Box 3 – 52 Boxes in 52 Weeks

Vertical grain Douglas fir, snow white milk paint

This box is a bit funky because the drawer opens from both ends. It’s made from a wonderful, 10 in. wide piece of vertical grain Douglas fir. Given how tight the grain is, I’m guessing it’s old growth. I found the piece in a small lumberyard near my house. (Boards like it are why I drop into lumberyards on a whim and look around for hours.) Vertical grain Douglas fir is one of my favorite woods. It has a very modern feel to it.

I love the concept for this box: a drawer that slides out at both ends. I also like the feet, and that the box has a modern feel to it. That could be all that I like. The snow white milk paint turned out to have much less variation in color than other colors of milk paint that I’ve worked with, so it doesn’t read as painted wood. I’m also bummed that I didn’t get the box’s proportions right. It should be shorter and wider. Finally, I should have gone with miters instead of dovetails. The box is too small for dovetails. They just crowd up the place, and interrupt the flow of the fir’s grain. But that’s the way it goes sometimes. I’ll definitely revisit this idea after I’ve had time to think about it more, do more sketches, and play with the dimensions some.

Of course, I’m happy to answer any questions you have about the box.

It took me two weeks to make this box, because I was shooting a video for Fine Woodworking at the same time. But, I’m still on schedule. It’s been three weeks and I’ve made three boxes.