Project Information
OK… the title should be, "Wooden Boxes for Dummies." I recently got the urge to make some simpler boxes. Boxes that have no hardware. No God forsaken hinges, no trays, no feet, you get the point. The only problem was, I've never seen how they're made.
Now I've had some good mentorship, and I think I have a pretty good grasp on some things. So, I just googled wooden boxes, and old wooden boxes. I found a neat box (and there is one here on LJ very similar) that was Japanese inspired. Often used for tools, these boxes use an ingenious but ridiculously simple closing system used in Japanese boxes for centuries.
The top just slides into place, the brackets on the top ends holding it there.
So… I decided to make one, then two, then three…it was easy! I was delirious with joy as I did not have to fit hinges carefully only to be sickened by an uneven gap or a bad fit. The new system was not without a little trepidation however… I have tried to make boxes with inset lids like so many of the talented guys like Greg Little make here on LJ… but never seeing it done, I just wing it. So, I just made my box frame, taped it together, square it up, and set it on the board I was going to use as a top. Since I had not put in the bottom yet, I could just use a pencil and trace the outline.
Then I cut a piece (sneaking up on it) to fit. Now at this point the lid would fall into the box. You need a little gap all the way around, or it won't slide later. Add the top brackets (glue and pegs for me) after a little figuring, and one end of the top should slide right under the end bracket on the box. Slide it back a little and there you go!
I made two smaller ones (about 12" x 4" x 5") and a larger one (15" x 6" x 7"). I finished them with tung oil only, as it looks simpler and more utilitarian. I made a complete box in a day, with lots of time in-between gluing. It is nice to start with a board in the morning and have a nice sliding lid box by supper.
Now I don't think these little boxes would win any beauty contests, but they will hold chisels, paint brushes, router bits, pencils, or just about anything. I think scrap wood would work nicely. Fun, pretty easy, and CHEAP. That's what I like!
I hope you like these… although I didn't invent them, I stumbled through making a few, and now I am hooked!
Now I've had some good mentorship, and I think I have a pretty good grasp on some things. So, I just googled wooden boxes, and old wooden boxes. I found a neat box (and there is one here on LJ very similar) that was Japanese inspired. Often used for tools, these boxes use an ingenious but ridiculously simple closing system used in Japanese boxes for centuries.
The top just slides into place, the brackets on the top ends holding it there.
So… I decided to make one, then two, then three…it was easy! I was delirious with joy as I did not have to fit hinges carefully only to be sickened by an uneven gap or a bad fit. The new system was not without a little trepidation however… I have tried to make boxes with inset lids like so many of the talented guys like Greg Little make here on LJ… but never seeing it done, I just wing it. So, I just made my box frame, taped it together, square it up, and set it on the board I was going to use as a top. Since I had not put in the bottom yet, I could just use a pencil and trace the outline.
Then I cut a piece (sneaking up on it) to fit. Now at this point the lid would fall into the box. You need a little gap all the way around, or it won't slide later. Add the top brackets (glue and pegs for me) after a little figuring, and one end of the top should slide right under the end bracket on the box. Slide it back a little and there you go!
I made two smaller ones (about 12" x 4" x 5") and a larger one (15" x 6" x 7"). I finished them with tung oil only, as it looks simpler and more utilitarian. I made a complete box in a day, with lots of time in-between gluing. It is nice to start with a board in the morning and have a nice sliding lid box by supper.
Now I don't think these little boxes would win any beauty contests, but they will hold chisels, paint brushes, router bits, pencils, or just about anything. I think scrap wood would work nicely. Fun, pretty easy, and CHEAP. That's what I like!
I hope you like these… although I didn't invent them, I stumbled through making a few, and now I am hooked!