Please help me make my fly boxes better!

[Royce Meritt]

You folks have always been so helpful so here is another question for you.

Generally speaking, I have the manufacture of my fly boxes down pretty well. One thing that is giving me a bit of trouble is positioning the 1/8" diameter "Rare Earth" magnets in the corners that keep the box closed. I'm having a bit of trouble getting the mating magnets lined up perfectly.

Here is my procedure...

1. Cut the "blanks" for the top and bottom of the box.
2. Mill out the inside of the box with router and template.
3. Mark the location of the 4 magnets (2 on top, 2 on bottom) VERY carefully.
4. Set up drill press with a fence and stop blocks for the location of the magnets.
5. Drill 1/8" diameter holes for magnets.
6. Etc., etc., etc.

Because the box top and box bottom are mirror images of each other the upper right corner of the top mates up with the lower left corner of the bottom and upper left mates up with lower right. (Does that make sense?) If the 2 locations of the holes in drilling both halves of the box are not EXACT, when the box is assembled the magnets will not line up exactly. If they are off just a tiny bit it usually doesn't matter but I would like to figure out how to get then EXACT!

Anybody have any ideas as to how to get these holes to line up perfectly? Thanks!

(See my attached photo and sketch if you need more info.)

[Roy Wall]

Royce,

Nice work!

If all the boxes are always the same dimensions....

I'd keep a extra "unfinished box" for registration (template) purposes. Given the holes in this box are "perfect".....then use it to line up and position the stops on your drill press. If you use the 1/8" bit, feed it down into the existing hole of your unfinished box - then bring the fence stops around the box so you can drill perfectly registered holes every time.

If you use a different sized box, make a perfect one and use it for another template too.

One way of doing it...........

[Cecil Arnold]

Royce,
I don't know if they make them in the size you are using, but dowel points might work. If you are not familiar with them, you drill one side of the joint, in this case, line up the other side then tap them together. The DP gives you the center for the other hole. Hope that makes sense.

[Matt Kennedy]

Nice boxes. I wouldn't mind making a few myself.

I would use a template to drill the magnet holes in the blanks before milling. Then I would use these holes to hold dowel pins to register the two blanks together. Double face tape or clamp the two halves and mill the outside. This would make the magnet holes line up and the outside of the box be perfect.

Many ways to skin that cat.

Matt

[Royce Meritt]

Royce,
I don't know if they make them in the size you are using, but dowel points might work. If you are not familiar with them, you drill one side of the joint, in this case, line up the other side then tap them together. The DP gives you the center for the other hole. Hope that makes sense.

Excellent idea, Cecil. As a matter of fact, someone here at work suggested a similar solution. Don't know if they make them that size but I think I can manufacture my own. Funny how sometimes I can't seem to see the forest for the trees. This is a good, simple suggestion and I might never have come up with it on my own. Thanks!

[Zahid Naqvi]

To elaborate on what Cecil recommended. Drill holes in the bottom, insert dowel centers (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=45163&cat=1,44047&ap=2) into them. As you press the lid on top the dowel centers will leave a nice center mark on the location for holes in the lid. As luck would have it the dowel center are on sale at LeeValley. Unfortunately they don't have any in 1/8" size

As Roy said, once you have a perfectly alligned box, use that as a template/jig to allign your drill press.

[Lee DeRaud]

I don't know if they make them in the size you are using, but dowel points might work.1/8"? Haven't ever seen them that small, but you could probably make a set from pop-rivets.

[Garry Smith]

I think the way I would approach this is to
1.make a marking gauge with a say 3/4 inch thick by the thickness of the wall of the boxes (where the magnets are to be inserted) from hardwood as long or longer than the longest box that you make.
2. Mark a line in the center of the marking guage which will be used as a locater mark on your boxes. This center mark must be on all four sides of the gauge.
3. Mark out from the each side of center line you marked on the guage stock, where you want the center of your magnets to be. This must be on the edge that is the same thickness as the box wall that the manets will be inserted.
4. Cut the head off of a # 4 finish nail. insert it in the drill press. (this can be a drill bit of the same size as the # 4 finish nail).
5. Driil a through hole on each one of the marks that were made in step #3 (these holes should be drilled in the center of the guage stock that is the same thickness as the box wall that the magnets will be inserted in).
6. On the edge of the box that the magnets will be inserted into, make a center line on the top and bottom, which will allow to precisely register the guage you just made.
7. Set the guage on the edge aligning the the center mark on the top portion of the box and align the outside edges of the guage and the box top flush with each other.
8. Take a #4 finish nail and isert it into one of the holes and tap it enough to make a centering point for drilling, then repeat on the hole on the opposite side of the center line.
9. Repeat # 8 for the bottom portion of the box.
10. drill the correct size holes in the box to insert magnets.

Sound complicated when trying to explain but really quite a simple method.

[Wes Bischel]

Royce,
Try looking for "Blind hole spotters" - they come in 1/8"

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PARTPG=INSRAR2&PMAKA=240-1887&PMPXNO=4830794

I'm not sure if this particular one would work for you, but it may be worth a try.

Wes

[Steven Wilson]

I would make a template for drilling the holes. Take a 1/4" or 1/2" piece of plywood and cut it out to be the size of your box. Drill 4 holes where you want them. Now, on the bottom and left sides glue on a section of 1/4" or 1/8" ply (say 1" wide) intersecting the template as a T. This gives you an edge used to register you box. Now label one side of the template as Top and the other as Bottom.

To use, you cut out and mill your box (maybe leave off rounding the corners. Place the template on the top of the box with the top of the template facing up and snug it to the edge of the template. Now mark the holes (or use the template as a drill guide). Now take the template and flip it over (the bottom is now facing up) and place it on the bottom of the box, snug it up and mark or drill the holes. The holes on the top and bottom will now coincide exactly even if the template isn't perfect.

[Ian Barley]

Depends how many you make and what level of investment makes sense.

For some of my drilling operations I now have a drill press that is dedicated to drilling a single type of hole in a single type of component. Nothing ever mioves. If you make enough to justify buying a drill press dedicated to this task then this might work.

You will need a specific drill press table and preferable a dedcated drill press. One fixed base board and a sliding board on top of it. The top board needs to slide in and out relative to the column of the drill press by a distance which is sufficient to accomodate the width of the workpiece you are drilling into and the width of a register fence.

On the top board layout an "H" shaped fence arrangement so that you can lay the top of the box one side of the "horizontal" bar and the bottom of the box on the other. Make the two "vertical" fence pieces so that they are the width of the box PLUS the distance between the magnets apart.

Set up the fence so that with the left side of the box registered against the left hand fence the bit descends in the right place for the right hand hole. Set the extent of the slide on the top board so that at its furthest out (towards operator) the bit descend in the right place for the rearward component and at its furthest in it descends on the right place for the forward component.

You will need to futz a bit to make sure that the slide is at a right angle to the drill and that the "horizontal" fence is exactly pependicular to the slide.

In use -
place both components against the horizontal fence and register the left side against the left vertical fence
slide the top board to fully to one extent of travel.
Drill Hole 1.

Slide the top board fully to the other extent
Drill hole 2

Change so that both components register their right sides aginst the right side fence
Drill Hole 3

Slide the top board fully to the other extent
Drill hole 4

Hope that this makes sense - if I could scribble it out on the back of a fag packet it would be easier.

[Gene Takae]

Instead of trying to make your own dowel center or blind hole spotter just use a nail to create center points that are aligned, then drill them out to 1/8" with a brad point.

[Alan Lilly]

My first choice would be CNC. Second choice would be to use templates as a guide.

[Lee Schierer]

Make a drilling template out of lexan or other hard material that looks like this:326532 If the raised areas fit tightly in your boxes you can use the holes to drill the top, then switch sides to drill the bottom. Use a brad point bit to do the drilling.

[Anthony Albano]

How about using a very small diameter drill bit, clamp the two haves together and drill up through the bottom into the top but short of going thru the face. The drill bit hole will line up on both halves. You can fill or plug the holes on the bottom of the box. The boxes are beauties.

[Bruce Page]

FYI, This is a 9 year old thread. ;)

[Ian Moone]

http://fishwrecked.com/files/images/flyboxes1.jpg

Been a lotta years since i made timber fly boxes and laminated landing nets!.

9 yeas is a long time between drinks, hey! :D