Fascination with Wood Boxes

I’ve always had a fascination with wooden boxes.  I hope you have too… as this is the place for wooden box lovers.

I remember sitting in one of my parent’s neighbor’s home when I was growing up.  The elderly woman we were visiting had a small, handmade wooden keeper box setting on the table next to her.  You know, one of those lift lid boxes that one keeps all sorts of things in.  Trinkets, loose change or maybe one to keep spare keys in.  It caught my attention because of the beautiful grain pattern in the wood.  I was hooked on wooden boxes.

This may describe how boxes may have grabbed your attention too and how you came to appreciate these lovely items.  A wood box is a functional item that also may have a decorative place in your home.  Handcrafted wooden boxes are found in many styles and for a number of uses.  You can find keepsake boxes for those special items you want to keep for ever.  And baby keepsake boxes for putting away all those memories as baby grows up that you want to pass on when your children are adults.

Wood jewelry boxes are some of the most popular.  There are all sorts of styles depending upon your tastes and jewelry storage needs.  Most are hinged-lid boxes.  They usually have dividers and trays within to place your jewelry.  Some have drawers while others contain hangers to hang ear rings and necklaces.  A jewelry armoire can be like a small piece of furniture.

Many of us like band saw boxes which are made out of one piece of wood on the wood shop band saw.  Turned boxes are made on the lathe and are round in shape.  Some boxes have specific purposes like wooden tea boxes to hold tea bags or recipe boxes for holding all those yummy recipe cards you have collected.  Shaker boxes are a tradition of design that are functional oriented and based on country living.

Walnut and Hickory Keepsake Box handcrafted by   Rist Wood Works

Boxes made of wood come in all shapes and flavors.  Many are decorative with inlays and veneers.  A special type of veneering, called marquetry, creates a scene or picture on the lid or sides.  Parquetry is a geometric design inlay.  The box corner joints can add to the decorative appearance of a box.  Box joints, also known as finger joints, give another type of geometric design to a box.  These joints come from the familiar cigar box that we all know.  Miter joint corners may be reinforced with miter splines which also add decoration to the box.

The Rist Wood Works Wood Shop and Box Store

 My small woodworking shop specializes in handmade wooden boxes.  I began making boxes to supplement my retirement income in 2014.  I’m not a professional woodworker by trade, yet I have learned so much about the tools techniques used in making boxes.  Having been a teacher in my past life, I feel that this website should not only be an outlet for my handcrafted boxes but also a place that fellow woodworkers and hobbyists can find woodworking information specific to making boxes.

So, for those who are interested in the aspect of box making or just wood boxes in general, this wooden box site is being developed to feed your interests.  I hope this will become your source for wooden box information.  Keep checking back to see what I have added.  In the meantime, you might want to take a look at what I’ve been doing at: Rist Wood Works on Facebook.

I do make and sell boxes.  Boxes make great gifts for almost all occasions.  I’ve sold boxes for holiday gifts, wedding gifts, graduations and valentines day (usually engagement ring boxes).  A handmade wooden box makes such a special gift.  So, I do try to sell them… At the moment, I’m selling my handcrafted boxes at my RistWoodWorks Etsy Shop.

This wooden box site will always be expanding so be sure to come back and see the progress.

Solid Cherry jewelry box with ebonized walnut trim