Carved box

This is my prototype of a highly detailed chip-carved box reminiscent of a medieval casket or document box. It is 2" x 1-1/4" It is made from pear. I say prototype because it was an experiment to see what exactly was feasible, especially the hardware. I made the strap hinges and hasp from thin brass, then blackened them.

First off I had to make a box joint jig. I decided to make a whole new miter gauge for my small table saw and incorporate the jig into it rather than use the existing miter gauge, because once adjusted, the jig would not stay that way once removed. In the photo below you can see the little key. It is the thickness of the blade which I thought was a nice sized joint.  You butt the wood up to it and make a pass cutting the slot, then put that slot over the key and so on. I just put it on here for the photo, when in use the blade is raised only as high as the size of the joint.

There are mistakes, for example, I drew the design on the sides, then decided to make it a little bigger, but forgot when I carved the other side! So they don't match :)  

I learned a lot. I am hoping to have a limited number of boxes available for next year's 

Chicago International. 

For the new ones, I have refined the design, adding more detail. I will make sure the wood is properly thickness-ed and the hasp will be nicer. Stay tuned!