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Thread: Need Some Gift Boxes - To the Scrap Bin!

  1. #1
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    Need Some Gift Boxes - To the Scrap Bin!

    In self defense I normally make a batch of small items and stash them in the closet for just such emergencies. Due to various reasons I got caught flat-footed this holiday season when I was asked for a "quick" gift for someone who "suddenly" came up. I am going to kill off some scrap and shorts and build up a supply for all those surprises that will come up this year ;-)

    I grab some interesting looking scrap. I also have some thin stock leftover from resawing drawer fronts and the like. I use the thin stock as veneer on 1/4" ply for the bottoms.

    2019 Gift Boxes (1).jpg . 2019 Gift Boxes (7).jpg

    I resaw and mill the stock. I rip to width and then cut the carcass parts. I rabbet them top and bottom and pre-shellac the insides.

    2019 Gift Boxes (5).jpg . 2019 Gift Boxes (6).jpg

    I drill a hole centered in the top for finger clearance and use the router table and some stop blocks to mill a couple of mortise-like notches to receive the pulls. I square up the mortises with a chisel.

    2019 Gift Boxes (16).jpg . 2019 Gift Boxes (26).jpg

    The pull is cut with angled ends and shave to a slight taper. This makes the pull fit like a cork for a gap free fit.

    2019 Gift Boxes (29).jpg . 2019 Gift Boxes (34).jpg

    cont'd
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  2. #2
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    Its kind of like a little factory around here.

    2019 Gift Boxes (18).jpg . 2019 Gift Boxes (13).jpg

    Ready for finish.

    2019 Gift Boxes (36).jpg

    This should give me a little breathing room ;-)

    2019 Gift Boxes (37).jpg

    Walnut, sappy walnut, cherry, goncalo alves, and tiger maple. Some birdseye maple on some pulls.





    Last edited by glenn bradley; 02-04-2019 at 9:10 PM.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  3. #3
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    Very nice, Glenn. You have some beautiful “scrap” there. What are those clamps you are using? Looks like they do a great job.

  4. #4
    Glenn

    Very nice work.

    Boxes are my favorite project. The difference between you and me is that you do it and I seem to just talk about it.
    Mike Null

    St. Louis Laser, Inc.

    Trotec Speedy 300, 80 watt
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    Woodworking shop CLTT and Laser Sublimation
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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Mueller View Post
    Very nice, Glenn. You have some beautiful “scrap” there.
    That's what I was thinking - that's not scrap, that's stock!

    Very nice work and I like the design. (Uh, my birthday is coming up soon... )

    JKJ

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phil Mueller View Post
    Very nice, Glenn. You have some beautiful “scrap” there. What are those clamps you are using? Looks like they do a great job.
    The bottom set is offered by Lee Valley and are quite nice. The upper ones are a Woodcraft, Peachtree or other knock off. I have also seen folks make them with wood blocks, t-nuts and threaded rod. The corner pieces and the speed nuts are the meat of this clamp. A little extra 1/4" threaded rod cut to various lengths and you can do all sorts of things with them. I store all the parts in a re-used plastic tube that a lathe tool came in.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Null View Post
    Glenn

    Very nice work.

    Boxes are my favorite project. The difference between you and me is that you do it and I seem to just talk about it.
    Thanks Mike. My advice is very Nike; Just Do It! Boxes are fun, use little material and so cause no real pain if one goes south. They use a lot of the skills you use on larger pieces and so make good skill building projects, are handy for sudden gift requests and they eat up scrap

    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    That's what I was thinking - that's not scrap, that's stock!

    Very nice work and I like the design. (Uh, my birthday is coming up soon... )

    JKJ
    In my defense, cool scrap comes from . . . well, . . . the scrap of larger work. I have at least one slot in the shorts bin and three plastic shoe boxes stuffed with scrap that is just too interesting to burn. I try to force myself to this maximum so that the shop doesn't get taken over . If I kept every scrap I thought was "cool" I would never make anything; no room . Larger pieces become box lids or small drawer fronts. Still smaller pieces become detail work or pulls.

    GnG Wall Cab (162).jpg
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  7. #7
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    This is exactly why I'm such a pack-rat with material scraps...it can be a goldmine!

    Beautiful work!!!!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  8. #8
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    Jul 2009
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    Spokane, WA
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    Very nice!

    Thanks for taking the time to explain your process and document with photos. Very helpful!

  9. #9
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    I love boxes, and they make great gifts.

    Those corners look mitered? Did you spline or reinforce them in any way?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
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    Cincinnati, OH
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    Excellent boxes. One's "scrap" is another's treasure. I also hoard small pieces for this purpose. Thanks for sharing.
    Rustic? Well, no. That was not my intention!

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