wife loved it. It made her and myself cry when I gave it to her because I had put so much time into it and we both feel that it will be in the family for many generations.