Box Making

[CraigyCraigo]

Hi All,

I am looking at having ago at box making....... (Inspired by the current competition and WIP's)

I currently do not have a planer thicknesser or band saw so creating my own stock is limited to hand tools or purchasing it ready finished. I have spoken to my local (trusted) yard and they are abit secptical about finishing down to 10mm/12mm thick for me due to cupping and splitting concerns (from either 25mm boards or nesting a few peices together on thicker boards)........ the stock is dry but they said go away and have a think...... so i have but thought you guys could help me

What thickness should i be aiming for the the sides and lid really?

I have seen this in wickes (Shhhhhh) and thought it may be a good option to start with but not sure if it'll work out cheap or not..... http://www.wickes.co.uk/stranded-bamboo ... vt/215564/ Any thoughts? a few places with a smoother and it should be nicely finished and abit thinner.

Any help would be greatly appreciated...... preparing timber is holding me back somewhat at the minute and the required tools to do so seem alittle too far on theh orizon at the minute.

Cheers

Craig

 

[carlb40]

I am no expert so will try to help. What is your intended use for the box? If you mean to make a small box as per the comp, then thin sides will look better. I can see the merchants point re the issues after thicknessing. As although the timber will be dry, it will not be acclimatised to the final placement for the box. As you trust the merchant, maybe ask if you can buy the timber, take it home to get it acclimatised and bring it back for thicknessing in a few weeks?

Another option is maybe if you have a friend local who can prepare the timber for you?

Or if you come up with a design, we go from there to suggest suitable materials? - Maybe a veneered mdf?

As i type this i re read and see you have a smoother plane. What you could do is get the merchant to prepare the boards, then once acclimatised at home. You could thickness them by hand?

If you were closer i would offer to prepare the boards for you

 

[marcros]

thickness depends on the box size. A footprint of 300x200mm I think looks about right with 15mm sides, give or take a mm. As above, I would try and find somebody locally who can send a couple of boards through their planer and thicknesser- even if you buy it planed, there is no guarantee that it is straight and flat.

The other thing to do is to choose a timber, and put a wanted ad on here for the planed board. You are only going to need about 4ft plus something for the top and bottom (300x200mm box), and it can even be chopped to your side lengths to make postage easier.

 

[CraigyCraigo]

Thanks for the kind offers gents and advice......

I suppose with them only being small pieces thicknessing by hand shouldn't be too bad..... A benchtop planer thicknesser is next on the list....... after i have paid for the holiday lol i don't mind until i can afford it ripping stock to approx side but its getting abit old planing everything up from rough by hand...... i say it, its also very rewarding when you look back. i thought the real wood flooring maybe a good option for the interim you see as its very close to final size and shall only need a wuick plane to remove the finish...... i have under the sofa lined up as an area to aclimasise the wood lol

I'm wanting to practise dovetailing so may get them to plane a couple of 3' x 4" x 1" boards up for me and i'll just keep practising, cutting them off and re doing them etc also.

I have seen some on ebay but everytime i come to buy it i cannot find it lol

C

 

[carlb40]

If the boards are rough sawn, i cannot see why the merchants cannot plane/thickness to 18/19mm and then you can take the boards home. Cut them to rough size, keep them on a flat surface with stickers between them with a weight on top to keep them flat while they acclimatise.

That then leaves you with about 3mm to take off yourself.

As to ebay, don't forget to watch items, that way you can't lose them

One more option for practicing joints is the thinner pine boards from B&Q etc, pretty sure they sell boards between 12-16mm.

 

[andersonec]

1, Try a different timber merchants, I think they are fobbing you off because it is only a small piece of timber.
2, Try and find a workshop on some industrial estate who may be able to machine it to size for you or at least resaw it into thin enough section for you to be able to plane it to it's finished size
3, Cut it slightly wider than it's finished size, face one side and one edge by hand plane, cut it to thickness by hand saw, plane it to finish size, remember you only need a few feet.

Andy

 

[CraigyCraigo]

Thanks Andy, i'll take that on board and have a look about!

C

 

[andersonec]

Above all, take your time, check and check again and don't let it turn into a chore.

Andy