Anyone make their own watch display box?

[donas]

I like tinkering in my workshop and have been considering making myself a watch case, but have some concerns. It seems just about every watch case I see is lined with material or pleather. Is this for aesthetics cause the wood used is so cheap or is there an issue with moisture from the wood potentially contacting the watch long term?

My concern is from a similar situation many years ago. I made a rack to hold items not discussed on TRF. When I went to retrieve said item, it has rust on the portion in contact with the rack. I never determined if it was moisture in the wood or just too humid an environment and moisture was held between the wood and metal.

Any thoughts or pictures of your projects is appreciated.

[Mendota]

I love handmade wooden boxes and chests. There's a strap maker down in South America who makes the most amazing handmade watch boxes for Panerai and Rolex. He adds beautiful embellishments to the boxes, such as aged brass hardware and with the Panerai boxes they often have brass submarines and brass logos or other things he has added. He uses local woods that he has aged and dried and the boxes are all lined with felt and other typical soft materials you would see in a watch box. Lots of different styles with pull out drawers or tiers and compartments. There's usually a brass plate inside the lid where you can have engravings done. They are beautiful.

Anyway, I think the key is that he makes sure to disclose that he has aged and dried the woods he uses before crafting the boxes. I bet a furniture or cabinet maker could answer questions, but my uneducated opinion would be if you can get the moisture content of the wood you intend to use down low enough, then I would think safe storage shouldn't be a problem because the relative humidity of your conditioned air in your home or office is likely to be higher than the moisture content of the wood used in your box. I'd start with a good wood moisture meter. Then you can test the pieces of wood you intend to use. There are DIY dehydrating methods you can use with wood depending on the size of the pieces. Lots of articles online, but the ones I have read were all related to DIY kiln drying your own firewood. You could also place a few silica moisture absorbing packs inside the finished boxes in all of the compartments and keep them there just in case the moisture content of your finished box is higher or to rule out humidity being trapped inside the box if it is going to be closed for a long time.

The firewood I purchase for my wood burning pizza oven is kiln dried to a moisture content of ~15% and they tell me that even when stored outside, if it is well covered it shouldn't deviate "too much" from that level since it has already been kiln dried. Not really the same subject as boxes! LOL

I'd love to see what people have made, as well. Looks like a fun hobby.

[Tools]

Toss in some silica packs and avoid direct contact with unsealed wood.

[GradyPhilpott]

Dan Pierce made a very nice and practical watch box, but it's not made of wood. It's actually a box made for holding screws, bolts, and nuts, but it looks and works a lot better than one would think, just hearing about it.

[Chewbacca]

I haven’t, Wade. But I have a few retired glass top humidors which I’ll customize for watches when I’m retired and home more often to admire.

Fwiw, even wood top humidors work well with some mods, and with fewer smoking cigars, they’re a great buy used. Just add some holes to let humidity out or do as Larry suggested with salt packs.

[TheVTCGuy]

I tried… Got my tool box, some wood, Power saw, nails…. Then I woke up in the hospital.

[Chewbacca]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

I tried… Got my tool box, some wood, Power saw, nails…. Then I woke up in the hospital.

Jeebus!

[donas]

Originally Posted by Mendota

I love handmade wooden boxes and chests. There's a strap maker down in South America who makes the most amazing handmade watch boxes for Panerai and Rolex. He adds beautiful embellishments to the boxes, such as aged brass hardware and with the Panerai boxes they often have brass submarines and brass logos or other things he has added. He uses local woods that he has aged and dried and the boxes are all lined with felt and other typical soft materials you would see in a watch box. Lots of different styles with pull out drawers or tiers and compartments. There's usually a brass plate inside the lid where you can have engravings done. They are beautiful.

Anyway, I think the key is that he makes sure to disclose that he has aged and dried the woods he uses before crafting the boxes. I bet a furniture or cabinet maker could answer questions, but my uneducated opinion would be if you can get the moisture content of the wood you intend to use down low enough, then I would think safe storage shouldn't be a problem because the relative humidity of your conditioned air in your home or office is likely to be higher than the moisture content of the wood used in your box. I'd start with a good wood moisture meter. Then you can test the pieces of wood you intend to use. There are DIY dehydrating methods you can use with wood depending on the size of the pieces. Lots of articles online, but the ones I have read were all related to DIY kiln drying your own firewood. You could also place a few silica moisture absorbing packs inside the finished boxes in all of the compartments and keep them there just in case the moisture content of your finished box is higher or to rule out humidity being trapped inside the box if it is going to be closed for a long time.

The firewood I purchase for my wood burning pizza oven is kiln dried to a moisture content of ~15% and they tell me that even when stored outside, if it is well covered it shouldn't deviate "too much" from that level since it has already been kiln dried. Not really the same subject as boxes! LOL

I'd love to see what people have made, as well. Looks like a fun hobby.

I'm definitely familiar with drying wood at home. I bit off more than I thought creating a wood kiln to speed the drying process of some White and Red Oak I cut. This project was a real nightmare; I couldn't wait for it to be done, lol. It worked quite well for it's rudimentary, temporary design.

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[Dan Pierce]

Originally Posted by GradyPhilpott

Dan Pierce made a very nice and practical watch box, but it's not made of wood. It's actually a box made for holding screws, bolts, and nuts, but it looks and works a lot better than one would think, just hearing about it.

Made of select pretreated polycarbonate and only the finest pipe insulation.
dP

[donas]

Originally Posted by Dan Pierce

Made of select pretreated polycarbonate and only the finest pipe insulation.
dP

Very creative

[ltmgeller]

Looking forward to see what people are creating

[donas]

Originally Posted by ltmgeller

Looking forward to see what people are creating

I wish there was a thread dedicated to things forum members make. Based on the knowledge I see in some replies, I'm sure there is a lot of talent lurking around TRF!

[Polar Bear]

I hung the shelf my watches sit on, if that counts?

[Dan Pierce]

Originally Posted by donas

Very creative

Thanks, Wade! But it's time for an updated photo cause there's been lots of changes to the group since this pic was taken.
dP

[m j b]

I made a watch storage/display case, shown below, made out of kiln dried oak (I'm not Wade, who cuts down his own trees and forms them into lumber) and I lined it with fuzzy stuff not for moisture but simply to reduce the chance of scratching the watch against the unforgiving wood. It's not a sealed box anyway, and it gets opened enough to let out moisture.

I should put that in past tense, since I have only two watches now, so not worth the bother of the box. I think I had around 7 at the peak.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by donas

I'm definitely familiar with drying wood at home. I bit off more than I thought creating a wood kiln to speed the drying process of some White and Red Oak I cut. This project was a real nightmare; I couldn't wait for it to be done, lol. It worked quite well for it's rudimentary, temporary design.

Awesome Wade

You need to put your talents to work on that watch box

[donas]

Originally Posted by m j b

I made a watch storage/display case, shown below, made out of kiln dried oak (I'm not Wade, who cuts down his own trees and forms them into lumber) ....

That idea seemed a lot better until it was actually underway. What a nightmare!

Originally Posted by brandrea

Awesome Wade

You need to put your talents to work on that watch box

It's in the design phase. I'm hoping I can put something on drawer slides that can slide out of a safe for easier access. If it comes to fruition, I'll definitely post pics.

...in the meantime, I made this counter organizer yesterday so my wife would stop complaining about me emptying my pockets on the counter when I walk in the door

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by donas

That idea seemed a lot better until it was actually underway. What a nightmare!


It's in the design phase. I'm hoping I can put something on drawer slides that can slide out of a safe for easier access. If it comes to fruition, I'll definitely post pics.

...in the meantime, I made this counter organizer yesterday so my wife would stop complaining about me emptying my pockets on the counter when I walk in the door

That's fantastic! Happy wife...

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