Shortly after I got into woodworking, one of the things I got into building were things like shadow boxes and other military related items for when people leave or retire. For people who leave whether at retirement or receiving orders, a little gift is typical as a job well done sort of gesture. Since then, I’ve made plenty of shadow boxes for work. It was a great way to build my skills. I would make small 11×14 shadow boxes for everyone and design each one differently myself.  We had a set budget for everyone but soon some of the higher ups wanted to cut down on that budget and anything extra would have to be pitched in by everyone else. Since we pay monthly dues, rather than having everyone pitch in more, I just decided to come up with an alternative parting gift and here’s what I came up with. Continue reading “First 100% hand tool project” →