Wine Lunch Box
This was a wood working project put together for a wedding gift. Parts of the design were inspired by Marc Spagnuolo from The Wood Whisperer. The overall function is a simple way to carry a bottle of wine and the glasses to go with. Think romantic sunset on a hill top... Easy and classy way to bring the vino.
Solid red oak construction. The left side holds a bottle and a opener in the drawer. The right suspends two wine glasses.
The drawer on the top is simply a routed slot for the base of the drawer to fit in with a contoured front. The neck of the bottle is held in place by a shelf. The back half of the shelf is fixed the front is removable. In the center of the shelf is a hole for the neck.
The glasses are fit on fixed shelves. Each shelf has a large opening cut down the center with a bandsaw set to a 30 degree angle. The area the glass actually hangs from was cut with a hole saw then beveled with the bandsaw and sanding work. The bell of the glass is suspended by the 'U' shaped fixed shelf using a ribbon. When actually using the box to carry the glasses, the ribbon is tied with a loop holding the glass in the center, not touching the back or sides.
The piece is stained with a water based mahogany color stain on the outside, natural on the inside. And sealed with a cherry colored danish oil. All the edges are broken with light sanding to create a smooth feel with lasting form. Brass hinges and latches allow the unit to split in half for use or display. The hinges are hand mortised with two very lucky sized hand chisels. The handle is a sandwich of oak/maple/oak with grooves built in to allow leather straps to hang the box from. All the edges are rounded at the router table with half round over bits. The maple center section was smoothed with the laminate trim bit.
The joinery for the overall unit is Greene and Greene in style with the large overhang on the tenons.