jewelry box

[ree]

hi, i'm a newbie i would like to make a jewelry box but i don't know how much wood i need for this project, i know you buy wood by board ft. but that's the extent of my understanding of how to determine the amount i need to make a 12" wide by 6"long and 6" deep box any help will be appreciated . probably a simple way of doing this but i'm not sure how

[John Lucas]

Ree,
Welcome. There are a lot of newbies here...that is what is great about this forum.
I can give you a direct answer to your question, but when you say 12 X 6 X 6, I wonder if you have a design in mind. the Height of 6 is a little disproportionate to my way of thinking, so rather than to come up with the board feet, may I suggest that you find a design that you want to replicate or plans of one that will help you along for the first time.
I just went to Rockler online and searched for jewelry chest ideas and there is quite a lot ... including the hardware. Here is a picture of a complete kit they offer. I went to Rocklers not because they are sponsors of this site, but they are a very good resource to all levels of woodworkers.
http://www.rockler.com/rockler/images/50104-inset.jpg

Here is the address for that listing: http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?page=4997

Maybe a kit is not what you had in mind but it is a great way to learn many aspects of the craft...and when done, you can go up a notch and make variations.

I make jewelry chest everytime I see a unique piece of wood that looks like it would make something special. Here is one of three I made when I found a "lump" of Thuya that was selling by the pound (always a sign that mucho money is about to be spent). But it sliced well and made some great presents. One went to my daughter with an apology - I said "I know Diana you have jewelry chests coming out of your..." She said "I love them all...they are always such a celebration of wood's natural beauty and from you." A good daughter...so Ree, good luck with the first and the many that follow.
The Thuya chest: http://woodshopdemos.com/jwlr-77.jpg
John Lucas
www.woodshopdemos.com

[handi]

Ree,

Welcome to the forum

John's suggestion of finding a plan to copy/modify is a good one, but here are two other ideas:

The first is to invest in a CAD program. I happen to like and use DeltaCad (www.dcad.com)I think it is the easiest for beginners to use, and yet is plenty powerful for just about any wood project you want to do. I have access to a wide range of CAD software and prefer to use DeltaCad anyway. The website has a fully functional demo version you can try out, and you can buy it for about $30.00 I use it to draw up my projects and then lay out the parts to figure out the best yield and cutting sequence for my wood. (You can see one of my layouts in the current issue of Woodworker's Journal, the Hoosier Step Stool artical)

The second idea is to get some cardboard or foamcore board and make a mock up of your idea. Then you can lay out the parts and figure out how much wood you need. Just remember to add about 15 to 20% extra for waste/mistakes and the like with either method you use.

I hope this helps,

Ralph

[Raven]

Ree,

There is a simple way to do this. What you're trying to figure out is called a cut list. You don't have to figure out board feet, you just have to know how big of a piece you need. Get a piece of paper and a pencil. Draw out your pieces for your box to scale, one inch equals two inches(sometimes I use graph paper, and make one box equal one inch.). You will see that you need two pieces that are 12"x 6", and two pieces that are 6"x6".If these are laid out next to each other, it takes up a space that is six inches wide and three feet long. You will need more than this however, as you have to allow for saw kerf, squaring the wood, and of course, mistakes. So you know if you have a piece that is 8" wide and four feet long, you should have enough for your project. Go and pick out a piece of wood that will match that.

You could figure out the board feet, if you feel you must. One board foot equals a piece that is 12"x12" x one inch thick (also called 4/4, or four quarter, a piece two inches thick is called 8/4).
A piece four feet long and eight inches wide is roughly 2.7 board feet. You can figure that out by taking your piece, in this case 4'x8"...get the dimensions in feet, four feet by two thirds of a foot, multiply them by each other and that gives you your square feet(or board feet). Don't flip out, this makes my head swim, and I only know this stuff because my partner figured it out for me.

The point is you don't have to figure out board feet, they have special rulers to do that at the lumberyard for you. Its more important for you to know what size the piece of wood needs to be. If you ordered 2.7 board feet and they gave you a piece 4" wide and 8 feet long, it wouldn't do you any good.

Hope this helps.

Raven