Padauk is a beautiful African hardwood, orange red in color with a low key spicy fragrance. It usually has a straight grain with a coarse, open texture. Sometimes the grain can be interlocked which can cause tearout when planing, and the wood used here was no exception so I worked it as best I could with a sharp hand plane blade. The box opens by sliding the center and lifting out the lid.
The end-grain on African Padauk is diffuse and porous. The finish is much darker on the end-grain giving it a nice contrast against the flat grain using a traditional box joint. These dovetails were hand cut using both a standard Ryoba, and then finally a rip cut Dozuki.
Cherry is a domestic hardwood, commonly used for cabinetry and furniture. It is very beautiful, and is a pleasure to work with hand tools. The grain is striking, and darkens over time as cherry is photo sensitive.
The cherry box was made using machine tools with some hand tool work for the finish elements. I made a custom insert to organize my growing collection of bench chisels.
The joints used in this box are common finger joints, which are cut to friction fit and glued. I left the joints overlapping as a stylistic choice. The lid fits into a dado on 3 sides.