I finally got around to some photography of the box I finished this past fall. I made a molding around the front and sides, and carved some gouge-cuts into it. The box is pegged together, and the molding is pegged on as well. This is an example of a box that in a sense I made up; I copied the front carving from one box, and the sides from other period work. Red oak with a white pine lid & bottom.
Here is a detail of the carving; and also of the till inside the box.
PETER FOLLANSBEE: JOINER’S NOTES 
MMMMMMM, very nice. The till adds a nice touch.
Hi Peter,
That’s just beautiful. Saw your “Peter and the Box” episode on Roy’s show to get an idea of how the carving itself is done. Wonderful!
A question about the lid though. Is it just a modern prejudice that some might feel the lid should be oak as well, whether carved or not, or is there a historical or other unspoken reason why you chose pine for it?
Thanks,
James & John:
thanks for the notes on the box. James, your stool/box is up next, mid-February.
John, the lid timber selection is unspoken for sure. The lids on New England boxes in the seventeenth century were either pine or oak. I often make mine from pine just to conserve the oak for the next box, chest, etc. It is most jarring when the box is new; given a few years the finish evens out, and both woods are a comparable color. I do make oak lids from time to time, or on special order. The lids are rarely, if ever, carved. I have seen some punched decoration. Usually it’s just a molded edge as here. When I get back from Williamsburg next week, I’ll post more box pictures to give you an idea. There might be some on the website; http://www.peterfollansbee.com