I am old fashioned so when I do make plans I still hand draw them. I am still learning CAD and sketchup (but I am still more just into plain old hand drawing with a pencil, ruler and graph paper.)

What wood would be best for the project is always my first descision I make. I like to use contrasting woods for a lot of the boxes I design but it’s not a rule, some woods can stand alone and be the epitimy of beauty and form

The next thing I decide is whether I want to box to be square or rectangular, tall or short. This I most often decide by the grain of the wood I am working with. I look around what I have to find what I like and what I think would look best. when I find the piece I like it is usually a toss up on what will be the front and what will be the top.

The next step I decide on how the top will be. Will it be a free floating top, if so will it have a pull or nothing. Will it be hinged? What kind of hinges? Will it slide? How will I get it to slide? Will the top be fixed? I consider these things with majority of the boxes I make. (unless the initial idea has already decided for me)

After the top is firm in my mind. I like to decide the joints of the corners. Miters are my favorite. ocassionally with splines, depending on the rest of the box. Box joints are my least favorite but I still do it on certain boxes to get an effect I may be desiring. If there are movable parts (aside from hinges) on the box I use box joints for there stability and maximum glueable surface.

Next I consider legs. It is actually rare instances that I put legs on a box but I have seen some very incredible ideas for legs on this site that have inspired me to do a few. I usually feel legs add a bit of awkwardness, not an uncomfortable one, but like if someone else is standing then maybe I should be too. The added lift to the box does however add presence in my opinion.

Interior is always a consideration on my designing. I do like to line jewelry boxes with velvet to match the wood. This I rarely do with keepsake boxes because of the added time and cost. It does add to the beauty though. Trays are also an option I toy with, I don’t like to make them for every box because I don’t feel as though every box has to have all the same nuances as the last. when I do design trays the rule is to keep it simple. box joints. maybe a divider. maybe a handle.

The last and most important part I feel to designing a nice box are the accents. shaping, inlay, etc. This is usually where the poetry comes in and is usually decided before I do design the rest of the box, but this is when it is solidified. The current box I am working on is for my ten year old sister. The line that entered my mind was “Canary pox on a purple box” and is canary spots on purple heart. I knew I wanted something cartooney and childish, I hashed out all the regualr detailes, and then decided on the spots. I had several ideas that came and went with this box, but wound up going with my first inclination. I will be posting pics of it in a few days when the purple heart turns purple again. I found myself designing it when I was actually out of town and nowhere near my notebook. But when it comes to poetry in box form, it tends to be easier to remember.

I was actually intending to take a break from woodworking altogether today because some friends from church dropped by. Lovely people. But they didn’t stay as long as I thought they would so I went back to the bench. I took one look at my current jewelry box, but did not feel inspired to work on it today. So I decided to just make a box on the spot.

So I stared at a few pieces of zebra that I had no plans for and dreamed a little dream. For those of you that keep up with Greg the whodats boxes (which are always a delight to see) you’ll be able to tell where my inspiration had come from.

It is a very dumbed down version. Just four sides a bottom and a free floating top. I used my maakita 41/2 inch angle grinder to carve out several semicircles at opposing corners, as if rain drops were happening just off the box and reveberating through it. The handsanding was pretty painstaking, and it took quite a while despite the compared simplicity to others that inspired me to make this one. But I was broought back to a calm and medatative state after a while of sanding by hand. I usually do enjoy the handwork moreso than the power tools, not that I am any kind of eliteist, I usually just enjoy it more. I had forgotten this about sanding until today. While I often do cuts with handsaws, and chisels. I usually wind up sanding with power sanders. I know sanding is dreaded by some, while others are more in fear of finishing. And I was dreading the handsanding. But after a bit of time and focus I feel as though I was being introduced to the wood in a way that was seemingly forgotten. I found that with every pass of the paper I was redifining the grain and discovering a hidden treasure that only I would know about. The zebra wood, while it gets some stringy tearout when using an agressive power tool, seemed more willing to work with me than for me when I put my hands to it. And though my fingers are raw my soul is satified with the asthetic balance of simple and elegant.

Pics will be up tomorrow, probably around early afternoon ater I have had enough coffee to focus on where I put my camera.

First I would like to state that for some unknown reason (and I am sure some of you may also feel this way) I love making a box. Everything, from designing all the way to the finishing and sanding. Jewelry boxes, keepsake boxes, lock boxes, all of it. While I do love woodworking in general I guess you could say boxes are my passion. I think about them quite a bit, more than any man should I think, lol. I constantly am working on new ideas for boxes, differant types, styles, woods, how to execute, what new could be done, what could be improved next time. Seriously, I may have a problem.

The first Box I had ever made was a tool box in highschool woodshop. Four sides, a bottom, a handle, rabbet joints, painted blue. It was nothing special, just like everyone else in the classes tool box. After highschool I took a ten year break from wood working to persue the exciting action filled lifestyle of a carpenter. While mostly what I did was framing roofing siding doors and windows, I was unsatisfied. Sure it paid the bills, I could leap off of roofs and land on my feet without dropping a nail from my pouch, I got to work outside and the scenery was always changing.

I realize now that I was always a box builder. Now they are just smaller and more asthetic and people don’t live in them. I was slightly irritated when I realized this. You see about a year ago an older gentleman and I had a conversation while sitting at a coffee shop in pittsburgh. He was a little upset at the very laid back atmosphere. I was questioning his sanity but he proceeded to tell me that when a man is young, function superceeds form, but when you get older form becomes more important and more attention to detail becomes the focus. At the time I thought he was a little off of his rocker, and that function will always be more important because if it doesn’t work who cares what it looks like.

Well here I am today, doing what I have always done. Building. Though the form has changed, and the function less important. I’d raise my coffee cup to that old man if I saw him today. He taught me a valuable lesson even if I was unwilling to learn at the time. Form is important.

Now on to my current box project. I am building a box made from maple and zebrawood. Two drawers and a hinged lift top. The body of the box is maple the drawer faces and lid are zebrawood. Honestly I do like the result of zebra when it is finished, but I do not think it is worth the price when working with it. It is a very fiberous wood. When chiseling or routing you must be careful of tearout in strands so tweezers glue and patience are handy to have nearby. I am interested to see the two woods finished together. This will be my second box with drawers and the first with both the lid and drawers. I did find that in doing this I needed more careful planning in joinery and as always I am very picky about the placement of the grain pattern, and curls if there are any. I also just picked up a chocolate colored velvet to line the drawers with. I am still undecided about how to do a ring cache, let me know whats up if you have done one of these before.

If there are any of you box makers that could give me tips on selling boxes, venues, how to price, recommend good brass hardware, design, anything. Just shoot me a line and we’ll discuss anything and everything outside the box.