I have a very small and dank shop (11×16 with a good chunk taken out by a furnace and my wife’s pottery wheel she doesn’t use right now). But with just a table saw, router and a good selection of hand tools I’m having a lot of fun.

I got into wood working about 6 months ago as I wrapped up the renovations on my house. In 6 months I’ve learned just from videos (esp wood whisperer and some PBS) and the woodnet forum. Here is my first project (other than plywood). A jewelry box for my wife out of curly maple and purple heart. Has a lot of oriental influences. Hand jointed all the rough 4/4 stock with my #7c. Re-sawed thickness with table saw (really need a band saw).

It’s kind of rough in places and I’m not sold on linseed oil as the proper finish for curly maple. But I’m happy for my first real project with real hardwoods. (But I hate hard splintery purple heart, now I need to re sharpen everything.) Made the top, raised panel style, by passing it perpendicular over my table saw blade with a wooden sacrificial fence clamped perpendicular to the blade.

Mortise and tenon construction with router and chisels and hand saws.