Tim's Workshop

Gift giving is a bitter sweet experience for me. Needing a gift for a birthday or other Holiday gives me a great reason to make something new. Plus there is some urgency built in so I have a reasonable excuse for my fanatical devotion to the project and lamentable neglect of other responsibilities. "Sorry honey, I can't take out the garbage this has to be done by Friday". On the other hand giving away my projects is like giving away my children.

This music box was a gift for my niece. The box is made from spalted cherry and Lyptus wood with a mother of pearl, lignum vitae and blood wood inlay. I rescued the cherry from a compose heap and the rest of the materials had to be purchased. Oh, well you can't win them all. You can't tell from the picture but surrounding the heart shaped mirror is some really cool blue velvet.

The design for the inlay was made by my wife who is much more gifted with a pen than I am. The movement plays Greensleeves when wound, which must be the best tune for a music box since all makers of movements for music boxes have it as a option. I was really surprised by how much louder the sound is when the movement is mounted. It's probably twice as loud in the box as in you hand.

I dovetailed the corners of the box and the top and bottom panels float in grooves cut into the sides. When I look at the pictures of the box I think that maybe dovetails look out of place on this piece but at the time I really wanted to give them a try. I guess this way I don't have to worry about it falling apart.