Jewelry Box – Walnut & Curly Maple

September 24, 2025October 12, 2025jonathanagill2014 Leave a comment

This jewelry was handcrafted in my personal shop, using some of my favorite materials: walnut, curly maple, and split leather (suede) as a liner.

The highlight of this box is the book-matched beautifully figured curly maple top. I’ve been holding onto this piece of wood for decades, waiting for the right project. This is it!

The top tray is perfectly fitted to the main box, and features thin and sturdy quarter-sawn maple dividers. Both levels feature a wonderful-to-touch, dark green, real suede interior.

I used Brusso stop hinges (here)—some of the finest hardware available—to ensure smooth, precise movement and lasting durability.

Dimensions: 11-3/8” wide, 8-1/2” deep, 3-5/8” tall. The walnut is about ½” thick. The lower tray is 1-1/8” deep inside, and the upper tray is 1-1/4” deep.

This box is suitable for men or women. It’s also only available through the Microsoft Online Auction, as part of the 2025 Give Campaign.

Essential Oils Storage Box

July 3, 2016jonathanagill2014 Leave a comment

After completing Nicole’s tea box a couple of years ago, I still had some of that hardwood left over, and wanted another challenge. Nicole’s cousin asked if I could make her a storage box for her essential oils. I had no idea what those even were, but a few minutes with Bing and I knew everything I needed to know – this box needed a lot of tiny little spots for storing little bottles.

This time, I got to play with my new thickness sander , and made a stack of 1/8″ thick maple strips. Laying out a grid of dividers, cutting them on the table saw, planing the sharp corners off each piece so they were nicely touchable… I think it turned out nicely.

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Walnut Wall Cabinet

July 3, 2016July 3, 2016jonathanagill2014 Leave a comment

About a year ago, I bought a plank of walnut that had the most wild and interesting grain. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it, but I knew it would become something special. Flipping through back issues of Fine Woodworking, I found this plan. It called for the cabinet to be built in cherry, but I immediately thought that I wanted it in walnut instead. I added another drawer, and built the drawer fronts from a piece of curly maple I’d been sitting on for about 20 years.

I know I’m violating all sorts of design rules about building frame and panel doors – that the grain in the stiles and rails should be straight. Hey, I don’t care, I love how this turned out. I also skipped the turned door know in favor of something a bit more stylish.

This cabinet let me practice my hand cut dovetail technique, courtesy of Rob Cosman’s hints.

Jewelry Boxes – His & Hers

GalleryMay 18, 2016July 3, 2016jonathanagill2014 Leave a comment

I wanted to make a set of boxes for a young couple we know. Flowing from my earlier work on the ‘Tea Box’, I wanted further practice on milling the internal dividers. So, out came the walnut and maple lumber. Throw in some Brusso hinges (of course), and some split pigskin liner material, and here’s what happened:

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Floating Shelves

May 18, 2016jonathanagill2014 Leave a comment

Some friends of mine are renovating their home, and asked for a pair of floating shelves for their kitchen, to hold coffee mugs and the like. Part of their reno work included putting in new hardwood floors, using engineered oak flooring. It occurred to me that I could use that material for the shelves.

Pulling some white oak from my stack of hardwood, and reading some web blogs as to how to make floating shelves (!), this is what I ended up with. To test out the design, I hung them first in my garage (fancy!), to make sure they actually held weight. No worries, they’re build like tanks.

Thanks, Caleb & Dani, for the chance to work on this fun project!

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