Stuff I’ve built

Pagoda Box

May 2007

I built this box from a plan that was in the May 2007 Wood Magazine. What caught my attention was the graceful lines and the opportunity to use some highly figured woods in a showcase piece.

The box body is made of a scrap of mahogany that was lying around, an the lid was made out of a very showy piece of quartersawn sycamore. The handle is made of a few pieces of ebony.

I used the table saw to bevel the sides of the piece so they rise from the base up to the top of the box. Instead of using the bandsaw and spindle sander to shape the lid as the plans specified, I found it was easier to use a rasp and sandpaper.

I sanded the piece down to 320 grit and finished it with a 1# cut of shellac, sanded smooth, then three coats of natural Watco danish oil.