An Absurd Number of Wood Box Making Tips & Tricks
Every little tip you need to know to make wood boxes. By following these tricks, you’ll be able to build insanely gorgeous boxes. These woodworking tips cover the gamut, from lumber sizes and thicknesses to methods resulting in the perfect glue up. Heck, they even cover joinery! Anyone who is interested in getting into the workshop and making their own wood box should consider some of these tips before cutting the first board.
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How to Do Wrap Around Wood Grain: • Wrap Grain Completely ...
Cut Stupid Simple Box Joints: • Cut Stupid Simple Box ...
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•• About NewtonMakes••
I’m Billy and I make fun things. Sometimes, it’s something I need like tool storage ideas. Other times it’s silly or nerdy stuff that I want to build. If you want to get ideas for making stuff, or just want to watch something entertaining then make sure you subscribe.
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The "use a stop block even when making the squaring cut" tip is an excellent one. I learned that the hard way after I spent an hour trying to understand why multiple squares were telling me the miter was square to the blade, but the resultant cut was not square. I was assuming all of my squares had a discrepancy between the outside edges and the inside edges and it was driving me nuts. It was just because as I was pushing the workpiece into the blade, the resistance was causing the workpiece to move ever so slightly during the cut, throwing it out of square.
You use the golden ratio to determine how thick or thin the box should be in relation to its size. Also, from an artist standpoint, its a compositional flow so open space is part of the ratio - and it's usually just done by eye (similar to how you figured out how thick or thin it should be). It's all pretty cool stuff that can apply to a lot of things!
rhank you
I was wondering what could make with the those small cutoffs sitting in the scrap box . Thanx
1960's Ford car doors had their own sound.
I had two 60s Fords. I feel you on this.
Well thought out design, even the box’s sound. 👍🏼
There's another helpful tip about the Golden Ratio that makes it even easier to work with. As you said, you can find the length if you multiply the width by 1.618. But rather than divide the length by 1.618 to get the width, multiply it by .618 instead. Use the Golden Ratio with a leading 1 to find the larger side and without the 1 to find the smaller one.
What a great video. I used to work with my Dad, who was finishing carpenter, from age 11- 17. I then left and went to university. I’ve taken up fine carpentry since retiring 8 yrs ago. I feel his presence with me all the time in my shop with fine tools he was unable to afford or unavailable. Your tips today are the most useful I have watched in a while, plus you didn’t ask me to buy any new equipment!👌. Keep it up. Anton’s Son carpenter
Well done. I like the way you think. Thanks
You are one of the better box-makers I've seen on YT, probably your alternate superpower next to your scroll-saw art... so thanks! I think your secret sauce is, you don't over-complicate the box. One suggestion that's worked for me - pre-finish the inside surfaces before doing glue to make that clean out easier.
Excelente!
That offcut for the lid slot would make a great handle 😊
Excellent video. Thank you. I will watch this a few more times and go make me a box!
I still have the pencil box that I made in highschool woodwork class 34 years ago and i still use it every day
In the late 80s, I started to make storage boxes for my stuff. I sized them to hold 6 of the square plastic freezer storage containers. The boxes are 9 5/8 by 13 1/4 inches. I was working as a carpenter and had access to a lot of T -111 5/8 plywood siding scrap. And I would pick up all the basement paneling people were putting by the curb ,for bottoms.Cost of materials was glue and 18 gauge brad nails. 5/8 seems just right, not to heavy, not to thin. I put a 1/4 by 5/8 dado on the front and back for strength and alignment.Over the years I have made more than 500. from 2 inches tall to 8 inches. Many in batches of 30 to 50. Sometimes I would just make piles of parts, sides, ends, or bottoms. Easier to store the parts than the raw material. All are painted grey, have a label holder and most are in the addition I put on the side of my garage to hold them. i give them to friends and family . I made 6 more last week from some light weight asian pine I got from a crate and ran thru my planer to 5/8.
Great video , thanks.
Very awesome tips thank you
Wow! Excellent tips! I already knew a few of them, but am quite impressed with the ones I didn't know! Thank you for sharing!
The "GOLDEN NUMBER" for the Length, Width, & Height of a box is (wait for it...) THE LENGTH, WIDTH, & HEIGHT OF WHAT YOU'RE PUTTING INSIDE IT!!!!
awesome
The way you store wood reveals how expert you are!!
You won a subscriber today. Been making furniture for years, enjoy watching others with good skills, love your tips, very nice. Also a big fan of walnut.
Your humor made me instantly subscribe.
Me too, just now haha. I just instantly liked the guy 😁
Behind you on the shelves are a jack plane and a smooth plane. Please keep in mind,, I'm old, and a great deal of experience on job sites. Job sites do not always have a roof, the humidity is whatever the days is. I was taught and I teach, never place a plane on its sole. Always lay a plane on its side. A wooden shelf, even in a dead dry shop, still and always has moisture in it. And aside from the blush of rust from a wooden shelf that has a bit of moisture,, you are placing the plane bit,, that you so carefully honed, and set,, the perhaps sharpest edge in the shop, and you put it down on a surface. I don't even return the plane on the work,, I lift on the backstroke. My razor sharp blade is for cutting, nothing else. Place your planes on their sides when not in use. A plane side can be sanded if needed.
A five star rated video! Lot's of great little tips and bits of handy knowledge that is not included in any of several box making books I have purchased. I will become an avid follower of your videos.👍
I've been trying to make a simple box with these large box joints and each time they end up the wrong size. But I will get there!
the only wood boxes i'm interested in are box-jointed on all 8 edges. that means they have no dadoed bottoms to rattle and waste space. you have to use p/w, and they're a little harder to build than standard boxes, but way worth it
If people are worried about gluing across the grain they could always route a slot in the lid and use a bit thicker piece of wood and glue it in the channel. Then if the lid gets stuck and someone puts a lil too much english on it to get the lid off it won't get ripped off hopefully.
If your worried about movement of the Pull tab you could glue the left side of the tab only and put a pin or dowel in the other, make a recession in the lid for the pin that's slightly larger either side for wood movment, as long as the pin didn't sit too loose it would still give you some purchase for pulling the lid open.
Great video 👌👌. Nice to hear someone talking about the golden ratio. Love the lid I’m going to try that. Thank you
Thank you. Heaps of useful info in there :) Have a sub as a reward.
Go Vols!
Great tips. Thanks Much!
Thank you. This video helped me very much
Another great video. Not too much talking as I like things explained to me.
sweet looking box. Looking forward to checking out the videos on your other channel. I searched and searched but found no link to your other youtube channel in any of you sites/social media. I eventually found it by searching youtube, but I would have subscribed a long time ago if I had known about it.
Glad you were able to find it. It's a pretty sweet place to be!
Additional note on the finish. Be careful not to thicken the lid or narrow the channel with the finish. Again, this is where an oil could be better than a varnish.
Great format for a tips video! Thanks
Thanks, I didn't want it to just be a list.
Mikey likes it!
And Mikey has excellent taste. Nice reference
Very cool looks great
most YT carpenters are also comedians now... Aside from that, good boxing tips.
You're awesome my man! I love watchin your videos!
golden ratio = LOL. just make the box whatever size you like. f*** the ratios for the record, I like a chunky box , just like chunky chili
Super lid!
I don't know if I'd agree that a miter is a weak joint, it's surprisingly strong and a splined miter is ridiculously strong. Don't quote me on that though I just watched a guy put weight on joints
I make boxes like this as part of a side business. Before I used splines in my mitre joints my boxes would split at the joint when shipping them, especially in cold weather. I always recommend splines in smaller projects with mitre joints.
Oh man, do I love the look of walnut. ❤
Nice and thanks for the tips. Did learn a few things at 80. Never too old. Top is outstanding. JimE
Awesome to hear!
Stunning box, Billy! Really amazing work! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Thanks! It looks too pretty for blades now. 😂
Great set of tips. The wrap around grain element is almost completely lost with the box joints. Stick to miter joints to get the full effect.
These are great tips. I like to make boxes. I’ve incorporated some of these along my journey. I picked up some new tips today that I can’t wait to try out.
Very cool to hear!
I have everything to make something like this, but no drum sander or planer. Can I just use a ROS after resawing the wood, to smooth it out?
You should. A hand plane can get you there too, but it takes a bit of knowing how to sharpen and set up the plane. For flatness, you can attach a large sheet of sandpaper to a true flat surface and lap it to flatness.
Good idea. I don't have a hand plane, just a couple of small block planes.
Box looks great, Thanks ... I tried to purchase items off of U-tube and was not able to. How do I do it? I picked out the items they showed that they were in my cart but, I was not able to purchase it was plans for your wine rack and 3 - D cutting board. Thanks in advance
Shoot me an email through my website 👍
This video had some really helpful and subtle tips - thank you! Instant like and subscribe :). If I could suggest a video topic, I noticed you have some technique and skill applying the finish. I've struggled many times with where to hold things while I apply finish. I tend to use thinned poly, but I still want to be mindful of uniform thickness or, heaven forbid, finger marks from holding the piece.
Thanks for the awesome tips! Enjoyed video and learned the simplest, most clever things today. Why do I miss all the simple efficient things on my own?! Thanks again! I will apply these skills to my box making moments
I'm sure you do things I've never thought about. Everyone can learn from each other.
Nice job! I love the shirt! GO VOLS!
I see you use a drum sander a lot. @2:50 what brand of drum sander do you use/recommend?
There's a link in the video description to it. I can't work without one. Fantastic tool
Always interesting to watch your videos, Bravo!
That box has too much beauty to just hold scrollsaw blades.
My original plan was to put them in a rosewood and brass box I previously made. We ain't poor and basic when it comes to boxes for scroll saw blades 🤣
Awesome simple box! That’s worth selling!
If I ever choose to sell some, perhaps. I have four giant cardboard boxes filled with wood boxes.
By the way, it's funny that you choose 3 for the height. Three times the Golden ratio is about five :-). That means you get a golden ratio looking down at the top or at the side. The Fibonacci sequence also has three, five, and eight in sequence. As you continue down the Fibonacci sequence the ratio of consecutive numbers gets closer and closer to the golden ratio!
I’m not waiting til the end to comment….. thanks so much for your content man. I look forward to every new video!
Yeah, I’m a box guy and have been making them for years and never thought to use a little adjustable square for the top or bottom groove. I may even shorten the blade on one for more accuracy on my tiny ones. I have been using one of clamping style paper clips with a couple of popsicle sticks in the past as miniature trammel device but that doesn’t allow for square like your adjustable square tip. Thanks again for making my making better! PS: have you ever thought of making a self portrait with your scroll saw??? All great artists do self portraits you know? I’ll be watching and waiting.
I feel like if I do a self portrait I'll have to cut off an ear and then people will wonder if I lost it in a severe scroll saw accident.
Beautiful box there Billy wouldn't expect your scroll saw blades be in anything other than a stunning walnut box. Cracking video whole bunch tips away now to rewatch the box joint video gonna attempt this next few weeks. Wish me luck 👍🏴😬
I really like those style joints. They aren't too busy looking and they're strong.
@@NewtonMakes yea a love them to just need try make one. 😬🏴👍
Billy, you're really full of .........................a lot of great tips (gotcha lol). Tool Shop clamps means you shop at Menards. Bill
I tend to dabble within the great halls of Menards. It's the best place to buy a toilet, couch, and 20lbs of cereal at the same time.
@@NewtonMakes Yep. I'm going again today.
I made me a saw blade holder for my scroll saw blades once out of pvc pipe. My wife stole it for her crochet hooks.
I was going to say the same thing. A few pieces of 1/4" PVC cut at a 45° angle and stuck into (in my case) a scrap 2X4 will hold your blades and separate the for quick selection and use.
I have one like that. However, my wife did not steal mine. I found I do not like it because I put blades in the wrong tubes. We all have to do what works for our brain.
Aye, sounds like our house
You should have put HER in a box... ⚰.. 😌... 😂
This, totally. -- I make something specifically requested by wife, with design consultations Wife: "It's okay. That will work." -- I throw together some rando thing just for me for a specific purpose in my own head Wife: "OMG it's beautiful... and it is mine now."
Look like booty is not necessarily a bad thing. Depends on the box.
nice job, but too much unneccessary talk... :D
To much talking not enough doing. Video could have been 50% shorter but apart from that here was some good content.
One who makes boxes seldom is in one....trust me I know
toothpick dowels on the handle.