My son, Clinton, asked me to build a Keepsake Box to put a bottle of wine in as part of his wedding ceremony. On their 1-year anniversary, he and his wife will open the box, retrieve the wine, and read the letters they wrote to one another (also sealed in the locked box).

I agreed and immediately began researching the how to build the box. Boxes are “easy” but this one needed to look special (no pressure, it’s just for the wedding). I wasn’t too concerned with being able to construct the box, mostly what concerned me was the finish. Finishing makes or breaks a project. After looking through hundreds of publications in my woodworking library, an article by Mac Wentz in issue #105 (January 2004) of American Woodworker caught my attention.

The box(es) in the article were attractive, buildable, and the author suggested finishes that were simple but elegant. The proportions of the American Woodworker box scaled well to my wine box requirements (not quite Golden Ratio, but close). It also accommodated a lock which would be used to seal the box at the ceremony.

Every weekend and evening I could spare went into the construction of the box to get it finished on time. I’m happy with the results and glad I was able to get it completed on time. I learned a lot. It’s great to build things for people you care about; they can have this for the rest of their lives.