Shadow Box made with Walnut and Quarter Sawn Sycamore

sprague lake, estes park, colorado, 09.19.2004

Shadow Box This shadow box was for a friend at work who has a bunch of old Pflueger fishing lures and some other stuff. This is a totally custom design and my first time using CAD software to design. If you're interested at looking at the design, you can download the PDF. Of course, I've changed a few things since that plan.
The shadow box will be made out of walnut and quarter sawn sycamore.
Here is a close up of the grain. The picture doesn't do the quarter sawn sycamore justice.
The back of the box is made from 3 joined pieces. I still need to clean up the glue lines and sand, but I think I matched up the grain pretty well.
The box will use finger joints.
This was my first time cutting finger joints and I was satisfied with the results.
The top and bottom were straightforward. The front dado is for the glass and rear rabbet for the back.
The sides took a little more time. The front and back are stopped rabbets. I squared up the front rabbets with a chisel and added dados at the ends. This is for the glass.
The dry fit looks pretty good.
I wiped down a corner with mineral spirits to get a preview of what the finger joint will look like when finished.
I glued up the carcass and cut the dados for the dividers in the shelves.
I cut the back to size and tested the glass for fit. The glass is removable by sliding into the top dado, then lowering into the bottom dado. I think the quarter sawn sycamore back is going to be a nice compliment to the walnut when finished.
I used Watco Natural Danish oil for the finish. It sure darkens up the walnut.
It's done! The camera makes the shelves look curved, but they aren't. I think the two woods look good together.
The walnut has a nice, rich look.
Another view of the finished shadow box.
Close up of one of the cells.
The back showing the mounting hardware.
One final picture with the glass inserted.