“America’s leading woodworking authority”™

Premium Plan

In this plan you’ll find: Classic Mitered

Jewelry Box
• Step-by-step construction
instruction.
• A complete bill of materials.
• Construction drawings and
related photos.
• Tips to help you complete
the project and become a
better woodworker.

These plans are best viewed with

Adobe Reader installed on your
computer. If you want to get a
free copy, visit:
http://adobe.com/reader.

Copyright Woodworker’s Journal © 2016 www.woodworkersjournal.com WJ189

 Classic Mitered
t
oj ift
ec
Pr G

Jewelry Box
By Brad Becker
Dazzling figured maple and
quality brass hardware combine
to form an eye-catching jewelry
box that’s fun to build.

Woodworker’s Journal

234.034-039 P2 Jewelry Box.indd 34 9/17/15 2:13 PM

 The outer top and bottom edges of the case pieces
have 45° chamfers to dress them up. Make these cuts
at the router table with a piloted chamfering bit.

T
his little mitered jewelry box’s
details will have you hustling for
a long weekend, but the payoff
is sweet. When you’re done, you’ll have
a beautiful gift ready for wrapping up
this holiday season. I made mine from
some nice figured maple, and its dyed The jewelry box’s lid, middle tray and bottom panels fit into three grooves in the
finish really makes that grain shimmer! case front, back and side workpieces. The author used a straight bit, made for
So grab a couple boards of special wood routing undersized-thickness plywood, to rout all of these grooves.
you’ve had set aside, plus a little 1/4"
and 1/8" plywood, and let’s get to work. The top and bottom of the box have We’ll build as much of this box as
some decorative built-in moldings, and possible before slicing the lid free, so
Building the Case we’ll mill those next at the router table. next come some grooves to house the
If you’re starting with 3/4" solid stock, With a 45° chamfer bit, first shape the plywood bottom panel and middle tray,
crosscut a 12"-long piece that’s at least long edges on the prettier “show” face and the top solid wood panel. Since even
5" wide and with particularly nice fig- of your front piece and the combined 1/4" plywood isn’t a true 1/4", I used
ure. Set it aside for a lid panel. Then, rip side/back piece (see top inset photo). I an “undersized” straight bit that cuts
a 4-ft. length of your stock to 47⁄8" wide, set the bit height to 3/16" for these cuts. grooves to fit my plywood perfectly. Set
and plane that down to 1/2". Square up
one end, and crosscut a piece for the
front panel/drawer face to 11" long. Rip
what’s left of the long board to 411⁄16"
wide — it will become the case’s two
sides and back panel when we cut those
parts to length, shortly.
Now why, you’re probably asking
yourself, is the front panel wider than
the other three panels? Well, the drawer
face should come from the same front
panel so its grain will match the front of
the case. And, it takes two 3/32"-wide
cuts with a thin-kerf saw blade (3/16"
of material loss) to cut that drawer face
free. Once we make those cuts a little
later, the widths of the remaining strips
of the front panel, plus the drawer face,
will add up to 411⁄16", to match the width
of the sides and the back panel. (Note: If
you use a 1/8"-kerf blade instead, make Miter-cut the case parts to 45° and to final length. Notice the stop block, clamped in place to the
the front piece 415⁄16" wide to start with.) right of the saw, here. It ensures that you’ll produce matching parts of exact length when needed.

Woodworker’s Journal

234.034-039 P2 Jewelry Box.indd 35 9/17/15 2:11 PM

 www.woodworkersjournal.com

MORE ON THE WEB

For a video about cutting and
VIDEO installing corner splines with
Rockler’s Router Table Spline Jig, please visit
woodworkersjournal.com and click on
“More on the Web” under the Magazine tab.

the bit height to 1/4". Here’s two mitered sides and a back panel: the
where to place those grooves sides are 83⁄4" long and the back panel is
on the inside faces of both 11" long.
your front and side/back With that done, let’s cut the drawer
pieces: mill a bottom-panel face out now. Set your rip fence 3/4"
Two rip cuts with a thin-kerf (3/32") blade turn the front piece slot 1/4" from the bottom from the blade, and cut the bottom
into a bottom strip, the drawer face and a wider top strip. The edge of your parts. Plow narrow piece of the front panel off.
top strip will eventually get ripped again for the lid front. the second groove for the Then slide the fence 19⁄16" away from the
middle tray 17⁄8" from the blade, butt the cut edge of the rest of
top edge. Then, reset your the panel against the fence, and make
router table fence one more a second rip cut to separate the drawer
time to rout the lid panel face from the front panel’s top section.
groove 3/16" from the top Mark it and the other two loose pieces
edge. Sand the inside faces so you can keep their ordering straight,
of the case parts now, up to and set the drawer face aside for a bit.
220-grit, to get that out of The side panels, on the other hand,
the way. don’t need any rip cuts yet, but we do
When the dust clears, need to mark and install the drawer
head to the miter saw and slides on them while they can still lie
swivel it to exactly 45° so flat. Center this hardware between the
you can take care of those wider-spaced grooves on the sides (it’s
corner miters. Angle-cut the the drawer box area), and choose which
ends of the front panel, then ends of both side panels will face front
split the longer piece into on the case. Close the slides, making
sure their front edges are flush with the
Position the mini drawer slides on inside corners of the case miters. Mark
the case sides, centered between
the backs of the slides and the hole
the bottom panel and middle tray
grooves. Mark their back ends (top). positions for installing 3/8"-long screws.
Then drill pilot holes in the side pan- Drill shallow pilot holes for the screws,
els (left), and install the slides with and fasten the slides to the side panels.
3/8"-long screws (right). Remember that first piece of stock
you set aside for the lid panel? Surface
it flat and step over to your band saw
to resaw it down the middle. Fold open
Carry out a full the pieces, and you’ve got a beautiful
dry-fit of the case
pieces before
book-matched panel in the making!
assembling them Glue up this panel, then plane it down
with glue and strap to a thickness that just fits into the lid
clamps. Do not glue grooves on the case pieces. Then rip
the solid wood top and crosscut it, and the plywood bottom
panel; it should
float freely in its
and tray panels, to final size, according
grooves to allow for to the Material List on the next page.
cross-grain wood Finish-sand these three panels.
movement. Enough making parts ... let’s put
this box together! With the glue bottle
still capped, assemble the case parts
and panels dry to make sure all the
miter joints close tightly. Now, spread a
sparing amount of glue into the plywood
grooves and over the ends of the miters

Woodworker’s Journal

234.034-039 P2 Jewelry Box.indd 36 9/17/15 2:11 PM

 Spline Locations 8
Front Panel Side and Back (Side View)
(Side View) Panels
(Side View) 1
/2"
3
/16"
1
/4"
3
/16" 3
/16"
1
/4"

17/8"
1 2 17/8" 1
/2"

1
/4"
1
/4"
3
/32" 3
/8"

3
Drawer Face

19/16"
7
3
/8"
Exploded View
3
/32" 2
1
/4" 1
/4"
3
/4" 1
/4" 1
/4" 7
/4" /4"
2
/16"
1 3 1

Note: The width of the Front 4

Panel reflects the use of a
11
3/32" blade when removing 1
the drawer front. If you use a
blade with a different width, 10
you must alter the piece to
reflect the change.
4 9
5
8
Foot Hole Locations 8
(Bottom View)
6 9 2
1
/4" Dia. 2
10
9
1 4
MATERIAL LIST (CASE)
TxWxL
Jewelry Box Hard-to-Find Supplies 1 Front Panel (1) 1/2" x 47⁄8" x 11"
2 Sides/Back Panel Strip (1) 1/2" x 411⁄16" x 37"
Mini Ball Bearing Drawer Slides (1 pr.) #30804 ............... $10.99 pr.
Brusso Solid Brass Quadrant Hinges (1 pr.) #11099 ....... $49.99 pr. 3 Lid Panel (1) 1/4" x 83⁄16" x 107⁄16"
Solid Brass Knobs - 7/16" (2 pr.) #27755 ................................. $5.99 pr. 4 Inner Tray, Bottom Panel (2) 1/4" x 81⁄4" x 101⁄2"
Polished Brass Feet - 1/2" Diameter (4) #45523 ................ $3.49 ea. 5 Mini Drawer Slides (2) 73⁄16"
Green Self-Adhesive Velvet 12" x 24" (1) #10489 ............ $14.99 ea. 6 Splines (8) 1/8" x 3/4" x 1"
Green Ring Bar, 3 1⁄4" W x 24" L (1) #39840 ......................... $29.99 ea.
7 Brass Hinges (4) 3/16" x 1" x 11⁄4"
Rockler Router Table Spline Jig (1) #59288 ..................... $79.99 ea.
JIG-IT Hinge Mortising System (1) #58822 ...................... $49.99 ea. 8 Drawer Pulls (4) 7/16" Dia. x 5/16"
9 Foot Support Blocks (4) 1/4” x 1/2” x 1/2”
To purchase this and other products online,
visit www.woodworkersjournal.com/hardware 10 Feet (4) 1/2" Dia. x 1/2"
Or, call 800-610-0883 (code WJ1577). 11 Green Velvet Lining (3) Cut to fit

(you can’t wipe off any wet squeeze-out Adding Splines, Subtracting a Lid dress up the mitered joints of this case,
that ends up inside the box, after all!). Once the strap clamps come off, you but honestly, they’re more decorative
Pull the box together with two or three have a decision to make: Spline the cor- than structural on a box this small. I
strap clamps, clean off any wet glue on ners or not? I think splines made from used Rockler’s new Router Table Spline
the outside, and let the assembly dry. a contrasting wood like walnut really Jig (item 59288) and a 1/8"-dia. straight

Woodworker’s Journal

234.034-039 P2 Jewelry Box.indd 37 9/21/15 2:14 PM

 Rockler’s new Router Table Spline Jig (left) and a 1/8"-dia.
straight bit make it easy to cut spline slots across the corners of
this case. The author glued walnut splines into the slots (middle)
and trimmed them flush (right) when the glue dried.

Making the Drawer need glue. Chuck a 1/8"-dia. straight bit

At this point, we can take in your router table (or a 1/8"-kerf saw
this project almost all the blade in your table saw), because this
way to the finish line by drawer still needs bottom-panel grooves.
building the drawer. Here’s For one this tiny, 1/8"-thick plywood will
the good news: the con- do nicely. You can find it at craft stores.
struction is simple. Rip and I placed the grooves 1/8" up from the
crosscut the drawer box’s bottom edges of the drawer parts, and
front, back and sides to size I cut them 1/4" deep. Cut your bottom
from 1/2" stock. If you look panel to fit the drawer box, and make
carefully at the Drawing on sure all five parts go together nicely.
the next page, the corner Then give them a thorough sanding,
joints are just 1/4" x 1/4" and glue the drawer box and bottom
rabbets on the ends of the panel together.
front and back pieces that There are still two more big grooves to
you can make at your table cut into the outside faces of the drawer
Four rip cuts with the blade set just shy of 1/2" high cut the lid
almost free. A sharp utility knife then finished the job. Doing it
saw with a dado blade or at box, and those will wrap around the
this way steadies the lid for better accuracy during sawing. the router table with a rab- drawer slide hardware, positioning the
beting or straight bit. The drawer box in the case. For my project,
bit to cut 3/8"-deep spline slots across tongues of these rabbets fit into dadoes I was able to cut these grooves 1/4"
the corners of the case. I positioned the cut across the ends of the drawer sides, deep and 11/16" wide (see bottom photo,
top splines 1/2" down from the top of 1/4" back from the part ends. Those this page). You could use a dado blade
the case and 3/8" up from the bottom. I are easy to cut, too. Once these joints in the table saw, but I chose the router
made the splines by ripping a thin strip slip together it’s almost like they don’t table and a 1/2" straight bit. Two pass-
of walnut and crosscutting it into es, shifting the fence back
1"-long pieces. Glue your splines a nudge after the first, wid-
in place, and trim them flush when ened my grooves as needed.
the glue dries. Finish-sand the box. I also positioned these slots
Ready to cut the lid free? It’s about 1/16" closer to the top
finally time. Set your table saw’s rip of the drawer box than the
fence so the lid will be 1" wide, and bottom, rather than center-
raise the blade to just a hint under ing them perfectly. It left a
1/2". Stand the box against the little more wood near the
fence and make four very careful drawer bottom grooves this
cuts around its perimeter to score way, for added strength.
the lid almost free. Once the last Now fasten the drawer box
cut is done, use a utility knife to to the slides, making sure
gently slit through the kerfs and the front face of the box is
release the lid. Sand the cut edges A wide groove cut into the outside face of each drawer box side flush with the bottom cor-
smooth, and scrape off any dried hangs the drawer on the slide hardware. Mill these cuts with a ners of the front miter joints
glue inside that needs to go. straight bit in the router table or at the table saw with a dado blade. when it’s closed. That way,

Woodworker’s Journal

234.034-039 P2 Jewelry Box.indd 38 9/17/15 2:11 PM

 Drawer 12
14
Detail
1
/4"
(Top and Side Views) 1
/4"
1
/4" 1 6
13
1
/4"
12 2 7
13
3 8
11
/16" 13
4 9
1
/8" 14
7
/16"
5 10
1
/8"
11

MATERIAL LIST (DRAWER) 13

12
TxWxL
12 Drawer Front, Back (2) 1/2" x 13⁄8" x 93⁄8"
13 Drawer Sides (2) 1/2" x 13⁄8" x 71⁄2"
14 Drawer Bottom (1) 1/8" x 7" x 93⁄8"

because Rocker offers a new JIG IT ® tricky. If you’re a novice, try a rattle can
Hinge Mortising System (item 58822) of semi-gloss lacquer instead: it’s just
that makes cutting these complex hinge about foolproof. Then reattach the lid.
and lid support mortises much easier. From here, I cut 1/4" x 1/2" x 1/2"
A removeable plastic center plate with wood spacers and glued them to the
several cutouts fits into a base plate and box bottom corners to serve as mounts
positions the various mortising cuts for four brass feet. I screwed the lid and
for a guide collar and straight bit in a drawer knobs in place and lined the
plunge router (see below). I routed the drawer bottom and top tray with
mortises and installed the hinges and lid self-adhesive green velvet. A matching
on the case with a few screws to check green ring bar came last.
the action. Then, off came the hinges My jewelry box is now ready to wrap
for final top coating to seal in the dye. up as a special gift. I hope yours will
meet your holiday deadline, too!
The author pin-nailed the drawer face to the
drawer box front. He positioned these nails right
Some Finishing Finery
beside the knob locations to hide the pin holes. Clear shellac really pops the figure Brad Becker is a professional woodworker and a
of this maple! But applying it can be regular contributor to Woodworker’s Journal.
the drawer face’s miters will fit nicely
against the miters on the case.
I sanded the edges and ends of the
drawer face lightly so that it fit into its
opening with a bit of space on top and
bottom. Then I positioned it with the
drawer box closed inside the case, and
pinned the face and box together with
3/4"-long, 23-gauge pin nails.

Mounting the Lid

With the drawer done, I dyed the lid,
box and drawer, then turned my atten-
tion to mounting the lid. I went for the
“brass ring” of hinges here: Brusso’s
solid brass quadrant hinges. That’s

The mortises for this project’s brass lid

hinges are much easier to cut with Rockler’s
new JIG IT Hinge Mortising System. It has a
respositionable center plate that indexes all
the necessary router cuts.

234.034-039 P2 Jewelry Box.indd 39 9/18/15 2:13 PM