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A joint effort from my wife and I, this box will be presented at the retirement ceremony. Click image to enlarge

Naval Retirement Shadow Box

20 years of memories

Text & photos by Tom Hintz

This shadow box was built for my brother-in-law, Mike's retirement from the Navy. The basic box design and size, along with the layout of the memorabilia it contains were taken from a sketch provided by Mike.

The box is 31 1/4"-tall and 25"-wide overall with the box itself 3"-deep. The box is made from clear white oak with all parts machined in our shop, including resawing the 1/4"-thick dividers. A sheet of 1/8"-thick Lexan was used for the front, in part because this project has to be shipped across the country and glass raised obvious concerns.

My wife, Beth, Mikes sister, made the fabric-covered boards and attached the insignias. Some are sewn in place, others use a combination of mounting pins and hot-melt glue.

The box was finished with a light coat of golden oak stain, followed by three coats of clear oil-based polyurethane.

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