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Making simple wooden boxes is easy and fun and you can make them in no time. For someone starting off in woodworking it's a great way to get stated, and you end up with some cool little boxes to store things in, but don't forget to make plenty of them because when people see them they all want them because everyone has little items they need to store and keep together.
I happened to walk past a house construction a few weeks ago the they were just finishing up putting the roof on. In the driveway of the house was all the plywood off cuts from the roof, all sorts of different angles and sizes, but all construction grade 1/2 inch plywood. Not much anyone could do much with ... well, except a woodworker. I gathered up as much as I could carry with the idea in mind that these pieces would be perfect for making little wooden boxes.
To watch this video on YouTube, click here - https://youtu.be/B0S1uo-mV4s
I used the same principal for making them that I used in making the One Piece Box video from a couple of years ago but this time using the table saw. The only real trick is to make sure all your pieces are square and accurately cut, I did that by ....
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Picture Frames are often used to display more than just pictures, and when the frame is thick enough, it can display 3 dimensional objects. In this project we are making a box to display a pair of First Nations beaded moccasins that were acquired somewhere by my father, then handed over to me when he passed away a few years ago. I do not know the age of them but I estimate they were made around 1940. I am also not sure who made them and I can only guess they are Assiniboine or Lakota as those would be in an area where he was during that time. I have always wanted to display them properly as they are both beautiful and a memory of my father.
These moccasins are about 2 inches (5 cm) high, so the frame will need to much deeper than most in order to accommodate them. In this case figured out the deepest frame I could make based on how high my table saw blade would rise above the table and that worked out to be 3 1/8 inches (8 cm) and so that's what it would be, a bit unconventional but we work with what we have.
Once I had the size, it was time to select the wood from my stash of bits and pieces. I expected I could find something without having to cut up some new stock and sure enough I found something ...
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I was asked to make a "quick and easy" presentation box. I'm not exactly sure what that means, so I simple set about, with the objects that I had, and made something suitable. I was give a bottle of spirits and a couple of Irish Coffee wine type glasses. Rather than simply make a box that these would be hidden in, I wanted to make something that would make them stand out, after all, it is a presentation of some sort so the box or case would should have some kind of a wow factor. After measuring the glasses, I knew the approximate size and I had an idea in my head that I wanted to try out. I wanted to make a small mini 2-door display box and lucky for me I had just received a box of veneers from Oak Wood Veneers.
This is the first time I have seen their veneers and the quality is simply outstanding. More on this later ... for now I needed to make a carcass or box that fit the spirit and glasses, and that when transported would not crash around and break.
Because this is a smaller box, I opted to us 1/2" maple material that I had on hand. The box would be approximately 14 inches square and 4 inches deep, and because there is a fair bit of weight I decided to use box joint corners to make sure the structure was good and solid.
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Box Joints are one way of connecting corners in woodworking. They look great and when they are glued together they make a very strong joint which makes them suitable for drawers and boxes, especially ones that get high usage. The problem with most box joint jigs is that they are often finickity to use and very often will only make one, or at the most two sides at the same time. From what we have been able to gather, this jig was originally conceived by Lynn Sabin and later modified by others.
We have taken the original plans and modified them yet again, by primarily making the base much wider. The advantage to making the base wider is that the jig can now be adapted to cut wood flat side down. This means a type of weave pattern can now be cut into wood and not just on the edges.
Anyone who has tried to cut trivets manually on a table saw will be doing back flips when they see just how easy it is to make multiple cuts, accurately and easily.
Watch this Video on YouTube here - https://youtu.be/XEeWSepGqYI
We made the original version of this jig first of all to see how it worked and what problems we might encounter along the way. We were so happy with the first version that we decided to re-make the jig with a few modifications and changes to make it even better and more versatile. For more info and links, read on ...