A friend of mine likes Japanese food and I've been looking at Bento
boxes as gift ideas for him. It seems that it costs approx =A320 to buy
one bento box and that is likely to be plastic.

I'm assuming that traditionally they would have been made out of wood
and covered in something like lacquer.

So I'm wondering how tricky it would be to make a Bento box and finish
to look reasonably authentic.

Making a multi-compartmentalised wooden box would be reasonably easy
it's the finishing I'm worried about.

I'm assuming it will be finished using lacquer so questions a

What is lacquer?
Are there varieties or types or brand names to watch out for?
How do you apply it?
Is it safe for serving food off of?
What's the longevity of the finish like?
Is this the most suitable thing for the application I describe?

Although this is a gift idea it's not for Christmas so I'm not going to
try and get this done in the next couple of weeks!

Any help gratefully appreciated.

Oh - and I reckon reading this group has saved me several thousand
pounds over the last couple of years so merry Christmas to everyone.
--
Steve F