Finally, my friends, we have arrived at the end. Click here for parts 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Let's take a look at the vinegar strokes of this passion project.

Step 1: Engrave the Lid

I was going to do a more artful design. Butterflies or something. But that didn't feel right. It's not me. I opted instead for a considered geometric border, incorporating a semi-circle to surround a finger pull. For this, I harnessed and deployed all of my available OCD.

I thought about using a laser engraver but feel more comfortable with the ShopBot, so I just used that. As with a laser engraver, I thought I could mask off the design to make filling less messy. My big issue is that I do not want any surrounding wood grain to be filled with sanding dust.

I gave the top three coats of wax to fill this grain as much as possible, then applied some vinyl transfer paper, usually used for applying laser-cut decals.

Sadly the spinning blade just chewed up the paper. I had to remove it.

Step 2: Finish the Carcass

Before I worked any further on the lid I wanted to have the main box finished, not least because the stain needs to dry for eight hours before waxing.

This was a really gentle, methodical process.

First, I sanded off all the glue and proud joints with a combination of sanding block, sanding board, freehand sanding, and my trusty Lie-Nielsen low angle block plane. I highly recommend this tool for many fine woodworking tasks.

Second, I applied a calm chamfer on every exterior apex using the block plane on a very low setting.

Third, I stained, left overnight, then waxed as per part four.

I set the carcass aside.

Step 3: Fill the Engraving

There are many ways to skin a cat. I chose what turned out to be a difficult one.

I bought some light oak coloured wood filler which also claimed to match with golden pecan. I thought about staining it with my stain but that made it quite dark.

So I just went with it straight.

What a bloody mess.

I let the first layer dry then filled the rest.

"Awful," I muttered.

Once dry, I started to sand flush.

"Nothing good can come of this."

Finally I had this atrocity. I wiped it down with a damp cloth, then sanded more finely, then wiped again, and used a blade to scrape out some of the dust from the grain. And I don't remember much else, but I finally had something half decent.

Then, to firm up the potentially crumbly texture of the wood filler, I followed a man's advice on the internet...

This was a huge mistake. I had not used the same filler as he, and instead of absorbing, it just sat on the surface. So when I sanded it again, I had patches of superglue and horror everywhere. I wiped it all with a damp cloth—which, annoyingly, rubbed in wenge dust to the filler—and moved on for now...

Step 4: Carve the Finger Pull

I had some lunch—my go to sandwich for the past couple of months from a recipe by @vegansilverstack. Delicious.

Then I went back to the workbench and was pleased with what I saw.

This was a lovely step. I marked out my finger pull with a dime and a Stanley blade.

Then I carved it with a lovely little General Tools carving tool gifted to me by my friend, Chad.

Step 5: Fit the Lid

My original design was based on the approximate size of this piece of wenge I had. I only had to remove about 1/8" each side.

I thought about sizing it with the table saw but thought that would be too rough, partly because of the communal workshop's less-than-sharp saw blade. So I used my block plane and softly, softly coerced it to size.

The fit was just tight enough for it to hold in place but also slide. This will change with seasons and humidity so I may need to revisit the fitting at wintertime. But for now it's close to perfect.

Step 6: Finish the Lid

The filler was patchy in some places, and I broke out a piece of the back corner while planing. So I applied some filler and glue respectively.

Then I took off the arrises (the sharp edges) with a sanding block, cleaned out as much of the grain with a Stanley blade as my patience allowed, and finally waxed the bastard.

Step 7: Offer to Wife

Yesterday was our three year wedding anniversary. I gave the finished box to my wife, who seems to like it. She filled it with jewels and we took it for a romantic day and night in San Francisco, of which more detail in an upcoming post...

Analysis

This box took a lot longer than I expected but I have learned many lessons.

My chief finding was the difficulty using wood filler, or maybe just this kind of wood filler, for engravings. I think a much better idea would have been to procure some thick bamboo veneer (maybe 1/16" thick) and laser cut an inlay to fit the groove. That would look nicer and match the carcass better.

Actually I don't think I learned anything else.

What a ride! Thanks for joining me. Thanks xxx