This was my first (and last) foray into wood-working. It's a hat box I made several years ago while going through Chief's initiation. Part of the Chief's initiation was to make a hat box to protect thier "cover", or hat. It's a long held tradition and the box is supposed to reflect the experiences and values of it's maker.
The anchor and scroll design on top was painted with oil paint and sealed with varnish. Inside the top lid is a skull and crossbones representing the nickname "puddle pirates" and he's wearing a pair of headphones as they were an important part of being a Radioman back in the day. This was back in the early 90's when the Coast Guard was still working morse code. The lid is held open with a prop rod that has a bullet casing on the end that represents the Coast Guard as a military service. Around the perimeter of the top edge is morse code that spells out the old call sign of the Communications Station I was first stationed at. The morse code characters fade out at the end to signify the end of Morse Code. Inside the box the colors are red, white and blue with rope work around the edges. On the front of the box is a brass name plate and a lock. It turned out quite heavy so I added handles on the sides that are brass and wood. I wrapped them with paracord later, but it's not shown in the pics. I added some gold-leafing on the trim pieces around the bottom. Brass hinges were added for the top and everything was stained and sealed.
Turned out pretty well for a newb wood-worker.
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