Thread: Budding box maker

A good starting project? A plain ol' box from the cheapest decent timber you have. Something for the shed to store your tools in, perhaps. 1:4:9 is an eye-pleasing and usable ratio. Once you've got used to using the gifkins (won't take long, 'tis damned good toy!) and have an idea of what can go wrong, then start thinking about more advanced work.

Hi McFly,Roger Gifkins also has box making plans that you can purchase, that could be a good starting point.
Regards Wardy

Originally Posted by McFly

Hi all. I have seen some mighty fine looking boxes created by many of you........... Any recommendations.:confused:

Cheers, McFly

Welcome

Welcome to the world of box making. Box making can be used to demonstrate your craftsmanship and creativity, they are often used as containers (and if so must be functional), sometimes they can be containers for concealment. Box making is fun and rewarding - good luck!

I look forward to seeing your work,

Sculpltured Box

Hey Skew,

Could you explain what the 1:4:9 ratio means? I've never heard of that before?:confused:

thanks
Wendy

It's just one o' those rule-of-thumb guidelines for proportions that are pleasing to the eye. Like the golden mean or building things in "thirds." A box 1" x 4" x 9" (or 2" x 8" x 18", etc) looks good, whereas a box 3" x 4" x 8" looks heavy... like a brick.

1:4:9's better suited to items like necklace display boxes, rather than a general storage box. I shouldn't have mentioned it in that particular post.

Originally Posted by rufflyrustic

Hey Skew,

Could you explain what the 1:4:9 ratio means? I've never heard of that before?:confused:

thanks
Wendy

I believe he means the ratio of height to depth to length. They don't have to be that ratio, but it looks good.

McFly, start with a simple box, with the top & bottom sitting in slots cut in the sides with the T/S. Make the whole thing in one piece, then separate the lid, either with a hand saw or on the table saw.

"The Book of Boxes" by Andrew Crawford is a good book to start with.

Thanks Skew! I think I'll go measure one of the boxes I still have here and see how it 'measures up'

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Ok so none of them match that ratio, . Still sounds like an interesting rule of thumb to use when it suits the box.

Thanks AlexS, I get confused sometimes working out depth and length.

cheers
Wendy

Hi McFly

I second the motion for a copy of the Gifkins box making book. Start with something practical out of good old pine - the Gifkins storage box to store your new toy in. All the plans and instructions you need are in those booklets but if you really want to get serious, you should also get the set of 4 special box making router bits Roger uses in those box plans. I know it can all get a bit out of hand and expensive but those bits will make you look like a master box maker.

have fun, it's addictive.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I look forward to the arrival of the Gifkins and yes Gumby I think that is a great idea for a first box.

McFly

Hi McFly,

If you intend making small boxes, eg Jewellery box size, think about Gifkins "H10" jig, makes a finer looking joint. Agree with AlexS about making in one piece and sawing the lid off. You might need to look at some sort of spacer to add a saw kerf thickness to the tail you will cut into to separate the lid. That way all the tails come out the same size after cutting.

FWIW - My last boxes ( http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...ad.php?t=29653 ) were done with a Gifkins H10 template, and made in one piece with 3mm extra in one tail to allow for a saw cut and clean up. They are approx. 300x200x100mm (third's?) and I had a lot of fun (read - "learnt a lot") doing them.

You will have a lot of fun too - How else can you make something that looks good, brings as much joy to the person you give it to, as something larger, uses a small amount of timber (so you can afford better timber) and learn so much?? win-win situation.


Have fun & look forward to some pics...

Chris

McFly, there are many good books on box making, and many great sites on the Net showing some incredible boxes. Here's my recommendation for books.

1. THE ART OF MAKING SMALL WOOD BOXES - Tony Lydgate, Sterling/Chappelle
2. MAKING BOXES FROM WOOD - John Bennett, Guild of Master Craftsmen Publication Ltd.
3. COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO BOX MAKING - Doug Stowe, Taunton Press

And here are just a few web sites that will inspire you.

• www.fine-boxes.com
• www.boxesbyboudreau.com
• www.andybuchanan.com
• www.biesanz.com

Thanks banksiaman, I noticed the H10 template - I will get this at same stage in future once I have an easy way of producing thin stock.
DPB - I have just ordered The Complete Illustrated Guide to Box Making and Box-Making Basics : Design, Technique, Projects by David Freedman.
Cheers McFly

The Gifkins jig arrived on Friday. It looks nice with the blue aluminium body. I haven't used it yet but have resawn some tawa (light coloured NZ native, quite hard) and a bit of 1 inch Kwila I had lying around with my tablesaw. I know that this isn't the recommended way to resaw but since the width of boards (hence the depth of ripping) was only about 70mm I thought I would try this method. I managed to produce a set of nice 7mm thick boards after sanding. I found that I could sand the boards to a nice even finish with my new sanding disc mounted in the table saw. I passed them between the rip fence and disc so I got some nice, smooth and even thickness boards. I did run them through the thicknesser first but there were still a few marks to sand out.
I thought that I would start building the box project described in
Roger Gifkins Intro to small joinery booklet. Will keep in touch as things progress.

Cheers McFly

I started with Roger's pencil box too.

So do you have your first box ready to show?

Some spectacular boxes in your links DPB.