1. Hello everyone! Today I have the promised MK on the loop. First there is a lot of text))) and then too))))) If you are used to buying accessories for boxes or using blanks that have everything, then this MK is not for you :) MK is for those who, for some reason, like to do everything possible with his own hands, sets goals for himself “and I want to do it myself,” does not have the opportunity to buy a suitable loop for a lovingly made box, and is also a little crazy (like me))))). So, you have a box and not a single purchased hinge fits it - they are either large and bulky, or they seem small but the lid on them dangles from side to side (I had this with the first box: the lid with the mirror is a bit heavy, the hinges are small They look neat, but the lid is warped, so I had to urgently come up with a replacement). You can, of course, go to a hardware store and buy a piano hinge there, cut it to size, screw it on, and then the question immediately arises: the box is cardboard, it’s already ready, the hinge was supposed to be glued, with reverse side If you don’t secure it in any way, it means it will fall off to hell. therefore it’s not suitable, you need something that won’t be bulky, can stick and won’t fall off and! most importantly! will hold the lid as long as possible. As a result of several experiments (and I’m thinking about continuing them))) a fairly easy-to-make loop appeared.
What you will need to make it:
1. Pencil (preferably a mechanical one - it’s more convenient to draw with).
2. Ruler
3. Breadboard knife (or stationery knife)
4. Scissors.
5. Material for the loop. I have calico, but you can use any other fabric: thick fabric (that doesn’t fray), faux leather, leather, maybe even thin plastic.
6. Copper wire (about 1.5 - 1.3 mm in diameter, you shouldn’t take thinner ones, it’s too soft), I think this can also be replaced with another material, it will depend on your imagination))) I haven’t gone further than the wire yet .
7. Wire cutters
8. Round nose pliers
9. “Moment Gel” adhesive is good because it instantly sets the surfaces to be glued, no need to wait long.
It seems like I haven’t forgotten anything, if I add anything along the way. 
3.
First we need to draw our loop. To begin with, it’s better to try just making it out of paper to see if it’s suitable or not.
My box is 13 cm long, so the loop should be a little smaller so that there is room to attach the copper rod. I settled on a loop length of 11cm. The slots in the center (white squares in the diagram) are 1x1cm, loop width is 2.2cm.
For your specific box/box, the dimensions will, of course, be different. I hope the diagram below will help in construction :o)
I repeat: draw on paper and see if the loop is the right size. 
4.
If everything is fine, cut it out of the material) 
5.
We cut out those same white squares using a breadboard knife and scissors. In my photo they are not even simple ones, but manicure ones))
Fold both sides of the loop in half. You should end up with gear structures like this. The upper and lower ones should seem to fit into one another with these teeth. 
6.
Next, we will prepare the rod that will hold both parts of our loop. This will probably be the basics of the wirewrap technique))))
1. We bite off the required piece of wire, for me it is about 13 cm (11 in the loop + 0.5 for the bend on both sides + 1 bent piece), keep in mind that if you beat the wire it will slightly increase in size (in width and length in the beaten place).
2. Using breadboard or stationery knife strip the wire from the braid.
3-4. If necessary, beat off the wire: metal bar(polished so that there are no marks left on the wire) and a hammer - slowly beat off the edge of the wire (we need 1cm of bend). Do not ivy too much, otherwise the copper will be very thin.
5. Bend the wire using pliers. Attention! If you bend the wire on both sides at once, it will be difficult to put the resulting rod into the loop. First bend one part, put on a loop, and then bend the second tail of the wire. And you need to make sure that both tails of the rod are bent parallel to each other. 
7.
The loop is put on in a checkerboard pattern: lower/upper/lower/upper.
We get an almost finished loop like this. All that remains is to glue the loop so that it doesn’t go anywhere. And you can glue it to the box. 
8.
Glue it to the box, the rod should be approximately in the center between the bottom and the lid of the box. We also glue the bent ends of the rod to the lid so that they do not dangle.
Of course, this method has its pros and cons. The technology has not been perfected) But it works quite well.
I hope this MK will not scare you away) It seems to me that everything is simple, but I started writing what and how it seemed that it was a lot and complicated. I hope that at least someone will find all this useful and will encourage new thoughts, inventions, or a little inspiration for creative exploits))))
P.S. If suddenly someone wants to repost MK on a blog or somewhere else, indicate the authorship.
I will also duplicate MK on my blog (you can enlarge the photos there, so if anything is welcome!)
Thank you for your attention:)
I'm looking forward to your feedback, comments and questions.
I can’t say that anyone can repeat the described method of making boxes at home on their own knees. But I think it will still be interesting to read.
I found a lot of pieces in a woodpile at the dacha oak boards, which I sawed in the summer, even before organizing the mother’s room. By the way, a cubic meter of dry oak costs from 40 thousand rubles. Such good things cannot be wasted. Of course, such pieces are not enough for a stool, but they are just right for making oak boxes! In light of the impending New Year's holidays - great way save on gifts without losing face.
Before processing such boards on machines, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the surface of soil and sand. At the same time, without leaving metal bristles on the boards. For any cutting tools sand and metal inclusions - worst enemies. Having cut off all the excess we get excellent oak blanks for boxes.
From the resulting bars, I chose the widest ones and sawed the blanks for the future walls of the boxes according to thickness.
When sawing workpieces, the height of the blade was not enough to cut in one pass. The standard disk supplied with the saw fit completely into the oak blank. It can be seen that the saw was heavy and the feed speed had to be reduced. But despite the difficult conditions, the task was completed successfully.
Next stage- jointing. It is needed to level the surfaces of workpieces. Without it, the workpieces may have humps and depressions on the surface or be twisted with a “screw”. In addition, the jointer eliminates scratches and burrs that may be left behind by the saw.
After the jointer, the workpieces are sent to the planer. This machine makes the second dress exactly parallel to the first, and also makes the blanks to the exact specified thickness. IN in this case All walls of the boxes are 8 mm thick.
If we had not leveled one face of the workpiece on the jointer, and there would have been waves or a “screw” left on it, then after the surface planer the same waves and “screw” would have ended up on the parallel face.
The boxes begin to take shape.
The next stage is cutting out grooves in the side walls for the lid and bottom. Chose grooves milling table. The groove has a depth of 4 mm and a distance from the edge of 5 mm. I used a 7mm straight Bosch cutter. The edges of the boards are sawn at an angle of 45 degrees.
For more precise cutting of planks at an angle of 45 degrees, I assembled a special carriage. At first I cut it out of plywood suitable thickness two bars such that they fit tightly into the groove for the transverse stop in the saw table.
And I stuck the base of the carriage on top
Double-sided tape was needed to accurately position the guides on the base. Now we fix them with self-tapping screws.
We set and fix the cross members of the carriage. The workpieces will rest on them, so the accuracy of their installation is very important. We exhibit saw blade at the desired angle and make a cut in the carriage. Ready.
This carriage allows you to accurately predict the location of the cut. This is important when working with small parts.
Pasted with inside lids and bottoms in red velvet
And he glued the first of the boxes together. Because I only have two clamps, so I had to glue the boxes one by one.
The gluing process takes 10 minutes and several hours to dry.
The velvet sticker on the lid and bottom turned out to be justified. The velvet fits into the groove along with the bottom and produces an even, neat seam.
Filing the ends on the carriage turned out to be effective. The planks fit tightly to each other along the entire length.
Finally, the boxes are glued together, which means we can continue.
The design includes special decorative and reinforcing inserts. These are convenient for strengthening wire connections. To make such inserts, special slots are made in the corners of the boxes. For this purpose, another carriage was assembled.
The position of these slots is regulated by special pads. Each new box size has its own set of linings.
After cutting the grooves you can finally separate the lids from the boxes
And there's velvet inside
To make the inserts, it was necessary to find contrasting wood. I only had oak and pine. Pine is somehow not comme il faut, so I decided to buy bamboo as a raw material cutting board. And use the light part.
And for cutting triangles I assembled another carriage
It, together with the previous one, can be used in the future in the manufacture of photo frames assembled by hand
Solving one problem with boxes, I acquired a whole fleet of carriages
Already at home, when gluing the tabs, it turned out that some did not fit into the grooves in terms of thickness. I solved this problem in the following way: I pressed them between sandpaper and a sander and walked on them for a couple of minutes. The triangles scattered in different directions, we had to periodically collect them on the floor, but the goal was achieved.
The inserts are glued in. The next stage is the most dreary and uninteresting - puttying and sanding
I cut the triangles and sand them flush with the surrounding board. Nobody reads here anyway, they just look at pictures, so we’ll make the transformer core out of wood
After preliminary sanding, the boxes begin to take on their final appearance.
There is still putty and coating ahead
I have already prepared the hinges and locks. Fasteners - self-tapping screws 2.5x8.
At the stage of sanding, puttying and sanding again, I realized that the carpenter’s main tool was not a saw, nor a chisel, but sandpaper. I have never used any other tool as much as sandpaper. Especially when fitting lids to boxes after a rough saw cut. In addition, it turned out that an ordinary construction spatula is not the best handy tool for such work. You need to look for something more compact.
To protect the long-suffering velvet from varnish, we glue along the edges masking tape. The velvet took a little damage from sanding. I mean there was dust. Cleaned it with a rag.
Well, the crown of the whole casket epic is the application of varnish
Still stinky.
This is the very stage that can immediately undo all the work done.
The varnish is dry, the hinges and locks are hung. The casket epic can be considered completed. Hooray.
Hi all!
Today I have the promised MK on the loop. First there is a lot of text))) and then too)))))
If you are used to buying accessories for boxes or use blanks that have everything, then this MK is not for you :)
MK is for those who, for some reason, like to do everything possible with their own hands, set themselves the goals “I want to do it myself,” do not have the opportunity to buy a suitable loop for a lovingly made box, and are also a little crazy (like me))) )).
And so you have a box and not a single purchased hinge fits it - they are either large and bulky, or they seem small but the lid on them dangles from side to side (I had this happen with the first box: the lid with the mirror is a bit heavy, the hinges are small They look neat, but the lid is warped, so I had to urgently come up with a replacement). You can, of course, go to a hardware store and buy a piano hinge there, cut it to size, screw it on, and then the question immediately arises: the box is cardboard, it’s already ready, the hinge was supposed to be glued, if you don’t fasten it on the back side in any way, it means it will fall off to hell. therefore it’s not suitable, you need something that won’t be bulky, can stick and won’t fall off and! most importantly! will hold the lid as long as possible.
As a result of several experiments (and I’m thinking about continuing them))) a fairly easy-to-make loop appeared.
What you will need to make it:
1. Pencil (preferably a mechanical one - it’s more convenient to draw with).
2. Ruler
3. Breadboard knife (or stationery knife)
4. Scissors.
5. Material for the loop. I have calico, but you can use any other fabric: thick fabric (that doesn’t fray), faux leather, leather, maybe even thin plastic.
6. Copper wire (about 1.5 - 1.3 mm in diameter, you shouldn’t take thinner ones, it’s too soft), I think this can also be replaced with another material, it will depend on your imagination))) I haven’t gone further than the wire yet .
7. Wire cutters
8. Round nose pliers
9. “Moment Gel” adhesive is good because it instantly sets the surfaces to be glued, no need to wait long.
It seems like I haven’t forgotten anything, if I add anything along the way))
First we need to draw our loop. To begin with, it’s better to try just making it out of paper to see if it’s suitable or not.
My box is 13 cm long, so the loop should be a little smaller so that there is room to attach the copper rod. I settled on a loop length of 11cm. The slots in the center (white squares in the diagram) are 1x1cm, loop width is 2.2cm.
For your specific box/box, the dimensions will, of course, be different. I hope the diagram below will help in construction :o)
I repeat: draw on paper and see if the loop is the right size.
If everything is fine, cut it out of the material)
We cut out those same white squares using a breadboard knife and scissors. In my photo they are not even simple ones, but manicure ones))
Fold both sides of the loop in half. You should end up with gear structures like this. The upper and lower ones should seem to fit into one another with these teeth.
1. We bite off the required piece of wire, for me it is about 13 cm (11 in the loop + 0.5 for the bend on both sides + 1 bent piece), keep in mind that if you beat the wire it will slightly increase in size (in width and length in the beaten place).
2. Using a breadboard or stationery knife, we strip the wire from the braid.
3-4. If necessary, we beat off the wire: a metal block (polished so that there are no marks left on the wire) and a hammer - slowly beat off the edge of the wire (we need 1cm of bend). Do not ivy too much, otherwise the copper will be very thin.
5. Bend the wire using pliers. Attention! If you bend the wire on both sides at once, it will be difficult to put the resulting rod into the loop. First bend one part, put on a loop, and then bend the second tail of the wire. And you need to make sure that both tails of the rod are bent parallel to each other.
Those who are passionate about creativity may need hinges for boxes. There seems to be no problem with this. Nowadays, hinges for boxes can be purchased in various stores specialized in selling accessories.
But if the box is made by hand from cardboard or thick paper, then choosing the right loop is almost impossible.
In this case, you can make the hinges for the boxes yourself. Many don’t even have to go anywhere for this. All materials can be found at home.
After all, in order to make hinges for boxes with your own hands, you only need two pieces of wire. Yes, yes, exactly two pieces of straight wire and nothing more.
One piece of wire should be approximately twice as long as the second piece. A longer piece of wire is wound around the middle of a short piece in a spiral, turn to turn, close to each other (Fig. 1).
After winding, the ends of a short piece of wire are bent at a right angle to one side, as if forming the letter P, on the crossbar of which a tight spiral is wound (Fig. 2). This spiral should rotate freely on the crossbar.
To ensure everything turns out neatly, you can use pliers to tighten the coils and straighten the entire product (Fig. 3).
Do not forget that there are pliers not only for plumbing or locksmith work, but also small ones - for jewelry. Well, that’s all, the loop for the box is ready and installed (Fig. 4).
The diameter and material of the wire can be very different, it all depends on what kind of loops you need. You can take copper wire with a diameter of 0.8 mm and make miniature loops for a paper box, or you can take an aluminum power cable with thick cores, free these cores from the insulation and make stronger loops for a box made of plywood, or even chipboard. In fact, the thickness of the wire in Fig. 4 is no thicker than a thread, however, the loop copes with its function perfectly.
The number of turns of the spiral is also selected depending on your goals and the diameter of the wire. When making loops for boxes from thin wire, you can wind eight turns. You can make 3-4 turns of thick wire.
The wire can be either copper or aluminum, or other metals. The main thing is that you can carefully make a spiral and bend the ends without breaking the wire, i.e. it should not be fragile or too hard.
You can use copper wire in varnish insulation. Such wire can be “obtained” from old radio or television receivers by winding it from transformers. Wire insulated with varnish looks nice and does not oxidize. The coating can be from light yellow to dark brown.
If you need silver wire, the varnish insulation can be removed using sandpaper and tin, coat with tin using a soldering iron. This coating also does not oxidize over time. It all depends on the design of the box, because the hinges must be in harmony with the material from which it is made.