I picked up two of these from estate sales, for about 100 each. One my father has and uses it for reloading equipment and some armorer's tools that were in it when I got it and mine is set up for working on electronics. Then I used the pattern to make a third for the flyfishing stuff, but all fittings were brass, and the tree used was cherry, yes I made the wood panels from a log.
Most wood does come from a log at the start. Hundred bucks each was a steal for a Gerstner box, very good deal. Cherry is prized for use as a furniture wood, that box must look fantastic. I have seen small jewelry box's made from cherry, but never a large tool chest. Cherry wood humidors also, but not being a cheap, or commonly available wood I guess that puts some people off from using it. I know several people with portable sawmill's, and one with a permeant setup, but I don't have any cherry trees on the property that could provide wood for any projects.
That makes sense for a machinist box as the work entails exposure to lots of metal chips. Wasted on a hobby box unless maybe someone collects jewelry and needs to see how they look with something on. Gerstner has replacement mirrors, but I have decided to leave it off as it's not needed for watches. Kind of strange how it rusted off while the box hardware on the outside with more salt air exposure is fine with no corrosion.
