Master class materials and tools modeling construction of a metal fabric box with a loop. Master class materials and tools modeling designing a mk using a loop for a box metal fabric If you have a ready-made box

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 a thinner one; it’s too soft), I think it’s also possible to replace it 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 per 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.

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 to 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:

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.

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.

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.

A box with a lid and, possibly, several compartments for storing small items is needed by everyone and everywhere - from the office of a respectable businessman and the boudoir of a professional beauty to the married bedroom, living room, nursery and kitchen. Making a box with your own hands is a matter of prestige and a touchstone for a craftsman, but it’s not just about creative self-expression.

Hobbyists make boxes from a wide variety of materials (see figure), from traditional wood and metal to such as old postcards, packaging boxes, beads, yarn, and even... pasta (bottom row in the figure).:

A beautiful box can be made, for example. from a reel of tape, see video:

Video: box made from a tape reel

What's the secret?

Such different boxes in Fig. something in common. A seemingly simple little thing - a box - combines the requirements for the strength and reliability of the base, quality, durability and durability of the finish, originality of design, combined with a subtle style, and therefore traditionally costs a lot of money. 5000 rub. for a good box of average price segment This is still a little, and therefore there are more than enough people who want to make boxes on their own. Well, just a box with a lid, what's in it? But in reality it turns out that making a box with your own hands is not so easy. The work of making a box is simple, but painstaking. The key to the most exquisite beauty - solid foundation. Michelangelo complained that it sometimes took him longer to find a suitable block of marble than to sculpt a statue. This is in Italy, whose marble is considered the best in the world. Therefore, this article is not in the spirit of: N photos + M videos = K ideas, although it is, hopefully, sufficiently supplied with illustrations and video materials.. And not in the spirit of: “Let’s take right hand a tool called scissors (should detailed description, what it is, with a classification worthy of Linnaeus into types, genera and species). In this publication, the emphasis is given, firstly, on how to see in the intended product weak spots structures and strengthen them. Secondly, how can you still make someone beautiful and unique without having an artistic education?

Note: The article, unfortunately, does not discuss carved stone boxes and forged metal. To make them, in addition to a delicate taste, a sharp eye and a faithful hand, a complex production equipment and solid skills in using it.

A nuance with the material

So, we will make a box from what is at hand at home. You may have to think about purchasing high-quality material if you are planning a jewelry box made of precious metals with real stones, natural or synthetic (cubic zirconia, garnetite, etc.). Jewelry can be stored in a regular box with several compartments, see below.

What's the matter? The first is the abrasion of the jewelry base. Jewelry gold of 583 samples, of course, rubs less than 9999, but it still wears out. Therefore, you cannot line a jewelry box with any fabric or make it cardboard (see below). Fibers of cellulose, wool, silk and nanoscale polymers are good abrasives.

Second, in the microclimate of the box. She has to breathe like wooden house, and the material of the box does not emit the slightest bit of harmful fumes. Not harmful to humans, but to stones. Insignificant impurities of some organic substances that are constantly present in the air can spoil the water of even ruby or sapphire, and the color of microporous stones (agate, jasper, turquoise, lapis lazuli, malachite, selenite, etc.) will certainly be affected over time. Silver and its alloys are known to darken in air, and excessive cleaning also causes abrasion of the metal.

It’s a surprising coincidence, but the conditions for storing jewelry at home are almost the same as those for... smoking cigars. If you come across an empty cigar box or humidor, this is a ready-made base for a jewelry box. Humidors are made from Spanish cedar, but linden is no worse. Birch will also work, although its fibers are harder than linden fibers. The wood, of course, must be room-dry (up to 12% humidity), seasoned, and free from defects.

Note: Siberian cedar as a plant it is not actually cedar (Cedrus sp.), but cedar pine Pinus sibirica. For humans, furniture made from cedar pine boards is certainly useful; definitely not for jewelry either.

Cardboard boxes

The cardboard box, of course, will not be waiting for the grandchildren of the owner. But she can serve herself long years, and does not require knowledge of carpentry. And most importantly, it will give you the opportunity to experience the work and skills of artistic design. A finish that holds securely on cardboard will be even more durable and resistant on wood. If the product didn’t work out, it’s okay, it’s just cardboard.

A box made of cardboard can look simply magnificent (see figure), and even in appearance be almost indistinguishable from one made from a more expensive and difficult-to-work material, see video:

Video: DIY cardboard box

Working methods

Cardboard for making boxes is used solid, plain, or, better, electrical, and corrugated packaging; the latter is often in the form of ready-made boxes. The methods of working with them differ quite significantly, but what they have in common is, firstly, the impregnation of the workpieces with a water-polymer emulsion (WPE), it will strengthen the material and make it less hygroscopic. Impregnation is done with a brush in 2-6 steps, alternately on both sides. Each time they are soaked not abundantly, with breaks, so that the cardboard does not become soggy, but the EPE should saturate it through and through. After impregnation, the workpieces are dried at room temperature from 24 hours

Secondly, a loop(s) for hanging the lid. These are 2 strips of canvas, or thin hemp burlap, 35-45 mm wide (approx. 5 mm per fold), glued with PVA on both sides of the parts. The outer strip is cut out with wings in the middle; the back wall is made 5 mm lower than the front and sides. After gluing, nylon, silk, propylene, etc. are tightened into the resulting sleeve. slippery cord with a diameter of approx. 4 mm, it will be instead of a hinge. Since the box is not a skirt or pants, the safety pin to which the insert is attached is pushed into the sleeve with a thin knitting needle. Finally, the wings are folded inward and stitched. You cannot install the insert in advance: if it sticks to at least one part, the cardboard will wrinkle and tear.

And thirdly, the workpieces are impregnated at intervals of 10-30 minutes, without waiting for the previous one to completely dry. This requires some skill, but in the end the slightly damp workpiece easily bends according to the template; You just need to wrap it with PE film to prevent it from sticking. It takes quite a long time for the workpiece to dry through the film, up to 3-4 days, but due to the absence of residual stresses in the material, bent dry in place, the product will be very durable. It is not necessary to make a template specifically; very often it is possible to get by with improvised means. For example, how the blanks of the sidewalls of a heart-shaped box are bent using a pair of household utensils without wrapping the blanks with film, see Fig. on right. By moving them and rotating them, we get the desired configuration. It is necessary to bend a couple of strips at once so that the heart does not turn out lopsided, i.e. The containers need to be quite high. You need to put some weights in them or pour water in them so that the drying cardboard does not pull the supports. In this case, the voids of corrugated cardboard blanks should be oriented vertically.

Note: Heart boxes decorated in the kanzashi style look very impressive, see video:

Video: Kanzashi style box

Solid cardboard

It is easier to work with solid cardboard, because... there is no need to protect the ends of the parts from crushing. There is only one nuance - with electrical cardboard. It is very strong and rigid, but if it has been rolled into a roll, it will not be possible to roll it back into a dry sheet. You will have to properly saturate the EPE and dry it under pressure between films; So the electric cardboard can dry for a week or more.

The box is made from simple solid cardboard using the usual methods in cardboard making; master class in pictures, see figure:

In this case, pre-impregnation of the sheets of material is not used, so the whole job takes a couple of hours at most. But a box made of soaked and dried cardboard will last much longer, up to 10 years or more.

Note: Patterns of 3 original boxes made of solid cardboard are given in Fig. below. The folds (wings) for gluing are not shown, because It is better to glue cardboard boxes in a more aesthetic and reliable way, see below.

Corrugated cardboard

It is more difficult to work with corrugated cardboard, because... its cuts are easily wrinkled, and they fall on the corners of the box and the edges of the lid. Because of this, the assembly technology is changing, ensuring the strength and durability of the product. A round corrugated cardboard box covered with reinforcing decor can be quite durable, see below, as well as video:

Video: corrugated cardboard craft box

The greatest difficulties arise in the process of gluing boxes and boxes complex shape. Firstly, only the outer layers of the parts are attached with glue, and the entire cake is held together by factory gluing - fragile, because corrugated cardboard is a single-use material. Secondly, the folds (wings) for gluing are thick and it is difficult to cover them with finishing.

Therefore, you can only glue with tape (on the left in the figure) with disposable gift box. The sides to the bottom on the petal folds are glued without problems, only if the box is made of solid cardboard. If this is a packaging corrugation, then the petals will have to be broken so that the corner will come out weakened and the box will move quite quickly. That's right, a box made of corrugated cardboard glued in a way the basis of which is illustrated on the right in Fig:

the bottom with sides is cut out;
pasted over with background decor (for example, wallpaper) or, better, canvas or jeans. Pasting is done with a turn of 15-20 mm;
the joints of the bottom with the sides are cut to half the height of the corrugation;
the joints are sealed with strips of gauze, calico, calico or other thin cotton fabric;
the sides rise, the box is tightened with a loose elastic band;
internal corners are pasted over as in step 4;
After the glue has completely dried, the harness is removed and external corners The cord is glued onto PVA or other non-quick-drying glue. If the reinforcing pasting is decorative, then the decorative cord is taken to be thicker. If the reinforcing pasting is rough, then glue a thin cord so that it forms an even angle.

If there is a ready-made box

A box out of a box is a kind of transitional step from cardboard to wood, because... a suitable box can be made of any material. Suitable working methods are applied accordingly.

If you find one that fits your size wooden box, for example, an instrument panel, then the matter comes down to trimming its height, if necessary, removing unnecessary internal partitions and lodgements, and then decorate as you want and know how (on the left in the figure). But the decor of cardboard boxes (on the right) requires preliminary strengthening of the container, because it's disposable.

To turn a packaging box into a box you need (in the figure from left to right):

Glue the corners inside and outside; It is best to use thin cotton fabric.
Glue at least one transverse partition.
Glue a cord along the top edges of the corrugated cardboard parts - it will act as a damper for the lid
Cover the entire product with reinforcing material.
If possible and willing, stick hard decorative panels, eg. made of carved plywood, see below.

These methods are not equivalent in terms of the strength they create and the complexity of the work. Cutting stiffener panels made of thin plywood (item 1 in the figure) is not as difficult as it might seem, see below. If carpentry joints have to be made, they will be the simplest ones, because... glued inside cardboard box will give the entire product sufficient resistance to mechanical stress.

Continuous pasting cardboard box small hard elements: coffee beans (item 2), seashells, etc., will give the box no less strong and durable if glued with a hot-melt gun and coated on top acrylic varnish. Additional pasting decorative fabric(item 3) with interlayers furniture foam rubber grades from 35 with a thickness of 5-7 mm will make cardboard box durable if you handle it carefully, but if you drop it along with its contents, it will most likely become dented. But sticking little things randomly on the cardboard at intervals (item 4) will only weaken the product.

Design and decor

It is possible to decorate the box different ways, suitable for acc. materials. Same for cardboard and wooden products suitable, provides wide artistic opportunities, but does not require expensive materials and decoupage is easy to work with. Shoebox, see 3 part video below:

Video: shoebox box

Decoupage on wood materials to look like stone:

Video: wooden box imitating stone

Mini decoupage of a corrugated cardboard phone box:

Video: box from a phone box

A wooden box is easiest to decorate with inlays: this technique also provides extensive expressive possibilities and does not require skills developed over many years of practice, see video tutorial:

Video: wooden box with inlay

Slotted plywood? It's simple

Nowadays it’s really simple, although through carving on plywood with a jigsaw ( artistic sawing) is by no means an easy task. But – ask nearby furniture makers if there is laser cutting of wood materials nearby. Most likely to be found, in small and piecemeal furniture production laser cutting is now used everywhere.

Then ask the cutters what formats of graphic files they work with (the entire installation is controlled by a computer), and prepare the details. file in linear (not pixel!) scale 1:1. An alternative is to draw an outline on paper, also 1:1. Cutters must have a scanner; they simply cannot work without it. Then you give the workpiece and after a short time you receive a slotted panel. With grooves for mounting tenons, if you remember to mark them. The prices for this work are not ruinous.

Pattern? It's easy too

Yes, but how to draw a pattern without being an artist and having been a truant in drawing at school? Patterns for walls are usually created by repeating ready-made elements (leaves, figures, rosettes) and have a subordinate significance in the overall design of the box. The face of the box is the lid, and its pattern is created from the same ready-made elements on the kaleidoscope principle, like a paper snowflake.

Cut out of paper 4 identical sectors of 90 degrees for a square lid, 6 of 60 degrees for a 6-gonal one, or 8 of 45 degrees for an octagonal one. Paint the same stencil on each feature that you cut out. Then fold the sectors with their vertices, turning each next one 180 degrees along the longitudinal axis. You will get something like what is shown in Fig. on right. So the kaleidoscope worked.

Some patterns of patterns of various artistic, but not technological complexity for the lids of plywood boxes (see below) are given as an example in Fig. The grooves for the lid latches are marked in red. On the left is the side; in other cases, ribs. Ribs with a beveled outer edge are better: the work is easier (no need to match the corners), the ends of the tenons are lost in general decor or even complement it, and the rib-locked lid never gets stuck.

The pattern on the right is certainly not kaleidoscopic. It is given to illustrate another simple technological technique that allows you to create the illusion of weaves on a flat pattern. In places marked with dark, upper layer plywood is not completely selected with a micro-chisel (see below) and lightly burned with an electric burner (this simple device can be made with your own hands) so that it looks like a shadow.

Note: The main decoration of a solid, tastefully made box, and many other products, is the medallion. How to make a medallion for a box with your own hands, see video

Video: making a medallion for a box

Wood and plywood

The difference between wooden and plywood boxes is that for through carving the planks are thinner than approx. 20 mm requires valuable wood of special species, and it is very easy to break carved parts from it when assembling the product. But both have something more significant in common.

In one of Agatha Christie's novels, either Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple recognizes an aristocrat dressed as a commoner by her shoes: she wears clean, elegant shoes on her feet in wet weather. As the explanation says, a real lady can get dirty from head to toe, mess up her hair, dress in rags and rags, but she will never put on dirty, worn-out, worn-out shoes. Boxes made of wood and plywood, made by amateurs or experienced craftsmen, have two such “moments of truth”: inserting the hinges of the lid and connecting the corners of the walls (also the side of the lid, if there is one).

Lid attachment

The lids of the boxes are hung on ordinary miniature card hinges. But due to the small size of the product, the difference whether the hinge wings are visible or not is immediately noticeable, see figure:

There is a way to embed the hinges of a box lid in a hidden way both inside and outside if the thickness of the parts is more than 10-12 mm, and the craftsman has a tabletop drilling machine and micro chisel. You can’t find it in stores, but you can make it yourself using a suitable handle and a large sewing “gypsy” needle. The neck of the wooden handle at the very edge is tightly wrapped with thin wire or a collar made from a piece of thin-walled metal tube is put on the neck; This is to prevent the handle from cracking. Then they hammer a needle into it and break off its eye. The remaining part of the eye will be slightly wider than the shaft; it is sharpened onto a wedge, like a chisel. They work with a micro-chisel without a hammer, just by hand.

The hinges of the box lid cut into the full recess according to the diagram in Fig. on right:

Invisible fastener

For a “real lady” box, all connections should be invisible. A solid wooden box is made from valuable wood, and the material is not completely covered with final finishing. The small size of the box means small mating surface areas of the parts and the unreliability of the adhesive joints, and the small thickness of the walls makes it impossible to fasten with steel hardware: if the part does not crack immediately, then later, due to changes in humidity and temperature. For invisible end-to-end fastening, the novice craftsman is left with flat microdowels - dowels, but for corner ones, it seems that only a visible connection is a through tenon - groove.

The grooves for the keys are selected using a micro-chisel, as described above. Corner joints can be somehow adapted to the overall design (on the left in the figure), or hidden at least partially, in the center. However, the way to perform hidden corner connections on thin wood material(on the right) is also there. For it you will need staples for a stationery stapler: for a wall thickness of 6 mm, 10 mm, for walls 8 mm, 12 mm (half-inch), and for thicker walls, staples of 16-20 mm are needed. The height of fastener installation is 50-70 mm; the distances of the extreme fasteners from the edges of the parts are 15-20 mm. Each bracket is cut exactly in half. You will also need a foam insert with dimensions exactly equal in size box drawer inside.

The method of assembling a wooden or plywood box using hidden corner joints is shown in Fig:

At the ends of the parts, bevels are made at 45 degrees.
If the box has partitions, choose grooves for them.
The parts are assembled dry without fasteners, tightened with an elastic band and the fastening points are marked.
In the bevels of the walls, sockets for the staples are made with an awl and holes are drilled with the tip of a 1.5-2 mm drill, as shown in pos. 1a Fig. Without the holes, the bends in the staples will prevent the pieces from fitting together tightly.
A couple of drops of PVA are put into the sockets of any of the short walls and the staples are driven into them with light blows of a 20-50 gram hammer, pos. 2.
Drop glue into the mating sockets of the long walls, lubricate the mating surfaces with glue and use the same hammer to push the short wall onto the long ones, pos. 3.
The second short wall is installed in the same way, pos. 4.
Insert the liner, tighten the shell of the box with an elastic band (do not forget to lay plastic film!), pos. 5, and leave the assembly to dry.
Dried - strong and rigid, even without the bottom of the drawer wooden box ready.

Note: There is, however, a type of box for the corners of which a “bare” through-tenon-groove connection is preferable for aesthetic reasons. These are wooden organizing boxes for offices business people, see drawings in fig. on right. They do not get off in any way, but the visible carpentry connection emphasizes the nobility of the material.

Nuances of materials

A good, solid box made of wood or plywood requires quality material and correct cutting of parts from the board. Especially if the corners are connected in the hidden way described above. The type of wood can be any, incl. ordinary construction pine. The orientation of the layers on the side cuts (along which there will be a corner connection) is also unimportant. But - pay attention - the orientation is precisely the annual layers, and not the wood fibers! The fibers should extend into the solid wood for approx. perpendicular to the vertical end of the part (marked with green “!” in the figure). And if the texture of the wood shows that the fibers run parallel to the end or obliquely (crossed out in red), the box, fastened in secret, will soon warp and/or crack. Taking into account this circumstance, it is necessary to cut out parts from solid wood or boards.

Nuances of plywood

Products made from plywood can look amazing, see picture, especially since laser cutting allows you to create the finest ligature on it. Plywood boxes are often left openwork, pos. 1. If the box is intended for small items (item 2) or its finish is very thin (item 3), then the inside of the product is covered with cardboard for overall strength, see above. In this case, a specially designed slot allows, with a lining, to form curved contours in one plane, pos. 4.

The quality requirements for plywood for a box are even stricter than for solid wood. Signs of plywood sorting are shown in Fig. below. So, the box is best made from grade IV (!) plywood - with frequent small knots from young branches. After heavy impregnation of high-pressure polyethylene on both sides, grade IV plywood will be equal in strength and moisture resistance to second-grade plywood, which is more than enough for a box; VPE does not tint wood and does not add shine to it. Before impregnation, grade II plywood needs to be tinted with mineral stains to emphasize the texture. In this case, durable plywood of grade I is excessive and after tinting it will remain decoratively inexpressive. And grade III plywood with rare individual knots from mature branches will seem tacky, especially since such knots are very prone to core loss.

If the box is fastened with hidden corner joints on brackets (see above), then the wood fibers on the vertical sections of the walls should go into the part as perpendicular to the end, as for wood. On a cut, such layers appear darker. From the fastener installation points to the faces of the parts there must be at least one pair of veneers lengthwise and veneers across. In what places it is possible and not possible to install hidden fasteners in the cuts and bevels of the parts of the plywood box, is shown in Fig. resp. green "!" and red "X".

Secretary box

Original, not flashy/glamorous appearance, and with expanded functionality a secretary box made of wood or plywood. It is suitable for both children and businessmen of both sexes. In the rear, elevated part, papers and writing instruments are placed, and in the front, usually closed, anything - from favorite toys and love notes to cosmetics, perfumes or a “small gentleman’s set”: a flask of cognac, shot glasses, a lemon on a saucer, a deck of playing cards kart.

The structure and dimensional drawing of the secretary box are shown in Fig. Its parts (see below) are not necessarily connected into a tenon; Hidden corner joints can be used as described above. In this case, the parts are cut according to overall dimensions, and instead of grooves for tenons, bevels are cut off

Drawings of the most complex assembly unit of the secretary box - the flip cover - are given below. rice. It is better to place an acrylic mirror in the lower insert; it is lighter and can be glued with a regular one. assembly adhesive on wood and does not break. It is possible to do without the top insert altogether, then the box can be used as a bureau.

Drawings of the side, rear walls and bottom are shown in Fig. The bottom design is arbitrary; it can simply be a board on which the shell is placed with glue and reinforced from underneath with small nails. The other walls are just planks: the front one is 200x70x10 mm (for a tongue-and-groove connection with 10x10 tenons and grooves), and the intermediate one measures 186x66.5x10 with smooth edges. The intermediate wall is inserted into the side grooves.

About boxes-chests

In the living room, bedroom and, again, in the nursery, a box-chest will be in place. These are made from wood in general the same way as “real” chests, but simpler due to their small size, see story:

Video: homemade box-chest

However, it is also possible to make a box-chest original not so much in appearance as in essence, and thereby valuable and representative. How? For example, making it from a solid piece of wood:

Video: box made of solid logs

Note: It’s better to start experimenting with chest boxes with cardboard options, see video:

Video: example of finishing for a wooden or cardboard box

Non-traditional materials

In conclusion, let us remember unusual materials for boxes. For example, about beads. The basis in this case will be the most utilitarian: containers for food products, see fig. Beads strung on a thread are glued to the base glue gun. The advantages of this technique: the product is resistant to falls, etc., the inside is easy to clean and small objects do not cling to anything.

The second, very popular option is a semi-soft heart box made of knitting yarn. For craftswomen in this case, the possibility of rich decoration in the simplest ways is attractive, see fig. below:

And the box-base of the box can be made from threads in literally 10 minutes, see the video at the end: