Harry,
W O W !!
That is really cool! Very clever way of using the router.
As I was looking at the pics, I thought the outside of the block of wood was eventually going to be the outside of the box... Then, at the end, that thought was shattered when you routed a special trench around it to form the box.
It turned out great... looks really COOL!
After you hogged out the middle section, could you have routed around the outside, not going too deep to touch the 'holders' to form say 1/2 of the outside part of the box.
Then remove the box and removing the bottom part that could not be routed away... with a band saw, filing, etc. and then finally using the already cut part for the guide, trim it flush with a trimming bit?
Just wondering if that would work... and if you would consider doing it...
There would be less waste... and the box would be slightly bigger.
Your pictures told a good story... Good job!
We now wait for the crowning glory of the project... The lid!
Somehow, I feel that there will some artistic use of templates involved...
Thank you for showing a great project and new approach.