My First Box and Question for Latch

[Philip Fiorio]

Hello.

I began woodworking for a hobby around March. I plan on another post soon with pics of my other projects, but I'm on my prep right now and have a minute to ask for help.

I've made man projects–starting with cutting boards, and adding, table-tops, baby toys, a stool and now a box.

The pics show where I'm at at the moment. The lid is made of maple, walnut, and purpleheart. The sides are cherry with walnut keys, and the bottom is walnut. I finished it with BLO and shellac. I didn't follow any designs, I just kinda made it out of what I thought would work.

Obviously, there are a few flaws. Next time, I would make the lid thicker and maybe use a rabbit to secure it without any kind of hinge or latch.

I accidentally made the mortices for the hinges too deep and now there is a little gap between the lid and the front of the box.

The lid is really thin, only about a quarter inch. I need help with ideas of small clasps that can help keep it shut.

I'm also open to making a clasp with wood. Any ideas?

I like the Celtic Woods Pair Of Buckle Clasps Box Closer Latch Decoration Ornate Bronze Finish C024

from amazon, but I fear it will be too large.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Take care!

[Joe A Faulkner]

Nice job on going with the flow and designing on the fly. The contrasting woods look great.

You or someone you know will likely have this box for decades. Given that, why not go ahead and plug those mortises and re-do them at the proper depth. Once you do this, you may not even want a clasp.

You might consider plugging the existing mortises in contrasting wood and cut the new mortises out closer to the sides of the box - maybe come in 1 1/4" from each end. The current hinge placement looks a little off balance. The contrasting plugs would play well with the multi-species vibe of the box.

Again, the box is very attractive. I'm a fan of contrasting maple and walnut.

[Philip Fiorio]

Thanks Joe!

I was actually considering the same things.

Originally, I thought breaking the back into 3 sections with the hinges would look nice, but I agree, they are too close to the center.

I also thought of plugging them with purpleheart to give some more contrast.

Here's another question:
I know you can buy hinges that stop at 95 degrees, what is a way I can achieve this effect with normal hinges? It's probably not worth it.

Thanks again for the response and I'm looking forward to more ideas from the community!

Take care!

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi Philip. Welcome to The Creek!

Nice box. I too like the contrasting woods and the overall look.

It migh be possible to just place a shim under (each half) of your hinges - a thin piece of wood - to close the gap at the front. Sometimes that works and sometimes it looks cruddy. Be worth a try to see.

Look forward to seeing more of your work!
Fred

[Jim Tobias]

Agree with Fred....put a thin piece of the Walnut under the hinges and you probably won't notice it after gluing it in. You'll be surprised how a thin shim will raise the hinges and close up your gap.
On the 95 degree idea, either swap out the hinges for some with a built in 95 degree stop or use a small chain http://www.rockler.com/decorative-chain-support

or try these out. http://www.rockler.com/small-box-lid-support


Jim