Atari Joystick Jewelry Box

Keep your jewelry or random trinkets in style* with this Atari box!

*Disclaimer: May only be considered stylish by a small, but fantastic, subpopulaton. Space invader not included.

Step 1: Materials and Preparation

Materials
Shellac
Paper
Sandpaper
Wood glue

Wood
1/4" Walnut (Box top and sides)

1 piece - 3 1/2" by 4"
1 piece - 3" by 3 1/2"
4 pieces - 3 1/2" by 1 3/4" by - Cut with mitre saw

1/2" Walnut (Box base)

3 1/2" by 4"

1/8" Cherry (Bottom of top section)

3 1/8" by 3 1/2"

3/4" Purple heartwood dowel (Button and stick)

1/4" piece
3 1/2" long

Walnut veneer (Center circle and middle rings)
Cherry veneer (Top markings)

Tools
Mitre Saw
Chisel
Brush
Hole saw
Drill
Clamps
Scissors

Step 2: Chisel Box Sides

Cut sides so that the top will slightly overlap the bottom section of the box.

Cut each of the 4 side pieces in half
Cut 1/8' of length from the bottom four pieces
Chisel out 1/4" from the inside of top 4 pieces
Chisel out 3/8" from outside side of the 4 bottom pieces

Step 3: Stick and Button

Purple heartwood adds a bit of color without the need for paint or stain.

Sand the 1/4" disc cut from the dowel. This will be the joystick button.
To replicate the hexagonal shape of the stick, put 3 1/2" dowel in vise and chisel down to have six even sides.

Step 4: Center

Center piece

Cut out a circle 3" in diameter and tab to create the shape on the base of the joystick
Use this template to trace on the walnut veneer (2 pieces)
Cut out and glue together
Glue veneer circle on the top piece
Mark center and drill out with a 3/4" hole saw

Step 5: Make Rings

Use walnut veneer to make three rings:

1 1/2" in diameter 1/4" high
1 1/4" in diameter 3/8" high
3/4" in diameter 5/8" high

Cut veneer into strips approximately 10" long and 1/2" wide
Steam veneer strips until pliable
Apply thin layer of wood glue to one side and wrap around jar/dowel/etc (I used a dowel, spice jar and a nail polish bottle)
Fix with a rubber band
Leave until thoroughly dried (8+ hours)
Remove and cut down

Step 6: Assemble

Show All 8 Images

Assemble box

Glue top pieces together in a frame
Glue bottom pieces together in a frame on top of the base piece
Glue piece of cherry board to the underside of the top piece to create upper section
Glue 1/4" walnut piece to the underside of the lid (traced 1/4" around bottom of lid as guide)
Sand corners

Variation

For a simpler (and possibly more practical) single section box, here you could skip gluing the cherry piece. Instead, just glue the top frame to the bottom frame. You retain the look of the seam, however, this will result in one 1 3/4" deep box instead of a box with a 3/4" lower section and 1/2" deep top section.

Step 7: Cut and Glue Veneer

Joystick has two arrows at each quarter and seven small rectangles between each. Okay, technically, there are only three sets of arrows and on the top of the joystick it says "TOP"...but i prefer the arrows (and cutting out letters that tiny wold just be crazy).

From the cherry veneer, cut out 28 rectangles 1/8" by 1/16" and 8 triangles 1/8" by 1/4" (trim two points of each)
Glue around the inner circle to mimic marking on the joystick

Step 8: Finish

Shellac it up and you're done!

bob.the.devil says: Feb 25, 2012. 9:38 AM

where did you find the purple heartwood dowel. if you found it online could you give the site? i just can't find it.

annahowardshaw (author) in reply to bob.the.devilFeb 26, 2012. 12:24 PM

Just on eBay - there was a seller with 3/4" diameter dowels 36" long ($18.00 for 6) . However, you could also check for round pen blanks or cut off pieces to find smaller pieces for less.