My son had picked up some sycamore where he worked and I was trying to think of something simple to make to keep my wood turning momentum going. I cut down some of the larger pieces into turning blanks and decided to try my hand at making a lidded box. In the turning world, a lidded box is a box with a cover made from the same piece of wood so the grain matches and the seasonal changes behave the same way on the box as on the cover.
I had never made one before so I had to search YouTube videos for some guidance. Luckily the piece of wood I selected wasn’t too deep as the deeper it goes, other tools and techniques are required.
The sycamore turned very easily and I was able to hollow it out and finish its inside surface with a bowl gouge and scrapers. This lidded box is about 3.25″ high and 2.5″ across. My focus was on trying to achieve smooth surfaces and a fine finish.
