more on proportion

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.

golden ratio

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.

reader query on wood...

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.

plus or minus two

Box makers often have difficulty deciding on the proportion to make a box. I'm always aiming toward simplification, in the hopes of removing gumption traps. I want to make things as easy for you as they've become for me through my years of work. Of course the easiest way to make a box with matching grain at the corners is to make a square box. But what if square bores you? What next?

I offer a simple design rule that can be used for making most rectangular boxes, unless there is something special that must fit inside. In honor of cognitive psychologist George Miller who passed away at the age of 92 last July, we can call it plus or minus 2. Miller had written a paper, on the Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two, and whether or not you consider Miller's theory as valid, my own design rule might seem more familiar. A whole set of common proportions are based on this rule which to my knowledge has never been outlined or used as I will present.

3 x 5... 4 x 6... 5 x 7... 6 x 8... 7 x 9... 8 x 10... Are any of these pairs of numbers familiar to you? Some are the common sizes that you can have photographic prints made, and if you want to go buy a picture frame at Michael's to put your picture in, these are the sizes you will find. They just also happen to be handy proportions for box making. And if you look closely, you will see that they follow the rule that if one side is x, the other will be x plus or minus 2.

There may be a simple explanation for all this having to do with the sizes of paper easily cut from larger sizes. Or are there magical qualities to objects designed according to these proportions? In any case, a two inch spacer block works great when making a rectangular box. Put it in place for cutting the short side and then remove it for cutting the long. In other words, you can set up your stop block on the miter sled and make a box and have opposite sides fit perfectly, cutting them one after the other consecutively from the stock

Make, fix and create...

making the best of things...

Rough wood lids provide contrasting texture.

As I was working on boxes to illustrate proportion, I made the sidewalls of trays too thick, so I made thinner ones and turned the first trays into boxes. These you can see in the photo above. The lids are made with rough sawn wood, still marked by the large blade that ripped it into lumber years ago. I used a wire brush to remove loose material and fuzz. Then I sanded it lightly with 320 grit sand paper, just to make it comfortable to the touch. As usual, these small boxes will be pretty (or at least interesting and useful) when they are sanded and the Danish oil is applied.

I've been making many more boxes than normal. Last September, Crystal Bridges Museum asked me if I would make 300 boxes to serve as thank you gifts for their first year staff. Those had to be completed for distribution at the first anniversary party in November. When the museum founder heard about the boxes, she asked that I make another 500 boxes to give to their first year volunteers. Those I delivered in mid December. Now that the museum has had plenty of time to put 800 boxes into the hands of first year staff and volunteers, I no longer have to keep this box making extravaganza a secret.

The boxes were made with woods harvested on the museum site during the first phase of construction, so each box has a special connection with the museum grounds. I served as a volunteer consultant when the woods were first first processed from logs to lumber, so it was a particularly meaningful thing for me to have the opportunity to make boxes from those woods.

Two bracelet boxes glued at the same time.

 In any case, I am now having some difficulty not making boxes in larger than normal numbers and my wife is wondering what we'll do with all of them.

I also started the 4th project for my new book, this one illustrating contrast through making a small series of bracelet boxes. Each will be different. The primary box in the chapter is walnut and the corners are secured by hidden splines that will be visible only when the hinged lid is opened. These new boxes are made to be glued up two at a time.

I learned that my Master Class making wooden hinges for Fine Woodworking is scheduled for issue number 234, which should come out in July.

This is spring break for the Clear Spring School, so I am getting just a bit of extra time in my own wood shop.

Make, fix and create...

Thickness of wood and thickness of sides

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.