Box Making 101

making wooden hinges...

2011-12-17T07:20:00.000-08:00

Open, the wooden hinge is attractive.

Yesterday I made a prototype wooden hinge as a sample for the editors of Fine Woodworking. In order to keep articles coming through magazines I have to keep busy pitching proposals, and in this case, the editors wanted to actually see a box made with the technique I was describing to them. My idea is to write an article showing at least two ways in which wooden hinges can be made, and I know from teaching that wooden hinges always interest my students just as they will subscribers to Fine Woodworking Magazine.

The box shown in the photos is a "recipe box" made of black locust. The size is intended to offer the space required to hold recipe cards. The box is not finished. I will do additional sanding and apply a Danish oil finish.

box making on Fine Woodworking...

2011-08-27T05:19:00.000-07:00

It seems my face, hands, and jigs are all over the Fine Woodworking website these days. Check out the box making. One of things about box making is that you can use EVERY woodworking skill and technique, without investing as much in tools and by investing far less in materials costs. So what you could get from this in schools would be that every child regardless of academic objectives could have the opportunity to make something beautiful, useful and lasting from wood. A box. That could be the start of a revolution.

Think we ought to aim for that?

Jamie Oliver in his food revolution said that no child should graduate from high school without being able to prepare 10 healthy recipes. Most children can't prepare even one. I won't go so far as to say that each child must make 10 beautiful things, but will ask for at least one. But don't think for a minute that many schools will get it. They are under such pressure to meet other standards.

So the revolution ins up to you.

make, fix and create...

new method for miter key placement

2011-05-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

You may know that I love discovering new things, and today I needed to make a new jig for cutting miter key slots in the corners of boxes. While making the new jig, as shown in the photo, I also discovered a new way to easily position boxes on the jig, by using measured blocks between the box and the slide that fits in the miter gauge slot. It is easier now for me than ever before, easy to repeat set-ups using the same blocks, and it will be a treat to share this new technique with my summer classes at the Kansas City Woodworker's Guild, ESSA and Marc Adams School of Woodworking. This new technique also eliminates the need for clamps and clamping stop blocks in place on the jig. If I make box making any easier for my students, it may take all the challenge out of it and they may have to turn to making small cabinets to keep their growth of skill challenged. The photo shows the new jig, box with miter key slots complete, and the 4 blocks used to position the cuts. The three thicker blocks position the height of the cut from the top of the box, and the thin block is used to raise the box so that the blade will not go as deep on the adjoining cuts.

Make, fix and create.

making a dovetail marking template

2011-03-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

I am planning to have my students do a unit in box making, so I am preparing the tools needed. The first thing is a simple jig for marking out dovetail pins as shown in the drawing above. The steps in making this are shown in the series of photos below. No doubt you have seen similar tools made of brass. These are what you can do when you need several and would rather spend your money on other things. Because the ends are 90 degrees, they can also be used for marking the other lines necessary for cutting dovetails. And it is so much more fun to make things yourself. No shopping on-line, no credit card required, no waiting for the UPS truck to arrive, and you have the fun and satisfaction of having made something yourself.

Tilt the sawblade to 8 degrees and cut the dovetail shape.

Return the blade to 90 degrees and remove the stock between the angled cuts

Make a cut with the blade height set at 3/8 in.


Set the fence 1/8 in. from the blade and rip to finish forming the template.

boxes from readers

2011-02-10T18:15:00.000-08:00

Every once in awhile, I am contacted by readers with boxes to share. The tea box ws made by John Gasser for his Daughter-in Law, and you can see from her reaction that the box is a success. The Pin and Earring chest was made by Les Riddell.

I had the following question about wood movement:

I have constructed a small jewelry box recently and have some wood movement concerns. The box is 11” wide (the front and back), 6” deep (the sides), and 5.5” high and is made of 1/2” cherry. The grain runs in the same direction for all of the panels. The sides have vertical rabbets on each side of 1/4“ depth and 1/2” width. For the bottom, I cut rabbets of 1/4“ depth and 1/2” on all four sides.

I am worried that the wood on the bottom and top of the box will expand enough the sides or front/back. I live in the Boston area, so there is some summer humidity, but it’s not like I’m sending the box to south Florida. Should I be concerned?

Wood will almost always expand and contract, even when you have heated and air conditioned space. It will not expand or contract any significant amount in length. My rule of thumb is to allow for both expansion and contraction, with the expansion often being the more destructive effect, pushing parts apart at the corners. So I generally allow 1/32 to 1/16 in. expansion space per 8 inches of board width. This can vary some by species and will vary more dependent on the condition of the materials and their storage and working conditions with regard to humidity. If your storage and working conditions are on the moist side, or during the moist season, build looser than you would be inclined during the driest of conditions. You can take each board as a science experiment, worthy of investing a great deal of time, or knowing what wood does, just take your best shot. You will get more done if you take your best shot.

latest box design

2010-11-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

since I'm still not bored with my latest box design, I share it again, after adding one more coat of oil, a lining, and felt feet. this will be sent to Fine Woodworking to be shared with readers as part of a router bit review.

testing router bits...

2010-11-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

I have been asked by Fine Woodworking to do a small box to demonstrate the use of the tiny router bits, so I am making a small Greene and Greene styled box with box joint corners. First (after resawing and planing the stock to an appropriate thickness) comes the use of the table saw sled to cut the parts to exacting lengths. This requires two settings of the stop block.

Two settings of the stop block gives material for two boxes.

Next, I use a sled on the table saw with a guide pin to cut the finger joints. as shown in the images below. Now the box parts are ready to test router bits.

This technique of cutting box joints becomes easier with practice. Knowing just how tight to hold the stock against the guidepin helps. If you apply a lot of pressure one time, but simply just touch lightly the next, the distance between cuts can be distorted leading to a poor fit between parts. Practice, practice, and practice.

Use a 5/16 in. box joint blade and 5/16 in. drill bit as guide pin.


Trial fitted finger joints... a tight, but near perfect fit.

Sander holder

2010-11-08T14:56:00.000-08:00

A reader, Roger, sent this idea for holding a sander inverted for sanding small boxes. It is simply a board, some zip ties, and clamps.

Planing thin stock

2010-10-31T06:48:00.000-07:00

Reader Ray, asked the following:

I'm looking at one of the plans in your Basic Box Making book - the jewelery box - to find out more about dividers. You use 1/8" stock and that would seem good for the box I want to make. My thickness planer recommends 1/4" as the thinnest cut for material. How do you get material that thin? I've done a quick check at the local stores and they don't have anything like that in stock. I don't want to buy a thickness sander - although it sounds like a great tool.

Lay a piece of 3/4 inch plywood on the table of the planer and attach a cleat at the under side of the board. Use it as a support under the planer cut. Wax it so that the wood slides smoothly on it. At Marc Adams School of Woodworking, the planers are equipped with melamine boards for this purpose. The melamine provides an extra smooth passage for thin wood through the cut. I also rip thin wood on the table saw, and depending on the sharpness and quality of the blade, I can get a pretty smooth cut requiring little sanding. If using the planer to get 1/8 inch stock be sure to support it as it enters and exits the cut. I lift up on in developing some curvature which develops a tension that helps it to not be lifted by the blades during the cut. In the photo, a cleat on the underside of the board secures it in place on the planer table.

let it begin with schooling

2010-10-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

As many of my readers know, my first published articles and books were about box making, and still, after over 30 years as a professional woodworker, a portion of my annual income is from making small boxes to sell through gift shops, craft fairs and galleries. I got the following email on Friday describing the potential for box making in schools...

I teach woodshop at a public high school in St. Paul, MN and wanted to write you and tell you that your box making book is taking my school by storm. I recently was told to teach a reading based woodshop class where the students had to read as much as cut wood. The students found it boring to begin with but when I introduced your DVD and the first section of your book to them, including the introduction, my attendance went up and stayed up and the students loved the simple design of your lift lid box. I am just finishing up my first set of boxes today and I have students, whom I don't know, coming by and they ask to build one!

Thanks so much! It's easy to teach to students with enthusiasm! Your book made it possible.

Box making is such a wonderful way to become engaged in woodworking. The amount of materials required is small. The amount of storage space for materials and materials handling is small and far more predictable. You can learn every form of woodworking skill by making boxes, using every tool in the wood shop and learning what it and you can do. In box making you can make expressive heirloom objects that motivate students to learn.

tapered sides

2010-05-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

Today I began work on a very small walnut chest of drawers with sides that taper toward the top. "How does one make sides that taper toward the top?" You ask.

It is simple, as shown in the photo above. A block of wood attached with double stick carpet tape under one end allows the wood to pass unevenly through the planer, taking off more at one end than the other. It takes several passes through the planer to get this result.

more on proportion

2010-05-15T07:22:00.001-07:00

A reader, Ray asked about the thickness of box sides relative to the proportions of the box. The boxes I make range in wall thickness from 5/16" up to 5/8"depending on size and the particular look of the box. There are no hard and fast rules, but you have to admit that a small box made of thick stock seems rather absurd as there is little available space inside.

Normally, I just make boxes. You get a feel for proportion after you've made a few as to what works and why. A bit of time at a craft show or gallery will give you a lot of information. Check out another box maker's work, and make your own evaluation as to how you would do things either alike or differently.

When I teach, students will invariably ask about proportion, usually leading to discussion of the golden mean or Fibonacci sequence. I ignore most of that regarding it as irrelevant. I have discussed proportion previously on the blog and you can find those posts here.

I prefer to think about these things: Where will it be put? What will be put in it? Who is it for? How will it be used? Those are far more important factors than an artificially derived set of proportions, and so far I think things have worked OK. In addition to the who, what, when and how, your choice of hardware often dictates the thickness of box sides. For instance 10 mm. barrel hinges require thicker sides. But hinges like those fine hinges made by Brusso work best if they are mortised on three sides, and thus require box wall thicknesses of 7/16" or greater.

I have a new article out in Woodcraft magazine, June/July, 2010 about the mixing and matching of woods. The article is illustrated with a number of my boxes from earlier publications and some of my furniture as well.

Kästen und Schachteln: perfekt konstruieren und bauen

2010-05-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

My book, Complete Illustrated Guide to Box Making has been translated into German and published in a hardbound edition. Kästen und Schachteln: perfekt konstruieren und bauen by Doug Stowe is now available for purchase in Germany. The title translated into English means Boxes and boxes: design perfectly and build. Perhaps one of my German readers will help by explaining the difference between Kästen and Schachteln. The book is published by HolzWerken.

holddown for sled

2010-03-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

Dean sent the photo above illustrating an exquisite solution to getting a secure grip on parts while cutting miters on the table saw sled. Thanks, Dean. I know many other readers will be heading to their hardware stores or ordering from Rockler.com, Woodcraft.com or other woodworking tool providers.

rugged or beautiful?

2010-03-16T08:22:00.000-07:00

Jim asks,

"I have two of your books and I like them very much. My question is about durability. I want to create boxes that are very rugged and durable so they last for at least 108 years. So far, my thinking is that a plywood bottom is not the most rugged bottom for a box with dimensions of 10” x 13” unless you use plywood thicker than 1/8”. Would 1/4” plywood sustain a 250 lb. force from a foot being accidentally placed in the middle? Maybe 3/8” or 1/2” would but then the sides could be compromised by the trench for the plywood. I don’t know. But, I’m thinking that a solid wood panel that covers the entire bottom with an overhang around the edges would be the strongest. What do you think?"

Jim, the most fragile parts of a box are the corner joints and the dado cut into the sides to house the top or bottom. Plywood has been around since the Egyptians, but I'll agree that 1/8" is be thinner than what I would use on a 10" x 13" box. 1/4" plywood should offer sufficient strength except in the case of deliberate abuse.

I make my boxes under the assumption that people will offer them reasonable care. Is there a reason you have to suspect that your boxes will no be offered care? There is a balance point. Most of the things you find treasured in museums are not there because they were ruggedly built, but because they were exquisitely crafted, meaningful and beautiful.

My suspicion is that a box showing the maker's interest in skill and beauty will last longer than a box showing the maker's interest in its rugged longevity. We make things to be passed into the hands of others for safe keeping or disdain. There are lots of things that can happen to a box on its way to 108 years. Like the landfill?

Narrative crafts?

2010-03-09T12:05:00.000-08:00

A narrative is a story that is created in a constructive format (as a work of writing, speech, poetry, prose, pictures, song, motion pictures, video games, theater or dance) that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events. It derives from the Latin verb narrare, which means "to recount" and is related to the adjective gnarus, meaning "knowing" or "skilled". - wikipeida

And so in this interesting list of narrative forms you, if you are a craftsman will see a glaring oversight... that of crafts. Are crafts a narrative expression? If you begin to understand that they are, it can change the way that they are viewed. It can change also the way we work as we ask, "what is the story here that I am trying to tell? It is my contention that the physical realities engaged through the making of beautiful and useful objects is more vital, more sincere than those narrative forms dependent on written or spoken words alone. And so it is with making a box. Like a poet, great playwright or novelist, a craftsman is also engaged in narration, revealing his or her own creative soul in material form.

A simple box

2010-03-08T17:44:00.001-08:00

A great deal of thought can go into making what might appear to be a simple wooden box. The collection of idea in the image above were gathered from my students at the beginning of my weekend class with the Woodworkers of Western Ohio, WOW. You can click on the image for a larger view.

WOW!

2010-03-04T06:28:00.000-08:00

WOW, Woodworkers of Western Ohio will be hosting a two day box making seminar in Dayton this Saturday and Sunday, March 6&7, 2010. I will be their guest, demonstrating a wide range of box making techniques. If you are in the Dayton area and would like to attend, please email me for more information. Costs are $45.00 for members of WOW and $60.00 for non-members.
Another wow, John Gasser sent photos of boxes he had completed from my books and also photos inspired by another author. Great job on all counts.

Lucy's toolkit

2010-02-22T14:04:00.000-08:00

Lucy's tool kit, which I made in response to the near complete absence of tools as she entered college will finally be published by agreement with Woodworker's Journal. This will be the first article I've had in Woodworker's Journal since the late 1990's, and they were the first magazine to publish my project articles. I want to welcome myself back. This is an article they published about my work in in 1996.

perfect butt hinge installation

2010-02-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

This is a cross post from the Wisdom of the Hands, but can be used with large boxes. Butt hinges have been a craftsman's headache for years, decades, centuries. There is the hard way, using, ruler, square and marking gauge for layout, and chisels for carefully cutting the hinge mortise. It is demanding work, and each one offers innumerable opportunities to screw up. Then there is my technique that makes it easy and is featured in the April issue of Fine Woodworking that arrived in today's mail. A simple shop made jig allows you to rout hinge mortise after hinge mortise, each in perfect depth and position. I wrote the article and Matt Kenny, editor, took the photos of my process in the Taunton wood shop.

I believe my techniques for installing butt hinges are my most original contributions to the techniques used in woodworking. I use the router table and story stick on projects small enough to fit on the table, and then this simple router jig for large projects. The April issue of Fine Woodworking will be arriving in the magazine section of your favorite book store this week.

Box Maker's Bonanza

2010-02-09T05:17:00.000-08:00

Popular Woodworking Books is selling a CD compilation, Box Making Bonanza, containing my first two books with a third by author Jim Stack for a combined price of $23.99. It's not the same as having real books, but offers the content for a lower price and also allows you to print out pages for more convenient use in the woodshop.

The image below is from my much younger days in the wood shop.

American Woodworker, Feb/March 2010

2010-01-22T13:58:00.001-08:00

I have two articles in this month's (Feb/March 2010) American Woodworker magazine, which should be available in the book stores soon. One article is about making a box using the Gifkins jig for the dovetails and wooden hinges. The other is about making a very simple router table, which you will also see in use in making the Gifkins box. Both articles may be useful to box makers.

mounting hinges on the back of the box?

2010-01-17T12:50:00.000-08:00

A reader wrote asking if the story stick method of cutting hinge mortises can work for hinges mounted on the back of a box. Of course. You follow the same story stick technique described in my Taunton box making books or in my articles in Woodcraft or Fine Woodworking. The only difference is that you lay the box parts with the back sides down on the router table rather than the inside edges. It is always a test of confidence to do such things. What if you have a finished inlaid box like my reader? You can get a lot more confidence about the process by using scrap pieces to test the method. I happen to be the one who figured out how to do this in the first place and it still amazes me that it works. Cut pieces of wood the same length as the box and use them to go through the motions and test your set-up before you rout the mortises in the actual box.

Another reader asked whether the application of Danish Oil could be causing a 1/16" gap to appear between the lid and base of the box. But no. Danish oil will have no impact on the fit of box parts or the mysterious appearance of gaps. My suspicion is that the top panels are being glued in place, leaving no opportunity for expansion and contraction to take place, so when the top panel dries, it shrinks, applying tension to the sides of the lid, causing it to warp away from the base at the front of the box. Any wood wider than 3 inches should never be glued down to wood going cross grain. It is an invitation to disappointment. Instead, allow wide panels the opportunity to expand and contract with changes in humidity.

Installing barrell hinges

2009-12-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

Glen asked:

I have a question for you. Although I do not commonly use barrel hinges, I have a need now. I have always used the 10mm hinges in the past and used a (shimmed with masking tape) 3/8" dowel center to locate the correct position on the lid. I have a project coming up in which I will use 3/4" stock and will need to move up to 14mm barrel hinges. The problem is the dowel centers. I can find none larger than 3/8". Any suggestions?

I use a drill press and story stick method, and avoid the dowel centers which tend to be less inaccurate. Cut a story stick the same length as your box and lid. Use a stop block on the drill press fence When you drill through the story stick, prior to drilling the parts of the box, it can be simply flipped over to locate the position for the stop block on the other side. Once the stop blocks are in place, the holes for the barrel hinges can be accurately drilled so they align perfectly. I describe this in a couple of my box books.

Story sticks are amazingly accurate and require almost no measuring in the conventional numeric sense.

Circle Inlay

2009-12-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

Reader, John Thomas sent the photo below showing his circular inlay. Interesting juxtaposition of color and line. I assume that John inlaid the circle of spalted wood first then routed another circle inside for the walnut inlay to fit. I like that he oriented the inner circle at 90 degrees to the surrounding wood rather than trying for a perfect alignment of grain. That creates interesting contrast of line as well as color.

does this dress make me look fat?

2009-11-20T12:25:00.000-08:00

Design questions can be doozies. How can a husband answer a question like that safely and without getting in very deep trouble? Actually knowing something about design might help. What if we were equipped to discuss design intelligently?

Much less risky on the social front, but demanding some design expertise are the questions my box making students ask me about mixing woods. Using more than one species of wood in a project is regarded as a bold statement involving some risk. Mixing species of woods for decorative effect was done in the furnishings for all the Kings Louis of France, so we know it can be an effective design technique. My students like what I've done using mixed woods in my own work but wonder, "What woods work well together and why? Are there combinations of wood that work and some that I should avoid?"

I was asked to write an article on this subject for Woodcraft Magazine that I hope to send off today, and the question of how to successfully mix woods in a project provides insight into the "principles and elements of design," the rules taught to graphic and 3 D designers in art schools. In other words, to know how to successfully mix woods offers insight that could lead any woodworker to become a better designer of things made of wood. More to come soon.

The photo above shows one of the simple forms of mixing species of wood, inlaying one contrasting wood in another. The secret of effectively mixing woods has to do with two seemingly conflicting design principles... contrast and unity. Contrast is an important goal of product design, and unity another. Want to know how they both work together? In the sample box in the photo above, you see the contrasting color and line of the spalted wood, and yet, you will see hints of similar brown. That similar brown is what pulls the inlay and surrounding box into a unified whole.

two questions, two answers

2009-11-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

First about hangers...

Hi Doug,I have all your books and video. I love them! I have one question, do you know where I find good gold/brass necklace hanger hooks?
I have been searching all over the net with no success. I really appreciate your help.

I make my own using 1/8" brass rod, fitted in holes drilled at about a 7 degree angle. You can also check at Rockler or woodcraft to see what they have available. I cut the 1/8" brass using the sled on the table saw and an old carbide blade. It gives a clean cut, but I polish the ends, first on the belt sander and then with a buffing wheel.

Next, how to market and price boxes...

Mr. Stowe, I am a recent retiree with just about a full woodworking shop and I have an interest in boxmaking. What I am wondering is how to market what I make. I don't have a customer base...or time to build one. I would greatly appreciate it if you could assist me. Also...is there a formula by which you price your work? Thanks

Make your boxes in reasonable numbers so you can keep track of expenses, time, marketing costs (including time)and overhead, and then divide by number. You price boxes the same way you would price anything else. But I'm curious, you don't have a customer base or time to build one, so in other words, you won't be selling any boxes? Customers don't appear by magic. You have to work for them. You will have to take time to present your work to them and refine it to meet their needs. It takes paying a great deal of attention to what customers need, want, and are willing to pay for. Other than providing a brief note of reality, I can't imagine how I might be able to help. Best of luck.

hand-cut dovetailed box

2009-10-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

A reader sent the image of a box he recently completed with hand-cut dovetails and that he had consulted with me on veneering techniques. Great Job Nestor! Though I need not tell him what you and he can see for yourselves.

golden ratio

2009-09-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

Jim asks:

I have heard about the "golden ratio" of 1.6, but how do you figure the dimensions of a box? For example if I have a box with sides 3.5" high how long and wide would you make it? Thanks for any advice and I love your work and books.

First, in answer to your question, 1.618 x 3.5 inches = 5.663 or 5 2/3rds approximately. But the ratio is between two dimensions, not three. Just think for a moment about a three dimensional object. The golden ratio of 1: 1.61803399 provides a means to control the length in proportion to the height as in the design of the Parthenon in Greece. I actually never use the golden ration in making boxes because boxes are never viewed from the perfect vantage point from which the golden ratio can be observed. If you view something from a variety of angles, when will the golden ratio actually come into play?

I've made golden ratio scanning wands to give my furniture design students the opportunity to observe my slide presentations and call out when they see a piece of furniture that is actually designed according to the golden ratio. It almost never actually happens because most designers are thinking about other things. Like, how does it fit the room? What are the planned contents and how will it fit those objects it is designed to hold?

The golden ratio is indeed an interesting thing. Does it help in the design of boxes? I think there are more useful design principles.

It would appealing to think that there might be a simple mathematical method to determine proportion that would be better than thinking about all the other elements of relationship... What goes in it? Where does it sit? Can the hand fit in to grasp the objects inside? Is it so large that it overpowers its placement? Does it look safe and substantial, or does it look top heavy and likely to fall?

The easiest thing is to design for what goes in the box, but if you don't know that, design from the wood that you have available, or knowing that box making is a process in which a single box is just a step in a journey, just start making.

A beautiful box

2009-09-26T06:30:00.001-07:00

Leonard James, a student of mine from Marc Adams School sent me photos of a box he had recently completed to be given at his local Rotary fund raising auction. It is a beautiful box as you can see. The hinges used are Brusso brass hinges that cost about $25.00. Only someone who who has had the experience of making something beautiful from wood would really understand what goes into making such a thing.

Leonard informed me that the box sold for $100.00. Can you see what is happening here? Another friend of mine had sold a box with hand cut dovetails at a charity auction for a small fraction of its value in terms of time and materials, and the buyer asked if she could get another at the same price.

There is a complete disconnect in people's minds concerning the value of hand made things. Sometimes when I show my work at public events, people want to know, "How long did it take to make that?" They want a way to calculate my hourly rate in a world that is largely incomprehensible to them. In all likelihood, and in complete innocence they've never actually made anything themselves and have no clear way of understanding the value of hand-crafted work.

But, where is the real value of the crafted object? Otto Salomon, founder of Educational Sloyd said that the value of the carpenter's work is in the object, but that in contrast, the value of the student's work is in the student. It can be sad to let evidence of learning go so cheap, but the passage clears the way for the next, even more beautiful expression of growth.

My heartfelt congratulations to Leonard for his generosity and beautiful craftsmanship. My congratulations as well to the lucky person who purchased a bargain heirloom of lasting value. Those small objects made with love have ways of influencing things, bringing qualities unexpected into the home, unanticipated sparks of transformation and I am looking forward to seeing Leonard's next project.

Inlaying an "O"

2009-09-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

A question from John:

I've read your book where you make the jewelry box, and it features a oval walnut inlay with maple, and the walnut diamond in the middle. I have read that chapter over and over but for some reason its not soaking in. I understand I need to make templates to make templates, your inlay is actually more complex than what I need to do. I'm just inlaying the spalted "O" into the solid walnut lid. Any tips on template stock(thickness preferred) bits,guides, and or bushings would be great.

I would try using 1/4 inch Baltic Birch or similar ply for your template. Making an "o" with an inside cut out is something I would try in two steps. First inlay the large "o" as a solid piece, no middle. Then inlay the spalted piece and sand it flush, then inlay a new piece of wood matching the outside wood in the middle of the "o". Use the guide bushing set for the router like I use in the box you mention from Simply Beautiful Boxes. It has a 1/8" bit a guide bushing and the additional brass collar. You can find these in Rockler or Woodcraft.

Send me photo when you get done. You will find my email address through my blogs: http://wisdomofhands.blogspot.com and http://boxmaking101.blogspot.com

Doug

from Marc Adams class

2009-08-31T15:12:00.000-07:00

Leonard James, one of my students from Marc Adams School sent me a CD of images from my Decorative Box Making class including this one of my Gifkins Jig Dovetail demonstration. A number of my students made boxes using the jig. The photo below is the miter sled that Leonard made when he got home, customized and refined over my basic model. Nice "T" track for the stop block and the hold down clamp is a great safety feature.

turned dowels

2009-08-31T14:42:00.001-07:00

Reader Hal sent the photo of his box with dowels turned using the drill press... presenting an interesting variation of my boxes from Basic Box Making.

testimonial

2009-08-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

I have been hearing from my students from Marc Adams School, and it is a delight for me to know that what I have shared has been meaningful and of use. The following is a note from Rick, edited slightly for length:

I was in your box class and as the saying goes, "the jigs alone were worth the price of admission." My family and friends will be the first to tell you that I am very critical of my work, I see things that 99 percent of the population would never notice or see. Since coming home from the class, I have built most of the jigs we saw in the class. In the past I was frustrated because after reading many articles on how to build cut-off jigs or trying to cut mitered corners, it never seemed to work out. After your class I came home and made the jigs and they came out great. I can cut miters with confidence and my boxes come together with precision like never before. Even I am pleased with the results and my wife will tell you that I am never pleased. Just the other day I made a small box out of white oak that came from the hand rails at work before they remodeled the floor and I gave it to my boss. It was white oak with a walnut top and walnut keys. He was absolutely blown away, and kept asking how I did this or how did I do that. Thanks again for a great class.

Interior Architecture for Box Making

2009-08-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

Today I demonstrated linings, dividers and the making of drawers along with general discussion of materials, techniques and designs. I had demonstrated making regular dividers in the class last week, so these were cut at an interesting angle, forming diamond shaped compartments.

In a nearby room, Alan Lacer was teaching a parent/child woodworking class. Many of the kids and parents had never been at a lathe before. It was a good introduction to creativity in wood. Let's hope some of it sticks.

Day five at Marc Adams

2009-08-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

Today we finished my box making class at Marc Adams and tomorrow I have 19 students for my class on interior architecture. It is called "thinking inside the box." Or is it? Maybe we will have outside the box thinking and design for inside the box. In the photos below, my students will recognize some of their wonderful boxes.

Day three at Marc Adams

2009-08-05T18:49:00.001-07:00

Today at Marc Adams School in my box making class, we began installing hinges, making inlay and I demonstrated the Gifkins jig. All the students are making interesting boxes and some are also making jigs from scrap plywood so they can continue using some of the same techniques when they get home.

day two box making at Marc Adams

2009-08-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today, students were continuing to make boxes. Some were box joints made using the box joint sled we made yesterday. Some boxes were mitered and students used my hidden spline jig to cut hidden spline slots. Other boxes will be made with keyed miter joints. One student asked whether we would all be making exactly the same kind of box, but in my classes, students make and learn what they want. We have a wonderful staff at Marc Adams School, staff with whom I have worked for several years past. So together we make a very fine learning team and it doesn't seem that any students are left without assistance when needed. I think one improvement over years past is that I introduced two joinery techniques at the beginning so we managed to avoid very much waiting in line for the first boxes to be made.

Tomorrow we will learn how to install hinges, how to make inlay, and add one more simple joinery technique. Later in the week you will see finished boxes.

First day of box making

2009-08-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

Today in my box making class at Marc Adams we had a very long but interesting discussion on design, then began making sleds, and cutting miters and box joints. What a great start for a 5 day class.

ready for class

2009-08-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

I am settled in at Jamison Inn in Indiana and ready for my first day of class at Marc Adams School. Check in over the next few days to meet my students and see our progress.

interior architecture

2009-08-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

Boxmaking is such a wonderful way to learn woodworking. I leave for Marc Adams School of Woodworking in an hour or so, and am packing up boxes to use in illustrating box design. I've found that providing concrete examples also gives starting point for discussion. My box making class will be very much like the others I've offered at Marc Adams, in that each class is actually unique... shaped nearly as much by my students as by me. From moment one, there are relationships to form, discussions to take place, and my students offer a great deal of encouragement to each other. It is a week I look forward to.

Then on Saturday, I teach a new class on interior architecture, about what happens on the insides of boxes. I am taking along a variety of examples to illustrate possible starting points for exploration. One is my "reliquary of wood" shown in the photo above. It was the grand prize winner, "Best of Show" at the Springfield Art Museum's 4 state regional exhibit, MOAK a number of years ago, and was also featured in my second book, Simply Beautiful Boxes.

making sleds

2009-07-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

Jim writes this question in reference to my DVD Basic Box Making:

In the 3rd chapter you showed us how to make a cross-cut sled (something I’ve always needed) and I was successful in getting the sled made!! The problem I’m having is that the sled doesn’t slide as easily as I thought it would. I know there are probably a number of things to try but have you ever had a sticky sled? I tried soaping the runners and I also tried steel wool. I then tried sanding the entire under-carriage of the sled. It just seems to take too much effort to push the sled. I checked the spacing between runners and they appear to be the right distance. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

My response: How many screws did you put in the runners? One problem I've seen is that woodworkers think that if two screws go in, surely 5 or 6 more would be even better. If your runners slide smoothly then two screws in each should be enough. More will actually expand the runners, making them fit too tightly in the miter gauge slots. Wax will help. If you've put in lots of extra screws, begin removing some until it slides smooth. Did you follow the sequence I showed in the DVD with the first screws being installed from beneath, using a square to align? Then, I assume you added the second runner by screwing in from above. If you only used two screws in each runner as I suggest, remove one screw and see how it slides. If it is still tight, put that screw back and remove the other. Check it. When it slides smoothly, put a 2nd screw in at another spot along the runner, this one also from above.

In a magazine, I had noticed that one well known woodworking writer made a sled with lots of screws holding the runners in place. He then spent another 15 minutes or so, sanding the runners to fit the slots. You can always sand like he did, but it is much better to get it right using the easier method.

how to set price

2009-07-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

I got an inquiry from a box maker, Bob, who is making boxes for his first show and he asked the question, how to set price? That question is a doozie. When you are in your shop working on boxes, you can run things through your head, "I spent this amount on material and hinges, then if I make this many and sell them for that much, I'll make that amount of money." Those calculations fail to give the full picture. "How much do you think your time is worth when you are out of the wood shop?"

If your objective in selling your work is just to clear a few things out so you can make more and perhaps buy a new tool, and you are looking forward to sitting in a booth for a weekend, wondering when you can take a bathroom break, you may be satisfied with setting a selling price that fails to consider your marketing costs.

Galleries have mark-up on work because they have expenses. If you are selling your work direct, you also have expenses that should be reflected by mark-up in the selling price. Recently in a woodworking magazine, an editor was discussing his disappointment at a local craft show. He walked through and said to himself, "I could make that as nice as that for less money." But the fact was, he didn't and was unwilling to sit in a booth and sell his own work at that price. So here are a few of the things that craftsmen don't consider when doing their first show, and that should be considered in setting price: printing expenses, booth fees, travel expenses, packing materials, a margin to cover your time trying to sell the things. You can choose to just do the whole thing as a hobby, and in doing so, undercut the pros who are trying to make a living. They really do have to consider all the expenses in bringing their work to market. Their consideration of those costs is a matter of survival. You may have the luxury of not thinking about those things. But do yourself and the professional craftsmen of the world a big favor. Charge your customers for all the expenses. That will be good for your pocket book and sustain the market value of professional craft work. Would you really want to undercut their inspirational endeavors?

two quick questions...

2009-07-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

The first question to come in this morning concerns cutting box joints in angled stock. Can they be done on the table saw or are they best done by hand? Cutting box joints by hand, if you have the skills to do so is one of those things you just wouldn't bother to do. Dovetails would be the more interesting choice. The good news is that yes, angled box joints can be cut quite easily on a table saw. The only challenge is in knowing where to cut the first finger, and I would control the first cuts on each piece by using a stop block.

The second question comes from one of my students from last week's class. He is interested in buying a small, inexpensive table saw for making boxes in a small space in his basement and he is looking at the Ryobi BTS21.

My view of table saws comes from being actively involved in box making and as a box maker, I find that model lacking in essentials. It has no miter gauge slots, is difficult to install zero clearance inserts, and can only use a 6 inch dado (uncommon). While this saw can cut wood and is easy to fold and put away (It has its own wheels), it doesn't lend itself to the common, easy and safe box making techniques. It is far better buy old and used, tried and true, rather than a cheap saw with newfangled gimmicks that add little to its successful use.

YMMV

Box Making day 5

2009-07-17T13:26:00.001-07:00

Today was day 5 of my ESSA box making class and you can see the results. Miters that fit. Box joints that fit tight. Lift lids and hinged lids, interesting pulls and feet. Plus some very happy box makers who have learned a lot and have work to show for it.

Box Making at ESSA day 4

2009-07-16T16:31:00.001-07:00

Tillian is almost finished with his box, and Les has finished his first. Both show creativity. In a final day of box making, most of the students will make one more.

Box making at ESSA, day 3

2009-07-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

It has been an exciting day in the woodshop. My students now have boxes ready to apply hinges. As shown in the photo above, Pete cut miter key slots in the sides of his box to give greater strength and lasting integrity to the corner joints.

Learning new things is natural to humanity. Human beings strive for learning opportunities. So why is it that we fail to engage our children in schools? Could it be something in the way we teach? We look for outcomes satisfactory to the teachers, parents, administrators and even tax payers but forget that the most important outcomes are the feelings of tangible accomplishment that students feel in response to their efforts. After a time, they learn that effort is disassociated with the kinds of feelings they most crave.

I got something in the mail today that made this day special for me. Matthew B. Crawford sent a signed copy of his book Shop Class as Soulcraft. I am deeply honored to quote the first lines from Chapter one:

In schools, we create artificial learning environments for our children that they know to be contrived and undeserving of their full attention and engagement... Without the opportunity to learn through the hands, the world remains abstract, and distant, and the passions for learning will not be engaged.
-- Doug Stowe Wisdom of the Hands (blog) October 16, 2006

Box Making at ESSA, day two

2009-07-15T15:57:00.001-07:00

Today was the second day of my box making class at the Eureka Springs School of the arts. In the photos above and below, you can see Bill studying the assembly of his box, while Tillian makes grooves on the edges of his top panel to fit the sides. Bob assists with safety on the table saw.

essa box making class, day one.

2009-07-13T14:50:00.001-07:00

Today we did a lot of talk about design and the origins of creativity and the narrative aspects of box making. Then I demonstrated making two kinds of sled and 4 kinds of boxes. Finally, we prepared stock for my student's first set of boxes. The book matched walnut will be used to make boxes with a four corner match, so each piece requires some arrangement and study as shown in the photo above. I was too busy teaching to get photos taken except this one at the last minute. There are so many things to learn about box making.

next steps

2009-07-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

To know what we're making you will have to review earlier posts. My wife and I are currently driving across Kansas and I am remembering the question, which is flatter, Kansas or a pancake. The research indicated that Kansas was actually flatter, but there are actually many hills when traveling across the state.

Take a piece of maple stock and make a series of cuts, each with a 1/8 inch kerfed blade. You will only need to cut in a few inches, then pull the stock back from the cut, turn the saw off and adjust the fence for the next cut, and repeat until you have a series of uniform cuts.

Then insert 1/8 inch thick spacers into the saw kerfs as shown in the photo below. I use some hot melt glue to hold the spacers in place so they don't shift. The tools you will need tomorrow are a scroll saw. You can see the crescent moon inlay complete. You can also see your next step shown on the edge of the walnut stock. Make saw kerfs into the edge defining the thickness of the heart. Now you can be creative. I cut out a paper heart and then sketched wings on the maple stock. You can do something different if you like and then share it with other readers.

work along with me here.

2009-07-03T18:14:00.001-07:00

These steps are the beginnings of making a winged heart as shown in an earlier post. First step is to cut a maple plug using a 3/8 inch plug cutter. Then drill a matching hole with a 3/8" drill in contrasting wood. In this case, I am using walnut which will be used to make the heart. If you have these materials, a plug cutter and drill, you can work right along with me. Glue the plug in place. You will need to spread the glue evenly and hammer the plug in as far as it will go. When the glue has dried, drill another 3/8 inch hole slightly offset to form the crescent moon shape. Then drill another plug from the background stock as shown in the photo below. I'll give you the next steps tomorrow.

Get started now, and you can send me photos of your results when the project is complete.

Making decorative elements

2009-07-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

Over the next few days, I will share a process for making decorative elements for use on boxes. You can see the nearly finished object, a winged heart, in the photo above. At this point in the process, the heart and wings are being glued to a solid backing, a step which could be ignored if you plan to use it on a box.

reader query on wood...

2009-07-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

A reader, Nestor Demianczuk, sent photos of his work along with the following questions:

1. Is there an ideal ratio (length to width to height) to maintain in designing a box so that it is pleasing to the eye?
2. The stock that I buy from the wholesaler is usually about 15/16 inches thick. Does it make sense to try and get two equal thickness boards which probably will wind up to be 3/8 inch thick or should I just bite the bullet and make one piece over 1/2 inch so that when I plane it down it would result in a board about 7/16 inch thick and the rest is basically put into the scrap box and used for small dividers and trays?

First I will say that there are not any definitive answers to either of these questions. There are so many considerations in making boxes that there are no absolute right or wrong answers. On question 1. some box makers and furniture makers are intrigued with the golden ratio, a system of proportion based in the fibonacci sequence of numbers. Personally, however, I have made most of my boxes with an eye toward their use. It may be that some shapes and sizes will have particular appeal, but I would consider it an unreasonable constraint to impose a system of proportion on my making of boxes. Even if there were an ideal shape, you would have to stand in just the right position to see it.

On question 2. I find that smaller boxes feel best if they are made with resawn stock. Larger boxes feel best if made with thicker stock. This will mean that for small boxes you will want to resaw your stock down the middle and use both parts for box sides. If done well, you can get 3/8 inch stock, though I use 5/16 inch material for most of my small boxes. For medium size boxes, you may do as you suggest and use offcut material for dividers and the like. For large boxes, you may just want to plane the material down to the desired thickness. There are also other considerations. For instance, what kind of hinge are you planning to use? Hinges, because of their design may require that box sides be a specific thickness to feel right.

As my readers can see from the photo above, Nestor is doing quite well in his box making. I like the inlay he applied to the top panel.

Box making at ESSSA

2009-06-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

There is still time to register for my box making class, July 13-17 with the Eureka Springs School of the Arts. The class is almost full.

small box with finger joints

2009-06-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

Interesting work by Kintaro Yazawa offering an uncommon "finger joint".

reader's box

2009-06-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Larry Williams from Nacogdoches, Texas sent photos of a box he completed for his mother. What you see here is a son's love for his mother expressed as attention to detail and exquisite inlay.

tip of the month, make your own

2009-05-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

Hand cleaner, that is. Woodworkers who use Danish oil finishes are left with the nagging problem, "How do I get this stuff off my hands?" Over the years I've tried a number of hand cleaners with some minor success. Now I've stumbled upon the miracle cleaner, one that it seems I will never need to buy at the store, and as long as I'm working with wood, will never run out of. Sawdust! I put a few cups full in the bottom of a small trash can and use it to scrub just like I would have done with soap and water. It is extremely effective, even removing the smell. After scrubbing thoroughly in sawdust, wash your hands as usual with soap and water.

My students at Clear Spring School fussed about getting oil on their hands as they finished up end of the year projects last week. After discovering the effectiveness of sawdust at removing the oil from their hands, there were no further complaints and no hesitancy to get back at work on a second coat. I regard this simple thing as a major discovery.

And while I'm at it, I should show you the chess boxes made in our Clear Spring School 5th and 6th grade class.

The board is laminated using sawn walnut, maple and cherry veneers vacuum laminated on 1/4 inch Baltic birch ply.

Table saw or compound miter saw?

2009-04-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

A beginning box maker asked "which is better for box making, a compound miter saw, or a table saw?" And the answer as in most cases is, "it depends". You can buy a very good compound miter saw for much less than what you would spend for a reasonably good table saw. So if you are comparing what you can get for the money in terms of accuracy and quality of cut you may get one answer. Ask a few other questions and you will come up with another view.

First of all you need to understand the tools. A compound miter saw was invented as a carpenter's tool, portable, to be taken and used at various job sites for installing moldings and trim detail. The good ones are very precise.

A table saw, on the other hand is designed as a more general tool, adaptable to a variety of wood shop functions. It will rip lumber to width, and cross cut lumber or small parts to length, and do lots of other things besides. But in order to do all those things with some degree of accuracy, you will spend a great deal more money on it. You lose the easy portability, as the good ones are heavy.

The real problem with compound miter saws in box making is when box parts get small. It is difficult to hold or clamp small parts in place on a compound miter saw. Clamps get in the way of the motion of the saw unless the parts are long enough that they can be clamped some distance from the blade. When using the table saw to cut parts of similar size, you can use a sled, and stop blocks and simple hold down stick to control the stock through the cut, so in my experience, the use of a table saw is preferred. And yet, there is the problem of cost. If you plan to do quality work, cheap table saws should be avoided. You would be better off buying a used, quality made machine rather than those on the market that are little better than an upside down Skil saw in a stand.

Buying tools is not the best way to learn their use. It can be good to take a class and get experience on real tools. I have three box making classes coming up this summer. The first is at William Ng's School of Fine Woodworking in California, June 8-12. Check it out. I would love to see you there. The photo above is from my class at William Ng's school, June 2007.

Brent Livingwell

2009-04-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine's son, Brent Livingwell, is doing fantastic box making as you can see from the photos he posted on Lumberjocks.com What beautiful wood! And the craftsmanship is exemplary.

Cutting miters on a router table?

2009-04-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

Matthew asked a real head-scratcher:

My first project was a fairly successful open top box made of maple. I made a nice little jig for making 3/8" finger joints on my router table. Recently, however, I picked up a copy of your book Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Box Making. Great book! I love your jigs. To me, it seemed the next great improvement on my box would be to try your suggestion of a finger joint with a miter at either edge. I also thought it would be nice to try a different wood, so being a sailor, I chose Mahogany.

I have a Craftsman table saw, and it is the style that, instead of a standard miter track, it has a sled. As such, I don't feel that it can make cuts as accurate as one might need for such fine detail. Maybe I'm wrong...

Instead, I've been trying to do as much as possible on my router table, including making the 45 degree miter cuts. To increase accuracy at the router table, I've even gone and upgraded the miter track on table as well as purchased a new fancy Incra miter gauge.

The problem I seem to be having is that when I make the miter cut on the table, with the gauge set for one 45 the cut comes out beautifully, but when I rotate the miter 90 degrees to do the other cut, the bit seems to chew up the wood, sometimes splitting off pieces all together. Attached is a picture.

Do you have any suggestions for me?

Matthew,
The problem you are having has to do with the feed direction of the router bit. On the cut that comes out clean, the bit is cutting downhill with the grain. On the other cut, the router is cutting uphill, against the grain, so it gets fuzzy at a minimum and at worst will tear out chunks. This has to do not only with the feed direction of the stock, but also is related to the rotation direction of the router bit. You could test some of how this works with a hand plane. Try to go against the grain and you get crappy results.

The illustration below shows a rather complex solution to enable your table mounted router to do the job. It entails a regular cut, similar to what you do that is successful, and a cut on the other side of the router bit to cover the part that is not working well. This involves a climb cut, which is generally not recommended because it will pull the stock into the cut and often out of control. But, in this case the cut is very small, extremely unlikely to throw the wood and jig across the room and you should be able to hold the stock securely by clamping it to the fence. The position of the fence in this jig is critical as it being tight on the cut (zero clearance) is required to prevent tear-out, and you will notice that the fence on the left is behind the work piece and the one on the left ahead. This arrangement is to provide backing to the cut.

This is a pretty sophisticated technique, so please let me know that you get it thoroughly before you try it. And this is not particularly an easy jig to make. To be honest, I've never made one myself, but just invented it in response to this request. But I believe it would answer the problems you are having. Let me know how it turns out. Matthew, this is a great question to help readers understand the impact of router bit rotation direction. Thanks for the question.

transfer punch

2009-04-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

I learn something everyday. Sometimes I learn from the things I try by myself, and sometimes from what is suggested by others. Today's lesson involves a tool called a "transfer punch" which a fellow box maker suggested for marking the center of hinge holes for accurate drilling of pilot holes. The transfer punch set shown has punches far larger than I will ever use for making boxes, but the complete set cost only 9.95 at Harbor Freight and will last me a lifetime. You choose the punch that fits the hole, then tap it to mark for drilling.

Since marking and drilling pilot holes for teeny tiny screws is one of those things that can really bug a box maker, I expect this tool, acquired today, to make my box making even more fun.

drilling tiny holes for hinges

2009-04-13T04:18:00.000-07:00

The following is from a reader, Jim:

When installing hinges on small boxes, I utilize the flip stick that you describe in your books and in a Fine Woodworking article. This procedure hasn't failed me as long as I cut the stick accurately. Where I have problems is in trying to center the pilot hole when using very small hinges that utilize no. 2 brass screws or smaller. This seems to be especially difficult in woods with prominent grain - no matter how precise I try to be, it seems that the awl never finds the exact center and I'm sure you know how a small error here can mess up your hinge alignment even with accurate mortises. The I have to sand the sides and/or top to align with one another, With larger hinges, I use Vix-type bits to center the pilot hole but haven't been able to find one that small.

You you have any suggestions that would facilitate properly aligning the pilot holes?

I wish they made a vix bit in the right size. The interesting thing about butt hinges when they are enclosed in a mortise on three sides is that the mortise will hold them in position even if the screws are slightly misaligned except when the screw is slightly misaligned toward the outside of the box in which case the screws pull the hinge away from its proper position. My answer, is to make sure that the screw hole is either dead on or slightly offset away from the back side of the box so that it pulls the hinge into position rather than away. When using an awl, make sure the hole is exactly where you want it before you drill, and this may take close observation and a bit of prying, particularly when the wood is heavily grained.

There is another problem with butt hinges that may be causing part of your problem. Sometimes on less expensive hinges the leaves may not be in exact alignment on the back side. So you need to check them carefully, and file them even on the back I show this in an earlier post "Hard to see but explains a few things."

tapered blade and router table inserts

2009-04-09T13:32:00.000-07:00

I had a couple questions today. The first was "where do I find the tapered sanding blade for the table saw." I had no answer for that one, and regular readers will remember that I discussed it in an earlier post. the same reader did some research on his own and shared a source, Woodworker's Supply.Another reader asked about the material I use for making router table inserts. Long ago I got a sheet of High Density Polyethylene which I have used over the years for making inserts. It is easy to buy in sheet form on-line. But don't overlook possible local sources. Check out your local Target or Walmart store for cutting boards in the kitchen supply section. Choose 1/4" to 3/8" thick material.

tearout on 1/8 in. box joints?

2009-03-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

A reader asks:

I have been practicing making boxes with using a 1/8" box joint at the corners as per your video. I have been having a problem with tear out at the cuts and the blades I have tried don't give a flat top to the cut. I was wondering if you had a recommendation for a blade that is good for this type of cut.

Forrest Manufacturing makes a Woodworker II blade that has a special grind (Special #1 OD Grind) for square cut at the top, and they also make a special blade for larger box joints that stacks one way for 1/4" and reverse order for 3/8". I wrote reviews for both of these blades for Fine Woodworking. The special #1 OD grind is also excellent for cutting miter key slots. You can see the special grind on my well tested blade in the photo above, and if you compare it with a standard grind, you would notice that the teeth are not quite as pointed. This blade is great whenever I want to make a square top cut, for example fitting small panels for lids or bottoms. So it is useful well beyond box joints and key slots. I have also found that some combination blades have a square cut and work well.

The tear-out at the back of the cut most often comes from the stock being unsupported, lacking sufficient backing material. This happens when you make a deep cut and then use the same jig for shallower cuts. That height difference is the space that allows tear-out to happen And it doesn't need much to make a mess of your work. The easiest solution is to add a fresh accessory backing piece. Use some 1/4 inch Baltic birch ply, a piece sized approximately the height of the backing piece on your jig. Push the guide pin out of the way, with the blade lowered just enough so that it will cut the height of the pin. Make a through cut with the piece standing on edge, and then place that cut over the pin. You can use double stick tape or clamps to hold it in place. If the tear-out you've experienced is the result of diminished backing in the jig, this will restore the quality of your cut.

fixing a ding

2009-03-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

I had posted this earlier in Wisdom of the Hands , but since it pertains to box making, I decided to post it again here. I had a small and distracting defect in the lid of one of the boxes I made using the Gifkins jig, and needed to fix it. So I used a technique featured in this month's Fine Woodworking. It is something I had done before and Fine Woodworking was a great reminder. You make a small diamond shaped piece of wood in a matching color, then place it over the defect, trace around it and chisel out the space for it to fit. It is easiest to make the diamond first and cut the space to fit rather than the other way around. I used a 1/4 inch Forstner bit in the drill press to remove most of the waste before chiseling. This provided a target depth and made it much easier. Then I glued the diamond of matching wood in place. Use a pencil to sketch in some of the grain to complete the effect. While attempting this technique on multicolored spalted maple is not as effective as when used on more uniform colored stock, you can see that it works! The photo at the top shows the ding. Photos below show the fix and the result. If I weren't pointing at it, you wouldn't see it.

What kind of class? What kind of instruction?

2009-03-21T09:39:00.000-07:00

I got a call from a box maker and former student interested in reviewing learning options. She wants to take her box making to the next level, and wondered about various classes and the possibility of personal tutoring. So I asked a question that is too rarely asked and that students seldom consider: "What kind of learner are you?" "Do you learn best in groups, or working quietly by yourself?" Human beings are not one size fits all. Some will learn best to see things clearly outlined in books. Some learn best by watching on TV. Some (and perhaps the majority) learn best when their own hands are engaged in the process.

Knowing your own learning style is a something that can help in making the very serious decision concerning which from a number of learning options will offer you the greatest success. You can take a simple test to determine your own learning style Here. When you get your results, you may be just a bit better prepared to assess your learning choices, as to which will bring the greatest growth in the shortest amount of time and for the most reasonable investment of your financial resources.

How this works...

2009-03-18T15:04:00.001-07:00

I won't post to this blog every day, only when there are questions or posts specific to box making. If you are here and want to read more that is specific to box making, you can find some materials on my other blog, Wisdom of the Hands. Use the search block at the upper left corner of the page and type in "boxes." You will find enough to keep reading for a day or so while waiting for a fresh post.

making a living as a box maker

2009-03-17T08:24:00.000-07:00

Jason asks,

When you build boxes for sale, do you make several at one time, or is each piece a "one-of-a-kind?" How do you price a box? I would love to make a living from woodworking, but then it would no longer be as much fun; so when I do it, I enjoy it immensely.

How do professional woodworkers earn commissions on their work that are commensurate with the amount of skill and craftsmanship that goes into a piece?

Some boxes I make one at a time. Others I may make in pairs or in rather large multiples (20-50). It depends on the box and the market I have for it. Figuring a price is another challenge. Some boxes I make because they are part of an article or book I am writing. I usually don't make any particular effort to sell those as they are useful when I teach. Having real boxes is a good starting point in getting my students engaged in discussion of joints, and techniques, and serve as a reference in my efforts to describe what I do, and having a collection of old boxes turned out to be a handy thing for my box design article in Fine Woodworking.

The boxes I make to sell, like the ones on Etsy.com are figured on a time and materials basis. I realize that I am competing with the Chinese in everything I make. There are lots of better ways to make a living than by making boxes. Kitchen cabinets for instance. (though not during a housing slump and near depression.)

The bigger challenge than pricing is marketing in general. I can make boxes faster than I can sell them. Every marketing effort costs money. Doing shows is extremely expensive, with travel and booth fees sometimes in the thousands of dollars. Selling through galleries is also expensive as they usually take more than half the proceeds of the sale for their marketing expenses.

I don't want to discourage you from turning pro, however. Do a business plan. Check out the craft shows in your area. Box making is an extremely satisfying endeavor. And if you check out what people like about their jobs, satisfaction and creative opportunity are things that rank high on their lists, often surpassing the money involved.

How do woodworkers earn money commensurate with our investment in skill and craftsmanship? We usually don't. Particularly if you are measuring by AIG standards in which college trained morons make millions in reward for wrack and ruin of the global economy. But we live with the satisfaction we can touch, knowing that our contributions to society are real and tangible, bringing beauty into the lives of others.

I hope this helps.

preventing tearout while cutting miter key slots

2009-03-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

Andrew Craig wrote the following question:

I have been making boxes with inspiration from your books for awhile now and have recently run into an issue. When I cut the keys on the mitered corners of a recent box made out of clear vertical grain douglas fir, I had a problem with the grain tearing out on the back side of the kerf, making the finished product unacceptable. Do you have any tips for eliminating this in softer woods? I use the table saw jig that you show how to make in your latest Taunton book.

Tear-out is almost always a problem related to the backing for the cut. If you have made deeper cuts previously with the jig than what you are planning to do now, place a piece of thin 1/8" ply over the cut so that the blade will be cutting into fresh backing rather than empty space. As an alternative, if that doesn't work, you can do something that people tell you never to do. Make a climb feed cut. This means that you start your cut with the jig on the back side of the blade and pull it toward you with the box in place. This would be extremely dangerous if you were making a large cut, but in cutting a key slot, the amount of material is so very small that it is safe as the blade has very little contact with material. When I have experimented with this technique, I actually stood on the back side of the saw. This is a technique which I have to urge people to be very clear what they are doing... Something you would never do on a large cut, or long stock as the action of the blade would pull the stock into the cut and hurl it at you or pull your fingers into the blade. So I would check the integrity of the backing first before trying what would generally be considered the more extreme technique. I should note that the climb-feed cut I have described should NEVER be made with a new jig. The blade cutting into the new jig would be very forceful due to the amount of material engaged with the blade. The blade would throw the jig across the room and damage anything in its path.

I got complementary copies of Taunton's new jigs publication "Essential Shop-made Jigs" in the mail today and the cover image is of the jig that Andrew is using to make his miter key slots. The image above is from the magazine, but I won't spoil the whole thing. It is full of useful jigs you can make yourself. It should be available on the newsstands on March 31.

Thickness of wood and thickness of sides

2009-03-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

A friend, David asked how thick I make my box sides and how thick of lumber I use to obtain the desired thickness.

There are no exact formulas for how thick box sides should be. There are a number of considerations, including your choice of hinges, and the overall size. Obviously smaller boxes require thinner sidewalls to have a reasonable proportion between inside and outside space.

In terms of thickness, for most of my boxes, particularly for those using resawn material for the sides, I use full inch stock which tends to run a bit on the thick side, about an inch or an inch and a sixteenth. Or for fans of the metric system, between 2.54-2.88 CM. Fifteen sixteenths inch (15/16") stock will usually provide box sides in the 5/16" to 3/8" range. If the stock is full inch or slightly more, I can sometimes get 7/16" stock from it if it is straight. I rarely have 5/4 stock to work with as it is hard to get unless I have it milled myself, but it is my wood of choice when I need box sides as thick as 1/2". All said and done, I don't worry too much about exact thicknesses, just that all that I'm using is the same.

I get these same results whether using a thin kerf blade on the table saw, or with my band saw when it is well tuned.

I am pleased to hear that David is enjoying Box Making 101.

substitute for jointer?

2009-03-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

Russell, from down under (Australia) asked the following:

Hey Folks,

My "Basic Box Making" by Doug Stowe book arrived today, so I jumped in and started reading, only to find, one of the first things it says is "true the edges with a jointer".

Maybe I'm a bit behind the times, but I didn't think a jointer was something you'd consider a basic tool in most people's sheds. Forgive my poor box-making newbie ignorance, but what can one use instead of a jointer? Please don't say a hand plane. I'm hopeless with hand tools. Unless that's the only alternative I mean. Am I even on the right track of how a jointer works?

Thanks. Russell.

I wonder if this question is evidence of continental drift. Perhaps the continents of Australia and North America are drifting further apart. In the US, my readers never ask why I have tools. They see each chapter as an excuse to buy more. The jointer would be one of the first... a job that can be done quickly and easily with hand planes but which would require practice and skill, so an investment of time comes first, before you get to make boxes.

One of my favorite things about wood working is figuring out how to do without. So while I demonstrate the use of a variety of tools in writing my books, I don't want to deprive all my readers of the opportunities to figure out other ways to do what needs to be done.

The router can be used for jointing. Porter Cable (an American tool co.) used to supply a special fence that allowed a hand held router to do such things poorly. Mounted in a table it can do a better job. But my preferred substitute is the table saw, particularly when making small parts for boxes.

What you do is get a piece of flat plywood with a nice straight edge. Mine is about 20 cm. x 80 cm.) I put a wood runner on the underside to travel in the miter gauge slot, but you can also just use it against the fence. I use wing nuts and another board to secure the work piece in place and rip. With a good ripping blade you can get nearly as nice an edge as you would get with a jointer. And you can use it on really waney stock that would take many passes on a jointer to get straight.

The photo above shows the ripping sled substitute for a jointer in use on my table saw.

traveling chess box

2009-03-11T14:20:00.001-07:00

I am making traveling chess boxes with my 5th and 6th grade students at Clear Spring School and the progress can be observed at Wisdom of the Hands, my blog about hands-on learning.

tapered sanding blades

2009-03-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

Amateur box maker, Dr. Nestor Demianczuk, asked about the availability of tapered sanding disks like I have used in my early books, Creating Beautiful Boxes with Inlay Techniques and Simply Beautiful Boxes. He has used flat blades for the purpose but found that they tend to cause friction burns on the stock as the sandpaper loads up.

My original tapered sanding disk came from Sears, but as far as I know they are no longer available. I have also used a flat blade successfully by moving it over to engage the wood in gradual increments. As Dr. Demianczuk has noted, if you try to take off very much at once, the leading edge of the disk loads up quickly and can make friction burns on the stock, so the trick is to lighten the load, taking smaller increments. A tapered blade would be very easy for a manufacturer to make, and a flat sanding blade could be adapted to a slight taper very easily by a modern machine shop. Hopefully, some enterprising manufacturer will again make tapered sanding blades, as they can be useful to box makers. In the meantime, flat sanding blades are offered by Woodcraft.com

hard to see but explains a few things

2009-03-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

Some craftsmen complain about the high cost of Brusso hinges, and as I've said, you can use less expensive hinges in making a perfectly fine box. One of the challenges, however, is to bring the hinges up to a higher standard for use. The photo above shows the slight offset in leaf position common in rolled brass hinges. Remember that as these are made, two pre-cut pieces of brass are rolled together around the hinge pin, and while most hinges are made well, there is often a difference in how the outside edges align when the two halves of the hinge are folded together in the closed position. This is something that you may not notice until the lid is attached to the box, and a slight offset between the base and lid becomes apparent.

So can they be fixed, and how?

Here's what I do. Before I install the hinge, I use a file or sanding block to equalize the width of the leaves. Hold it on the barrel side with the leaves touching and stroke on the file or sanding block until both leaves are equal. Watch closely stroke by stroke and remove stock only until you begin to see scratch marks on the shorter leaf. You will need to do both hinges from the set and file an equal amount on each. Sound like a challenge? Most fine woodworking is. And special attention to the hinges is one of the prices you pay when you choose not to use the best. Fortunately, any well made brass hinge on a beautiful wooden box, will last a lifetime, and the few minutes you spend making certain the hinge is just right is little in consideration of its long life. You can buy 20 pairs of cheap rolled brass hinges at your local hardware store for the price of one pair of finer brass hinges.

lid supports

2009-03-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

Over the years since my Complete Illustrated Guide to Box Making was in production, some hardware suppliers decided to drop products. I get inquiries from readers wondering how to find specific hardware that I used and displayed in the book. One particular piece that offers a challenge is a small brass lid support. The lid supports currently available are much too large for small boxes.

So what you see in the photo above is a simple lid stay that may work for some box makers, particularly those making boxes with rustic character. To make it, I bend two pieces of steel strapping material and drill holes. One hole in each piece is for the string selected to form a check strap. The other hole allows for each piece to be attached to the sides of the box and lid. To use this check strap in finer applications, consider using polished brass rather than steel for the angle pieces.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Losing a source for simple lid stays led to this solution. In the meantime, I've had conversations with my suppliers in an effort to get the old brass lid stays brought back to the market. If my readers locate a source for them, please comment in the blog.

The middle hinge

2009-03-06T20:03:00.000-08:00

I got an inquiry from woodworker Kent in Canada about the unusual barbed hinge used in the center of my walnut and hickory jewelry box for sale on Etsy.com. This spring hinge, like the other barbed hinges I use on small boxes comes from Craft, Inc. I added the center hinge for additional strength, but it also serves to hold the lid open and stiffens the feel of its operation. It requires additional routing to provide clearance for the spring. I had purchased thousands of these hinges quite a few years ago, then left them in the box as I tried to conceive an easy technique that would allow me to put them to use.

But for Kent, the photo below will help as it illustrates the culmination of years of idle head scratching. He is reading my books and now knows the technique of using stops on the router table fence to control the length and position of a routed slot. The small recess to accommodate the hinge is cut with 3/16" straight cut router bit, raised about 3/16" high above the surface of the router table. This results in a combined 3/8" deep recess in the lid and base of the box, providing clearance for the spring.

Welcome to Box Making 101

2009-03-05T13:42:00.001-08:00

This blog is dedicated to amateur and beginning box makers. Making a wooden box is the perfect way to develop woodworking skills. They require a high level of accuracy, and allow unlimited expression of creativity, while requiring only limited materials and a few basic woodworking tools. You may also be interested in the associated website, Box Making 101, currently under construction.