Designing boxes

[Chuck Pickering]

I want to make some custom finger joint boxes for storing tools and accessories. I have been researching jigs for making box /finger joints and have found several interesting designs. I have not decided on which one to build other than starting simple and working up in complexity and universality( is that a word?).
I will incorporate sliding tops, like a pencil box to start, and progress to making solid boxes with box joint hinges.
What I need to do is gather info on the design of said boxes.
I understand symmetry, and aesthetics to the point that the fingers should be the thickness and length of the stock the box is made from, or multiples there of. That is to say, if I'm using 1/4" material, and 1/4" fingers, that the height of the box should be in increments of/divisible by of 1/4". Also, that the length of the fingers should be a little bit longer than thickness of the stock to allow trimming/sanding flush.
What other factors should be included?
I intend this thread to be a reference for design challenged guys like me that want to make a box for a favorite tool or accessory.
If an example is needed, the first couple of boxes I want to make are: 1. for vintage 8" Craftsman Kromedge Dado set, whose original box is falling apart, and a set of 7 Forstner bits I just bought that came in a bubble pack and are now loose on my desk top for want of a better storage place.
So, please help me expand my horizons on box design. What have I not considered?

Chuck

[Lee Schierer]

The most versatile jigs I've seen use a threaded rod and a carriage to move teh box sides across the table to cut the fingers. There are several variations of this type of jig, but recently Ron Allison posted a link to this Box Joint Jig. This jig has a lot of really nice features that will make consistent joints and make box making easier.

Locking rabbet joints also work well for small boxes.
maplebox.jpg

The number one problem with making boxes is that you definitely need to account for wood movement in the lids if you are going to make them out of solid wood. When I first started making boxes I had a few lids that were cut free from the top of a completed box only to watch them warp after a few weeks because the top panel could not move due to moisture changes. Make you box tops as frames with free floating panels of solid wood. Use thin plywood set into a groove for your box bottoms.

[Earl McLain]

I stumbled onto "Basic Box Making" by Doug Stowe a few years ago, and found his writing style agreeable to me. In a progression of building several boxes, Stowe explains not just how, but why he does what he does. Each box build is different from the others, but in succession seem to build on the skills touched on earlier--but not in a repetitive way. Sizes of each could (and I think should) be scaled or adjusted to suit the need. Gave me completely different vision on "scrap bin", and I finally found a use for those.

Another of my box influences is a guy named Malcolm in Kentucky (posts as kywoodchopper on another forum). Malcolm's wood selection is incredible, and his finishing techniques are simply but stunning. He does mostly tea boxes, urns and baskets--but again, the "box" can be made to fit the need by scaling.

In both cases, getting the "why" of what they do has been more valuable to me than the "how" and I carry their lessons forward in each box I do. Unfortunately, I don't carry their execution!!

earl

[Brian W Evans]

I will second the recommendation to get a Doug Stowe book or two. I also like his video that accompanies his Taunton book.

[Charles Lent]

I have built and tried many versions of box joint jigs in the last 50+ years, but when I bought and began using the Incra I Box jig I dumped the rest of them both purchased and home made, and haven't looked back. It's just so easy to set it up and use it, requiring only one test cut after changing it's adjustments for a different width to be certain that it is adjusted correctly and the joint tightness is the way that you want it. I mostly use mine with a Freud SBOX8 blade set to cut 1/4 or 3/8" wide joints, but have also used it with my other dado sets a few times and the results have always been perfect.

No connection to Incra. I'm just a very satisfied user.

Charley

[Thomas Pratt]

When I make boxes for stuff in the shop, I go for function rather than style. Finger joints are when you are making something like jewelry boxes for the wife - rabbit joints are for the shop. I rabbit the sides of the box where I leave a sixteenth or so a little deeper at the ends. I then cut dadoes for the bottom and the sliding top, cut the top of a side to accommodate the sliding top and glue up the rabbits with the bottom in place. By leaving the bottom floating, there is no problem with wood movement (provided the grain runs sideways rather than up and down). I cut the top longer than the bottom so that it fits at the top when it is slid closed. I then glue a piece across the end of the top to make thing look symmetrical. Occasionally, I will even make boxes with compartments.

[Stan Calow]

I make jewelry boxes with a box joint jig on the router table. Two comments regarding design if you are cutting off part of the box for the lid. One is to consider the hinges you're going to use and whether there is any impact on the depth the lid needs to be. I like quadrant hinges, for example, and they need a pretty deep lid to accommodate the stops. The other is to note where the kerf will be and how much it will remove when you cut off the lid, as it will go through some of the fingers and may leave only a sliver of a finger if you don't account for the kerf.

[Chuck Pickering]

Good points, Stan. Panning for cutting off the top would kinda justify making one of the adjustable screw based jigs.

Chuck

[Charles Lent]

I usually make my box jointed boxes a bit taller than necessary, and then when cutting off the lid I remove enough material to equal a pair of box joint pins (one in the front/back, and one in the sides), in two passes, so the resulting box joint pattern will appear as if there was no loss due to the blade cut. I also make the box height to achieve full height pins at the top and bottom of the joint. It's not hard, if you plan ahead. Just size the height in increments based on the box joint pin width or 2X the pin width.

Also realize that if you dado slot the 4 sides to insert a top or bottom panel, the slots need to be stopped short of the box joint ends or it will be seen from the outside of the box. It's easy to overlook this on your first attempt. I like to use the box slotting router bits from Lee Valley. url]http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?cat=1,46168,46176&p=47818[/url] They are small diameter dado bits with bearings, much smaller in diameter than most available router dado bits. To use them you insert the one of choice in your router table, dry assemble the four sides of the box and p Put a band clamp around it to hold it together. Then place the box over the bit and just move the box around the bit so it cuts the dado in all 4 sides. The resulting dado will not show from the outside of the box because the radius in the corners will be inside the box corners. You will need to round the corners of the top / bottom panel to this radius before inserting it though. I find this method to be faster, easie, and more goof proof, than trying to make stopped dados in all 4 sides though.

Charley