Yin Yang boxes

[Scally]

I liked the look of the Yin Yang boxes in one of Tony Lydgate's books.

I didn't have a decent tablesaw to make his finger joints so I had to work out how to make it with a router.

It took a while to work out how to make it all fit together.

The walnut and maple make a nice contrast and the movement of the lids is cute.

[Sculptured Box]

A happy balance achieved - nice work.

Using a router to make these boxes was probably more difficult than using a table saw - it worked!

Tony Ward
www.tonyward.org (http://www.tonyward.org)

PS Is it Yin Yang or Ying Yang?

[zenwood]

Very nice. I can't see any finger joints though. Could you explain these?

How big are the boxes?

Also: which book was this box in?

Sorry for all the questions, thanks for the pics:)

[RufflyRustic]

Wow - Lovely boxes! Well Done!

Cheers
Wendy

PS I interested in the answers to Zen's questions too.

[Bluegum]

Really nice work, and the finish looks terrific. Top effort and well done.:)

[TTIT]

Very nice. I can't see any finger joints though. Could you explain these?

How big are the boxes?

Also: which book was this box in?

Sorry for all the questions, thanks for the pics:)

Likewise with Zen's questions. Looks great! I've seen a pic of one on another website but could not see how the lids worked - clever!. Looks more like a box for bandsawing than table saw or router though? Any WIP pic's????:D

[ss_11000]

cool boxes

[Auld Bassoon]

Lovely work Scally, those Yi&Ya boxes look superb!

Have a greenie!

[Harry72]

Very nice, there wouldnt be much clearance between those 1/2 lids?

[ele__13]

Wow they are very nice ..... would like them cheers jules

[Scally]

The book is


Award-Winning Wood Boxes: Design & Technique (Paperback)
by Tony Lydgate
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080698841X/sr=1-2/qid=1144489603/ref=sr_1_2/104-9526292-9882340?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=books

The box maker, Craig Brown made his box using box joints.

I don't have any WIP pics so I will see if I can explain how I made mine.


I started with 2 blocks about 140X140X50mm.

I cut both into just over 140mm diameter circles.

Then routed a circle 140mm diameter out of MDF and used it as a template to rout the outside of the boxes.

I bandsawed the discs in half to give me two bases and 2 lids.

I made another MDF template for the inside of the boxes, approximately 115mm diameter.
I used carpet tape to hold the template on the bases and routed the inside with a bearing guided dish cutting bit.
Depth ended up about 18mm.
Box sides are about 12.5mm thick.

I cut the S shape for the lids on the bandsaw and used a MDF template to make sure all the curves fitted together neatly.

It took a fair bit of trial and error with MDF to find the right location of the pins so the lids opened properly.

I held the lids on the bases with carpet tape and used a bench drill for the pin holes.
Matching pins were made with a plug cutter.

I shaped the lids with an arbortec mini carver, first with the cutting disc then the sanding discs. Then a bit of hand sanding.
One half of the lid is convex and the other concave.

The pins are glued into the lids but just sit in the base.

Lots of final sanding then apply the finish.

I hope that helps.

[DPB]

Very nice work, Scally.

So the question is, is this a bandsaw box?;)

[Scally]

I think they are more Routed Boxes.

The bandsaw didn't get much of a run with these.

[Peter36]

I'm a bit slow off the mark but very nice boxes Scally . Is the shape of the curve critical and do the lids open completely . I guess they should . Nice timber contrast too :)

Peter

[Scally]

Peter
The lids are neat to play with.
Each just slides past the other.

Yes they do open completely.

The shape of the S-curve and the location of the pins are important. I fiddled with pieces of MDF and used nails for pins until I could get the lids to open properly.

Having a book with a picture gave me a good start. A mathematician or someone with a logical mind would probably be able to explain the connection. I had to settle for trial and error.

[Squirrel]

Very impressive boxes, and good run down on the making, but still didn't see where the finger joints came into it.:confused:

Squirrel

[Scally]

My apologies Squirrel.

I wimped out on the finger joints.

The one in the book made the base by finger jointing the 4 sides and fitting a bottom panel in a groove in the sides.

After it was assemble, they bandsawed the square base into a circle.
Then they fitted the two lid pieces.

My power saw in a very old and knocked about Triton Workcentre, had too much play in it to make decent finger joints.
I didn't have much of a router table either.

I was used to using the plunge router hand held, so that is what I did. I took a solid block and routed the inside and outside.

Sorry about the confusion.

[TTIT]

My apologies Squirrel.
I wimped out on the finger joints.
The one in the book made the base by finger jointing the 4 sides and fitting a bottom panel in a groove in the sides.
After it was assemble, they bandsawed the square base into a circle.
Then they fitted the two lid pieces.
My power saw in a very old and knocked about Triton Workcentre, had too much play in it to make decent finger joints.
I didn't have much of a router table either.
I was used to using the plunge router hand held, so that is what I did. I took a solid block and routed the inside and outside.
Sorry about the confusion.
The fog has lifted :rolleyes: Thanks for the explanation Scally - will now have a go at one but I think I'll take a lathe approach to most of it.:D

[minimania]

Lovely boxes. I'd love to try to make them. In another life I'm an acupuncturist so can answer the zen questions. It is always yin and yang. The curve is always based on the sine wave( remember high school maths???) The contrasting dot is always in the centre of the largest part of the sine wave.- maybe the hinge needs to be a non contrasting wood while a contrasting decorative dot is inserted in the right spot. (In zen, the dot is important as it symbolises that within yang there is always some yin and vice versa. Yin and yang must be present in all things. For example; The outside the cup is yang, while the inside surface in yin, as yin is internal and hidden. However shine a light into the cup its inside surface becomes yang as it is bright and the outside automatically becomes yin because it is darker. The rules for what is yin and yang have been defined for nearly 2000 years and work in all things.)

Sorry, someone did ask about zen stuff and I couldn't help myself!
Estelle.

[TTIT]

Lovely boxes. I'd love to try to make them. In another life I'm an acupuncturist so can answer the zen questions. It is always yin and yang. The curve is always based on the sine wave( remember high school maths???) The contrasting dot is always in the centre of the largest part of the sine wave.- maybe the hinge needs to be a non contrasting wood while a contrasting decorative dot is inserted in the right spot. (In zen, the dot is important as it symbolises that within yang there is always some yin and vice versa. Yin and yang must be present in all things. For example; The outside the cup is yang, while the inside surface in yin, as yin is internal and hidden. However shine a light into the cup its inside surface becomes yang as it is bright and the outside automatically becomes yin because it is darker. The rules for what is yin and yang have been defined for nearly 2000 years and work in all things.)

Sorry, someone did ask about zen stuff and I couldn't help myself!
Estelle.

Interesting!:o :o I'm too embarrassed to mention what I thought those symbols represented until now!

[Scally]

Glad you explained it Estelle.

You probably also noticed that I have the dark and light parts back to front on the second box.

One is a mirror image of the other.
The maple comes from northern US and the walnut from the south.
To continue the opposites, I created a convex shape on one lid and a concave shape on the other.

I gave one to a friend and kept the other.

The original design had thicker sides on the base and I think they were able to position the contrasting dot more accurately.