I, along with two other friends, was recently asked to make a special keepsake box for a good friend. Knowing that he had a love of music, We decided that sapele wood, which is known as a tonal wood used in acoustic guitars, would make a great material for this keepsake box.

I drew up our medium keepsake box plans as the basis for how we would construct this box. Paying attention to the grain pattern in the wood, we used miter joints for the corners to provide a continuous grain pattern all of the way around this keepsake box. The sides were then routed and hand chiseled to create the inset.

The lid is cut from a single piece of 8/4 (2″) sapele wood, with a 15 degree bevel on the top and a 3/4″ dado on the bottom to provide a good friction fit inside the sides of the box.

I used a simple linseed oil finish to bring out the grain and highlight the beauty of the saddle wood. Then sprayed a few coats of polyurethane to provide long lasting durability to this piece.

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