Quick, but not dirty
Because were woodworkers and because people know it were often asked to make things we dont really have time for. But we all do these projects anyway. With…
Because were woodworkers and because people know it were often asked to make things we dont really have time for. But we all do these projects anyway.
With another book deadline coming up I dont have the time for extra projects. But my wife volunteered my services to make a wedding box for the nuptials of the daughter of one of her friends. Sally said it didnt have to be fancy and I didnt have to put a lot of work into it just something out of wood that would be nicer than one you could buy.
She clipped a photo from some wedding magazine as an example and my jaw dropped, so I went online to research some more of them. These boxes, designed with a slot for wedding guests to drop envelopes into, are all made of cardboard covered with some sort of patterned cloth or paper, with a few frillies and ribbons glued or stapled on. They all look cheap and flimsy, and theyre all unbelievably expensive. The one Sally clipped for me was $85 and was, to be kind, junk.
I didnt want to spend a lot of time on this, but phrases like doesnt have to be fancy and dont put a lot of work into it arent in most woodworkers vocabularies when it comes to projects that will be gifted to others. For temporary jigs or quick-and-dirty shop projects, yeah, but not something that is going to be used as a centerpiece at a wedding.
So I did some more research online and found a number of images, and have designed this wedding box to look like a miniature dowry chest. All solid oak, good joinery and brass hardware. I even made a filler piece that matches the chest that can be added to the top of the box later to cover the slot and add a handle, making it an attractive, useable piece long after the wedding.
Even though I didnt have time to do this, the end results are all positive: I get brownie points with Sally, I impress one of her friends, and I get some good practice making this first wedding box my own daughters wedding is coming up in October so Ill be making one for her, too.
And you can bet Ill make time for that one.
Till next time,
A.J.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.