A Special Box

I knew, years ago, that I would give my son a very special pocket watch and knife when he turned 21.  As his birthday approached I decided I wanted to make just the right box for this special gift.  You may never build a box exactly like this, but maybe you can get some ideas for your own future projects.

My Dad died when I was very young.  At some point, probably when I was a teenager, I was given this pocket watch.  Made in 1894, it was first owned by my great grandfather, Frank Vondriska.  The watch went to his son, George Joseph Vondriska Sr., then on to George Joseph Vondriska II, to me, George Joseph Vondriska III, and now goes to George Joseph Vondriska IV. That’s Frank’s picture in the watch.

This model of watch was made from 1890 to 1898.  Ten thousand of these were made.  Frank was born in 1873.  If he got the watch new, he received it when he was 21.  I didn’t know this when I decided to give the watch to my son at age 21.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any information on the knife.

It’s a seven-jewel Elgin watch, Hunter style case.

The box

While the watch has plenty of its own pizazz, and an amazing history, I wanted to make a box that would be as special as the watch is.  Giving it to George in a cardboard box just didn’t seem right.  I knew I had some curly maple on hand, and that seemed like just the right material for this.

The box is 1-1/2” x 4” x 4”.  The material used was planed to 1/2" thick. 

The top and bottom are also 1/2" thick, rabbeted 1/8” deep on each of the four edges and glued to the top and bottom of the box.  After the glue was dry I used a 30-degree V-bit in a router table to run a v-groove on the seam the glue up created. This helps hide the seam.  I used a 45-degree chamfer bit to create a 3/16” x 3/16” chamfer, and hand sanded the corners to create a slight reveal where the top meets the bottom.

I created the lid and base by building the box, then cutting the box on the table saw to create two separate parts.  This allows the grain on each side to flow continuously and guarantees that the top will fit on the bottom. 

The corners of the box are mitered and the interior is covered with flocking.

Brass pins, made from 1/8” brazing rod, hold the top and bottom together.  I drilled for these while the box was still intact, before doing the table saw cut, and prior to gluing the top and bottom on.  I used a drill press to make sure the holes were perfectly perpendicular to the surface.  Using three pins ensures that the box can only close one way so the grain on the side remains aligned.  I slightly rounded the ends of the pins to make getting the top and bottom together a little easier.

I used a laser engraver to put our initials on the front and the names of all the watch owners on the back.

With the long heritage of the watch constantly in my thoughts this projects was very fun to do, and I was thrilled to pass it along to George IV.