Wedding Ring Box

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SteveF

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my next project is to make a wedding ring box
tools available:
most hand tools but I am not the best when it comes to their use
mitre saw
track saw
domino
router..no table
lathe
biscuit joiner

I want to make a box for the ceremony...with a wow factor (important part)
never made a dovetail in my life so guess I will cross off list
my table saw is carp....so probably off the list as well

any advice please?

timber is not an issue..have more than I can use in most shape \ sizes
Items I would like to use and have:
old brass hinge..engraved piano type hinge"
old engraved lock but i need to find eschusion...how do u spell that ?

happy to learn a new "skill" but time as usual for most ...is limited
dimensions are not written in stone or wood yet
but guess 10" x 4" x 2"
this will accommodate 2 x wedding rings, and then all the cards that will get signed by the guests
Steve
 
how about a relatively simple box- either mitred, or jointed however, then use a nice piece of burr veneer for the external wow factor. Book matched for severe wow factor. Make the box in one piece and then slice the lid from it so that you get a good grain match. use good quality hardware because a cheap hinge will spoil it.

for the inside, line it with something like pigskin or suede. to do this, use a thin cardboard cut to size, and cover that in the lining material with double sided sticky tape . you can make ring inserts using sponge or foam and covering that. the lining can really lift a piece. depending on your colour scheme, I may have an offset of pigskin, although I am not sure what colours I have.
 
Nice project, worthwhile too.

Marcros has given good advice, bookmatched burr isn't nearly as hard as it looks on a relatively small piece. Hunt around for the flattest burr you can find with a really small, tight grain pattern (because it's a small project you don't want a big sprawling burr), you'll need a few consecutive leaves for bookmatching.

It's spelt "escutcheon", but it could equally be spelt "load of problems", avoid locks and escutcheons until you've got the time to do them justice. Maybe a simple pair of magnets to hold the lid shut?
 
How about a bigger box that can be used to put all the cards and any reminders of the day in. Something like 500 x 200 x 200. You will quickly fill a 10" x 4" x 2" box. Then inside that you could make a very nice yet simple ring box which can be taken out to use in the ceremony. It is the rings that are the important thing, so a simple box would be most appropriate IMHO.
 
marcros":1nv8ntdv said:
will the table saw or mitre saw cut accurate mitres?

the ts wont cut much straight let alone mitres
the mitre saw is a kapex so should be up to the job

Steve
 
a few good ideas already

I like the double box idea
the cards are the table cards so not so big
but nice thought about the other cards having a box
I have made pens to sign the cards
Steve
 
the other tips that I have is:

1. Make the sides nice and thin- I use about 11mm for a 300mm x 200mm footprint box, and

2. Pay attention to proportions- I use 3 x 2 x 1 (LxWxH) or 2 x 1 x 1 for rectangular boxes, and a split between the lid of about 2/3rds box to 1/3rd lid. Other combinations will work, but some just look wrong. You don't have to be a slave to them, but use them as a guide. The golden ratio is another useful tool.

3. Size-wise, I would mock something up and see how it looks to you- a piece of scrap representing a front and side and a piece of sheet for a top/bottom for example (I cut and fold paper personally to have a look, or find something that looks right and roughly copy). 300 x 200 is roughly a4 paper, but there is endless cuboid and rectangular packaging to use as a starter.
 
marcros":27uwivao said:
the other tips that I have is:

1. Make the sides nice and thin- I use about 11mm for a 300mm x 200mm footprint box, and

2. Pay attention to proportions- I use 3 x 2 x 1 (LxWxH) or 2 x 1 x 1 for rectangular boxes, and a split between the lid of about 2/3rds box to 1/3rd lid. Other combinations will work, but some just look wrong. You don't have to be a slave to them, but use them as a guide. The golden ratio is another useful tool.

3. Size-wise, I would mock something up and see how it looks to you- a piece of scrap representing a front and side and a piece of sheet for a top/bottom for example (I cut and fold paper personally to have a look, or find something that looks right and roughly copy). 300 x 200 is roughly a4 paper, but there is endless cuboid and rectangular packaging to use as a starter.
useful tips I will screw some ply \ mdf scraps together and get an idea
unless i learn a new skill i guess it will simple mitres on the corners

Steve
 
May sound a bit mad - but I would start with the hinge - ie. What hinges can you get and
make the box proportions match the hinge you like.
 
Whats the colour scheme for the wedding, its always a nice touch to compliment that with the lining colour and species of wood/stain. Some colours go together and some really don't so I would strongly consider the lining colour before choosing the wood.
We make fancy boxes as a company and, regarding sizing, we always work from the inside out. Work out exactly sizes of whats going into the box (i.e. the contents) and then make the lining or insert to fit the contents, then make the box to fit the lining or insert into.
This way you can be sure the contents will fit in the box properly and the colours will complement the wedding.

Concealed magnets are a really neat touch and very straight forward to do. Essentially drill a hole sightly deeper than the magnetic disc, glue in the magnetic disc, then glue in a very thin wooden plug out of matching timber to hide the magnet. It gives a nice positive closing action to the box and they hold pretty firmly once closed.

I really like the engraved hinge and I would certainly make a feature of that.

Are the rings yellow gold, white gold or other colour because if I were being really fussy then I would match any metal hardware to the colour of the rings.

As others have said, you can make a simple box and embellish it so that it looks stunning. Have you considered insetting an engraved piece of brass or other metal with the couples name on and the date of the wedding?

Hope that helps and I look forward to seeing the result.
 
So many things to think about now

colour is I think an electric blue but a tad darker
Wood choice of suitable size is not too bad
but I have a really nice board of walnut that I put to one side

rings I will have to ask
earth magnets...got some of them (even some small gold plated ones...so maybe no need to hide)

I do like the engraved hinge ( 1 of 2)

Steve
 
Walnut with blue silk lining would look stunning.

The beauty of lining with silk is you actually don't need to be good at it, you just overstuff the lining with loads of extra silk and you get the puffed up silk lined look.

Silk is not as expensive as you might think, look up pongee's on google and they will supply you a small amount for a reasonable cost. For sizing of the silk I would normally allow six times the size of the box to create the overstuffed look.

If you are going for the overstuffed look it helps to have a removable bottom to the box so you can attach the silk to the inside of the box from underneath (thereby hiding all the fixings) and then just fit the bottom of the box. Then you twist and push all the silk into the box to create the look.
 
Didn't the best man use to keep the rings in a waist coat pocket?

I think Adams advice is bang on, especially the matching of colour themes =D>
 
n0legs":4ryyxdxg said:
Didn't the best man use to keep the rings in a waist coat pocket?

I think Adams advice is bang on, especially the matching of colour themes =D>
I think the best man did

unless you have a page boy

is there any advantage to cutting lid off box afterwards?

apart from keeping track of the grain?

Steve
 
Cutting the lid off the box will mean the grain will match and more importantly the lid will definitely fit :D
 
Adam9453":3ge0aksr said:
Cutting the lid off the box will mean the grain will match and more importantly the lid will definitely fit :D

that makes sense

this could be fun for a novice
bandsaw ..not up to job
tablesaw not up to job

choices are now:
somehow balance a tracksaw
get out a handsaw
maybe i should save the mock-up for a trial run

Steve
 


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