Thread: Wooden box with carving

Sounds like fun.

I recommend that you spend some time looking back at past threads, here and elsewhere, and see what kinds of boxes others have done, the kinds of wood they have used, the reasons for thier choices, and the types of joinery they used and why. Then, decide what works best for you. I guess that would depend on your skill level, the amount of time you have for this project, and the materials and tools availible to you. Trying doing a Google search for this string exactly as written:

+"chess set" +case +project +"hand carved"

Good luck on your project.

labolle

I'd go for a solid wooden bottom rather than MDF, as long as you have a bandsaw or some way of cutting/thicknessing it down to an appropriate thickness. Don't know much about carving, but Aus. cedar and most fruitwoods are supposed to be pretty good.
As LaBolle says, have a look at some of the other boxes people have done.

First your NEW to woodwork?... how new? do you have access to a fair range of tools?

Second your going to carve the box?... how? do you have a set of carving chisels? a carving pocket knife thing? have you carved before?

For the carving on the sides Id go Huon Pine... Im assuming that its going to be a small box right? Huons the go easy to carve and finishes beautifully... dont go the hardwoods for a start Jarrahs a right bitche as are most of the others you want a nice soft wood with a good grain pattern that doesnt tear out a lot... take your time with it though

I tend to use ply on the base simply cause its stable and easy to work and the base is something that no one ever looks at though some stain works wonders on it

So have you a plan in mind? some details to share? timbers your going to use?

Are you gonna go the whole hog with it and make EVERYTHING for in in wood as well? Hinges clasp etc? seriously theres a wealth of info here for doing that... dont be scared of by thinkin that making wooden clasps and hinges is hard mate believe me theyre easy as!

Good luck with it and share what you do eh?


oooh and do have a run over what others have done theres some flamin great stuff in the forums.

Thanks for the advice guys, i'll make sure to do a bit more research beforehand.

Dingo,

Yeah i'm fairly new to woodworking as in i've got plenty of tools to work with and have used them many times but never for actually making a finished product from start to finish. More for repairing/landscaping projects.
I've done simple decorative carving before and yes, have very sharp chisels to boot
The carving was going to be a basic design and done before actually fitting the structure together so that i could make use of the pegboard i made to carve on. (easier for me to navigate the piece)
As for plans, the basic size is yet to be finallised as they're for a set of chess pieces and i need to sneak them back to my house to make sure i make a large enough box lol
I'd still like to have a go at dovetails as i like the detail it adds and after looking at a few pics of finished pieces in these forums, have a good idea of how to do a lid. I was just going to go with metal hinges but the wooden ones sound interesting, i'll look those up as well.

Thanks for the info so far guys, once i've sorted through some more forums and websites, i'll post up plans and some photos after i start

Paul