I was looking at my box today, concerned at just how bad it looked. But I was amazed at just how good it looked once I sanded the exterior (the interior will be covered in felt, so I didn't really see the need to sand the interior).
[It doesn't look half bad, if I say so myself.] [1]
One tip when cutting felt—use a sharp blade. The sharper, the better. Then it was time to glue the felt to the interior of the box, which I did outside since I was using a spray adhesive.
[Wax paper to keep the felt off the asphalt, and a scrap piece of wood to keep the wax paper on the asphalt.] [2]
I was not sure which approach I shoud take—either spray the felt and apply it to the box, or spray the inside of the box and apply the felt. So I tried both methods. For one half of the box, I sprayed the felt, and, well, spray adhesive is very sticky stuff. It got all over my fingers as I tried to maneuver the felt into place (for the record—I did the sides first, then the bottom). So for the other half of the box, I sprayed the interior of the box with glue, and that went everywhere. Then there was trying to position the felt into the wood perfectly the first time, least it immediately stick in some half-cocked position.
I'm not sure how I could have done it with less mess. I don't recommend either way, or rather, pick your poison when gluing felt.
But I got decent results.
[What you can't see is the green-stained fingers of my left hand glued into a large clump.] [3]
Then it was on to finishing the box. Finishing oil, that is. Tung Oil Finish.
Bunny first handed me some latex gloves to protect my hands from the tung oil. She then handed me some old socks to use to rub the finish into the wood.
[The box before I started.] [4] [You can see how the tung oil finish really brings out the woodgrain.] [5]
Previous two images courtesy of Bunny (as one hand was covered with a latex glove, and the other with a latex glove and a sock—there is no way I could operate an iPhone).
[All finished with the finish.] [6]
Now all that's left waiting for the tung oil finish to dry, apply another coat or two, and finally add the hinges and latch.
[1] /boston/2015/03/21/sanded-box.jpg
[2] /boston/2015/03/21/prefelt.jpg
[3] /boston/2015/03/21/felted-box.jpg
[4] /boston/2015/03/21/prefinish.jpg
[5] /boston/2015/03/21/half-finish.jpg
![[1] /boston/2015/03/21/sanded-box.jpg](/gemini.conman.org/boston/2015/03/21/sanded-box.jpg){kind=link}
![[2] /boston/2015/03/21/prefelt.jpg](/gemini.conman.org/boston/2015/03/21/prefelt.jpg){kind=link}
![[3] /boston/2015/03/21/felted-box.jpg](/gemini.conman.org/boston/2015/03/21/felted-box.jpg){kind=link}
![[4] /boston/2015/03/21/prefinish.jpg](/gemini.conman.org/boston/2015/03/21/prefinish.jpg){kind=link}
![[5] /boston/2015/03/21/half-finish.jpg](/gemini.conman.org/boston/2015/03/21/half-finish.jpg){kind=link}
![[6] /boston/2015/03/21/finish.jpg](/gemini.conman.org/boston/2015/03/21/finish.jpg){kind=link}