Imbuia Jewelry Boxes

 

 

Imbuia is heavy, tropical wood with beautiful color and grain. I've only worked with it a few times, but it's a really pretty wood. As tropical woods go, it's not too difficult to work with. It also has a rather interesting smell - kind of like an herb of some sort. One of my local wood emporiums had a very beautiful and wide board of Imbuia that I couldn't resist taking home with me. I managed to turn it into two jewelry boxes with some scrap leftover.

 

 

The two boxes are very similar - measuring about 9 " W by 11" L and 5" high. They are constructed with splined miter joints. A miter joint is (typically) two 45 degree edges joined to form a 90 degree corner. It's not a particularly strong joint, so the small maple splines are added to hold the corners together. By making the splines from a contrasting wood, the joint becomes part of the decorative elements of the box.

The boxes have mildly curved sides and a sculpted top.

The imbuia has a really grain with swirling and contrasting shades of brown - from tan to black.

Each box has a removable, velvet lined tray constructed with small handcut dovetail joints.

 

 

I added small inlays to the box tops to add some interest. The inlays are made from birdseye maple. To preserve the natural color of the imbuia and the contrast with the maple, I used a French polished super-blonde shellac for the finish.

For availability, prices, questions or comments, please email me carl@harvestwoodworks.com and I'll get back to you soon.

 

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