How to start fine box building?

[Eric Schatz]

I have a decent shop. My grandfather passed and left me with some things. The bug hit just before he passed and it was fortuitous. Boom I'm a woodworker (hobbyist)! Currently in the shop:
Craftsman TS 113xxx (good shape and a flat table, bigger motor added on and I'm actually happy with it. I'm not worried about the fence yet)
Two floor drill presses
Router Table
6" Walker Turner Jointer
12" Delta lunchbox
Grinding wheel

Hand Tools:
Adj. Mouth Low Ang. Block, Stanley 4 1/2, 5 1/4, 5, 8c, 80, and 47 (with 9 cutters! and everything else), also a newer stanley I've turned scrub
sharpening system (I'm good with this)
Stanley 750 bevel edge chisel set
Marples chisel set
Veritas 14 tpi dovetail saw, coping saw
a collection of tuned rip and cross diston, atkins, and warrented panel saws
marking guages, sliding squares, t-bevel,

I need a book/website/tutorial that lays out the steps to do fine boxwork with hand tools. I know I have a hybrid shop at my disposal but I would rather do it all old school.

Anybody have any advice or see anything I'm missing?

[Tony Joyce]

Any of Andrew Crawford's books would be a good place to start.

http://www.box-making.com/books/

or you could do a course with Andrew.

http://www.box-making.com/

[Jim Koepke]

Howdy Eric,

Welcome to the Creek. You do not list a location in your profile.

I do not have any books that pertain to boxes specifically. Some are on making shelves, furniture and other joinery. For all practical purposes a furniture case or drawer is a type of box.

My question would be what kind of boxes are you going to build?

Doing a search on > book of boxes < brought up the Crawford book Tony suggested but it also brings up a book of boxes by M.C. Escher. Those are some different boxes.

jtk

[Andrew Pitonyak]

What will be your starting point and what do you need to learn?



Will you take rough wood and dimension it by hand, purchase wood ready to go?
Your chosen joinery method will determine what skills you need to learn. Dovetails? Miters?
How to attach the top and bottom. Do you need to learn to cut a rabbit or dado?


Consider the last box that I built. The box is roughly 18" x 11" x 11". So, it is not a very small box.

I milled the wood primarily using power tools (sorry neanders). I used hand planes to joint the edges. I chose hand cut dovetails to create the case. I then used frame / panel type construction for the top and bottom.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?222870-Building-a-locking-box

Last time I created a mitered edge box, I used the table saw to cut the miters.

If you live near Columbus, Ohio, I can loan you a book on making boxes; then again, the library has some books as well.

[Brian Holcombe]

Are you considering solid wood, or veneer over substrate? That would be the most important factor in where to begin, in my opinion.

If solid wood, take a long look at the box that George Wilson made for the queen, it is inspirational.

[Phil Thien]

Any of Andrew Crawford's books would be a good place to start.

http://www.box-making.com/books/

or you could do a course with Andrew.

http://www.box-making.com/

He (Andrew) has a very interesting email newsletter. I haven't received one in a while but I always look forward to them.

[Christopher Charles]

Doug Stowe also has a couple books on box making, though more from a hybrid perspective I believe.

http://www.dougstowe.com

Welcome to the other side and will look forward to seeing your progress. Boxes build a great number of skills in small packages.

C

[Eric Schatz]

I have been cutting dovetails by hand for about 6 months and have been learning how to dimension by hand. I'm fairly proficient at both. I'm just looking for something that gives me one or two projects so I can get a concept of dimensions, box top creation/cutting/hinging, and finishes.

What I don't want is a book of pictures of boxes. Just step by steps for some interesting stuff. I have very little understanding of veneering and would like to go solid hardwood.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Step 1: What do you want to do with the box? If you just want to make something that is very simple, consider something small like this box I created to hold toothpicks.

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The box is roughly 3 1/8" wide (I chose the width so that internally, it would hold toothpicks. The depth is roughly 2 7/8" and the height (ignoring the top and bottom) is roughly 7/8" to 15/16". The wood is just under 1/4" thick. I used hard maple for the sides with a miter cut. I glued the sides and did nothing else. For this application, i considered it sufficient. For the top, I used white oak. I cut it to fit (mostly). I simply glued the bottom in place and then I sanded it smooth. I cut a space for the hinges in the back recessed sufficiently so that the top will sit flat. Simple, very easy, and sufficient for the application. It does not get any easier than this I think. If the box would take a bit more abuse, I would have used some decorative splines to re-enforce the corners.

I made another box that is still pretty small that I sometimes put candy in. I do not have a photo of the box, but, how big is a candy box? Perhaps 6" x 6" and 4 or 5 inches tall. The base is a bit wider than the case and I used a hand plane to cut a miter for the case base to fit over. I then used a hand plane to bevel the part that was wider than the box case. The top is the same except it has a rabbit so that the top will set into the top of the case and then I cut a bevel on the top for looks. I connected the sides together using hand-cut dovetails.

I have made four boxes for chisels. I started with a case sized to fit the chisels. The first boxes that I made (years back at this point) are pretty rough looking. For the bottom and the top, I simply glued the top and bottom in place. I expected that they would pop-off based on wood movement, but nothing so far. After building the completely enclosed case, I used the table saw to cut the box apart and then I hinged the top to the bottom. For two of the boxes, I used a frame and panel top and bottom so that they would be better able to expand and contract with movement.

Another type of box that I have seen regularly (from a how do you attach the top perspective) is a top that slides in place kind of like you have for a drawer bottom.

My 8 year old (turns 9 in two weeks) has decided that she likes stamps. So, I think that one of our first projects will be to build a small wooden box that will hold a few stamp supplies such as stamp tongs (think tweezers), a small pair of scissors, magnifying glass, small plastic tray / bowl to check for watermarks, and a stamp perf guide. I have not decided how we will build that, but, I will let her choose the wood and style.

So, any thoughts on what methods you will likely use?

[Chuck Nickerson]

What I don't want is a book of pictures of boxes. Just step by steps for some interesting stuff.

There's a book by Jim Stack, "Box by Box", that is close to step-by-step for 15 to 20 boxes. It's spiral-bound to lay flat on your bench.

It starts with easy ones and progresses to much more difficult styles. It's the closest I know to what you're looking for.

[Jim Belair]

I've got a few books on box making and have looked at several others but in my opinion the only one worth it's keep is Box Making Basics. Each box teaches new techniques for lids, hinges, feet, etc. It includes info on stock selection and preparation, as well as finishing, and taught me "all" I needed to know when I first took up woodworking several years ago.

http://www.amazon.com/Box-Making-Basics-Design-Technique-Projects/dp/1561581232/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414697276&sr=1-1&keywords=box+making

[Mike Null]

+1 on Box Making Basics

[Sean Hughto]

It really depends on what sort of boxes you have in mind? How "fine" and fancy?

My last project was a little box to hold dominoes as a gift to my Dad.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5607/15554042876_5b675abe49_b.jpg
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5597/14956973904_3de04a6ae8_b.jpg

It's not super fancy or complicated. Built it almost exclusively with hand tools. For the most part I could have built it with your set. I might have needed

- rasps
- gouges
- saws for sizing and shooting stock - and for resawing panels
- dowel plate
- wheel gauge (personal preference for marking)
- marking knife

Oh, and my douzuki (japanese rip saw) for cutting the box open (I happen to use it for the tails too)
- also too, my favorite little saw - flush cut - http://www.japanwoodworker.com/product/157072/hishika-flush-cut-saw-nail-saw-with-bubinga-handle-with-replaceable-blade.aspx

[Jim Belair]

Love that organic handle Sean and the domino detail on the end.

[Patrick Bernardo]

Sean, I've seen this box before on the Creek, and I absolutely love it. My dad also plays dominos, so I hope to be able to make something similar soon. The detail that I really love on it is the top, where the dovetail kind of curves over. How did you shape that? It looks almost as if the top edge is kind of concave across the the box - is that correct? Anyway, it really is a wonderful little box.

[Sean Hughto]

Jim and Patrick, thanks! Glad you like it. I gave it to my Dad last week and he enjoyed it, so success!

As far as your question, Patrick, I'm not sure I understand it. The joint is a pretty standard half blind dovetail, with the spacing set up to hide the grooves housing the blue mahoe top and bottom panels. The last tail at the top is really more or less a half-tail to the extent it has one angled side and one that is much closer to square - very slight angle. Maybe the straight on pic shows it better:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5613/15391596658_8a9e9ee965_h.jpg

I'm not sure what look like it is curving to you, but if you mean the long sides coming over the short sides, the long sides are untouched natural edges from the tree - ie, this was the surface right under the bark -- nature shaped it!

[Patrick Bernardo]

I think that answers it, Sean. It was the natural edges, in part, that I was commenting on. Man, I am making a mess of describing the detail that I'm seeing, and that I really like. Here's a try:

But also, what I mean, is if you look at that last picture that you posted, there is a delicate curve at top, on the right side, at the top of the half-tail (at the top right corner of the face of the box from this perspective). It looks to me that the very edge of that (closest to the camera) is higher than the rest of the edge as it extends to the back of the box (again, from this perspective). I guess you just broke the corners with a rasp?

Anyway, it's that little detail that I love. It just makes the whole box lighter, and more elegant.

[Jim Koepke]

It is a beautiful piece.

It has me wondering if there is any significance to the 5-blank domino?

jtk

[Sean Hughto]

Thanks, Jim. There are many domino games. The one we tend to play is called "Five Up" though it has other names too, like Muggins.

http://www.dominorules.com/read/56/five-up/

[Frederick Skelly]

Sean, that box is stunning!