Basic Box Making

by Doug Stowe

Overview

Winner of a 2008 Golden Hammer Writing Award.

Learn the art of box making from one of the foremost experts of the craft. Through Doug Stowe's decades of experience, you'll learn the basic techniques to get started, as well as more advanced ways to approach finely crafted boxes.

Project after project, your skills will build, and you'll come to refine your work, asking how can processes could be simplified and how can finishes be improved. Throughout the book, Stowe offers this advice: Repeat yourself. Repetition leads to refinement, and refinement leads to success.

Though it's not necessary to build the projects in this book in any particular order, they are arranged by the level of difficulty. As you grow in confidence working through the projects in this book, use your imagination and ask a few questions: What if this box were made in that wood? What if that joint were used on this box? What if the lid had more overhang? What if I made it larger, or smaller? The question "What if?" will challenge and engage you as a box maker for years of adventure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561588527
Publisher:	Taunton Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	01/30/2007
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	539,466
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.88(h) x 0.37(d)

About the Author

Doug Stowe, a professional woodworker for over three decades, is known for his decorative boxes, incorporating natural materials and North American hardwoods. He is the author of several books, including Beautiful Boxes, Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Box Making, and Basic Box Making. He has also appeared in two feature-lengthd DVD videos. Stowe teaches woodworking in his hometown of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, as well as at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking. He is a several times winner of the Vaughn Golden Hammer Awards for excellence in home and workshop writing.

Table of Contents

Introduction     2
A Simple Lift-Lid Box     4
Prepare the stock     6
Mark and cut the box sides     9
Fit the box bottom     12
Assemble the box     14
Add keys to the corners     16
Make a lift lid     19
Final touches     20
A Rustic Treasure Box     23
Cut the parts to size     26
Cut the corner joints     27
Make and fit the bottom     30
Assemble the box     32
Add a lid     33
Prepare for final assembly     34
Attach the hinge     35
A Sliding-Top Pencil Box     38
Prepare the stock     40
Cut the joints     41
Rout a groove to house the bottom     44
Make the bottom panel     45
Groove the sides to accommodate the top     47
Assemble the box     48
Fit and shape the lid     49
Install the lid stop     50
A Stationery Box with Hidden Splines     53
Prepare the stock     55
Miter the corners     59
Fit the raised panel     60
Cut the hidden-splinejoinery     62
Prepare the inside before assembly     66
Glue up the box     67
Cut the lid loose from the base     68
Make and assemble the base frame     69
Add pulls to the box     71
Install tray supports and lid keeper strips     74
Make the sliding tray     76
Sanding, finishing, and final assembly     77
A Lap-Cornered Box     80
Begin with book-matched stock     32
Mark and cut the lap-corner joints     84
Assemble the sides     90
Make the lid and base     90
Shape the lid and base     92
Finish the box     92
A Fold-Out Jewelry Box     96
Prepare the stock     99
Miter the sides     100
Cut grooves to house the bottom panels     101
Make the top panel     102
Shape the sides     103
Sand the interior     104
Assemble the box     104
Cut and install miter keys     105
Cut the lid and levels apart     108
Fit the support arms     108
Make the rear support     110
Make the dividers     111
Sand, finish, and assemble     112
Hinge the lid     114
Cut and install a lining     115
A Jewelry Box with a Sliding Tray     118
Prepare the stock     120
Cut miters for the lid and base     121
Fit panels in the bottom and lid     122
Cut the top and bottom panels to fit     123
Assemble the sides and lid     124
Make the top panel     126
Cut the slots and install the keys     127
Rout a finger grip     129
Making a sliding tray     130
Make the dividers     132
Ease hinge installation with a flipping story stick     133
Install the hinges     136
Final finishing steps     136
A Dovetailed Box with a Wooden Hinge     138
Cutting dovetails starts with tails     140
Assemble the box     144
Build a frame-and-panel base     145
Make the lid     146
Install the hinges     148
Finishing touches     149

Editorial Reviews

Beautiful wooden boxes can often be more valuable to their owners than any treasure they might contain. The pretty boxes Stowe (Taunton's Complete Illustrated Guide to Box Making) features here are unique, different from those he has presented in his earlier books. The progression through the eight basic projects-each showing a couple of variations-is logical. The layout is consistently good, and the text is warm and encouraging. There is a growing number of wood box-building books, and this is one of the better ones. A great introduction for beginners; strongly recommended for public libraries.

—Karen Ellis

Library Journal