The walnut was chosen for the nice heart/sapwood contrast, a slight
birdseye grain and (though not so easily visible on the photos here) a
series of distinct variegated color lines running the length of the board.
All smoothing was done with my L-N #164, which really performed nicely,
leaving behind a satin-smooth finish. The box was finished with shellac,
while the top was done with Robson's Tried & True beeswax/oil finish.
(Yeah, I know it's odd to do the less protective finish for the top, but I
just loved the way the T&T popped the grain, and it adds a bit more color
than the shellac.) I rounded over the edges using a vintage #60-1/2 for
the rough shaping followed by the #164 for final smoothing of the edges.
(Notice a trend here? Yep, I tried to work in the #164 as much as
possible, figuring it was appropriate for it to help build its own "home".)
Neander tools used: Ryoba for ripping board to width; dozuki for
crosscuts; Veritas pizza-wheel marking gauge, dovetail layout jig and
Starret 4" sliding square for dovetail layout; mini-dozuki panel-saw for
cutting dovetails; Sorby 1/2" chisel and Marples "Blue Chip" 1/4" chisel
for chopping waste/cleaning up; St*nl*y #60-1/2 for rounding over
top/dovetail corners; L-N #164 for all smoothing, cleaning up/squaring
end-grain, final smoothing of roundovers/corners (I *love* my #164. :-)
Normite tools used: 'lectrical routah for cutting grooves for bottom to
sit in; drill for drilling pilot-holes for hinge-screws