How to create the lid of a small box

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I have very little experience and I want to make a small box to hold chisels.

I have some nice cherry boards that are surfaced and smooth at 1/2" that I would like to use.

Based on the size of the chisels, the box will be roughly 13" deep, 3" to 4" tall, and 12" wide. (roughly)

For the base, my intent was to build the base similar to how you would build a drawer (cut a 1/4" dado and slide in the base).

For the top, I considered something similar to the base but with a slide-off top, and I still might do this. I might prefer, however, to solidly secure the top and then use a hinge. it is not clear to me, however, how to solidly secure the top and account for wood movement and such.

Any ideas and/or links to a site on making small boxes such as this.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I think that I was not clear that in my mind, I would create a fully enclosed box with six sides, and then run it through the table saw to cut the top off. This leaves the top and bottom both with "sides". I had not considered simply creating a top without sides and then using hinges to attach the top.

[del schisler]

I have very little experience and I want to make a small box to hold chisels.

I have some nice cherry boards that are surfaced and smooth at 1/2" that I would like to use.

Based on the size of the chisels, the box will be roughly 13" deep, 3" to 4" tall, and 12" wide. (roughly)

For the base, my intent was to build the base similar to how you would build a drawer (cut a 1/4" dado and slide in the base).

For the top, I considered something similar to the base but with a slide-off top, and I still might do this. I might prefer, however, to solidly secure the top and then use a hinge. it is not clear to me, however, how to solidly secure the top and account for wood movement and such.

Any ideas and/or links to a site on making small boxes such as this.

if you use a dado for the cut and go length wise and frount to back you will be able to see the cut out?? Or make stop's and than have to cut out the dado cut to make it square ? The best thing to do is do the top and botton first.Than make the box part next. I have made probly 500 jewelry box's and that is the way i do it . Now when all is finished. I set the box part on the botton now set it so it is even frount to back and side to side. Now take some blue painter tape in little piece's and put under the back edge's and also the frount end's also . Do this inside of the box so that you can see the tape inside and out on the frount . Now take a pencel and put a mark inside and outside of each corner. This will give you the thicknes of the wood. Remove the box part. Now drill in the middle of the mark's. This will give you the center of the wood at the corner's . Come in maybe 1/4" from the end's so that you don't drill direct into the corner. Now use a clamp and clamp the box back on the botton . Aligne the box again even like it was before. turn upside down and drill back into the holes that is in the base. This way you can put dry wall screw's into the box part. You should have 4 holes. Also if you have a tappered drill bit with a counter sink for the screw head's. Also i put a felt pad over the screw head's so that you don't scratch anything when sliding. Now for the top i would use 4 hinge's in that much of a span of the lid. Good luck i hope you can follow this. here is a link of my box's their are 3 pages thanks for looking http://www.craftforum.com/members/del-schisler-2953/albums/more-jewelry-box-s/

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Thanks for the link and the advise...