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I wanted to build myself a business card holder for my Sierra Nets business cards, and had seen this design in the past. I couldn't find plans for free online, and wouldn't bring myself to pay 3 bux for the plans(yeah, I'm a cheap-O, I know) so I simply made my own plans, built a mock up, then built it this one in wenge & curly maple. I ended up finishing it up just in time for a meeting I had for execs to be coached in business.

I told them all about my new Custom Net Business, and handed them a card. I walked out of that meeting with orders for 5 more card holders, and a custom net for a guy's Dad who is going to Mexico on a 6 month sail. It was a good meeting.

So these lil boxes are kind of a PIA, but are pretty dang sweet when done. I used 14 gauge copper wire for the hinge pins. Interesting lesson learned: the copper kept "unscrewing" itself from the 5/32" x 1/2 deep holes as you opened and closed it. I fixed this issue by using a utility knife to score many barbs into the deepest 1/4" of the pin. This, in effect, makes them a 1 way deal- In, but never out.

Another lesson learned was that it was easier to jig up my 6"x48" belt sander to fine-tune the 45's on the frame pieces that try to cut off microscopic shavings with a 12" chop saw! Much safer too!



I made this one for one of the ladies in the group- It is carob (harvested locally) with a winge border and a curly maple frame. I made another but used purpleheart in place of the wenge-I forgot to take pics b4 selling it. Ggrrrrrr.

Carob,wenge,curly maple,business card case,business card holder,wooden case,wooden business card holder,wooden business card case,wood case,business card carrying cae,men's gifts,gifts for business men

Carob,wenge,curly maple,business card case,business card holder,wooden case,wooden business card holder,wooden business card case,wood case,business card carrying cae,men's gifts,gifts for business men

Carob,wenge,curly maple,business card case,business card holder,wooden case,wooden business card holder,wooden business card case,wood case,business card carrying cae,men's gifts,gifts for business men

Carob,wenge,curly maple,business card case,business card holder,wooden case,wooden business card holder,wooden business card case,wood case,business card carrying cae,men's gifts,gifts for business men

Carob,wenge,curly maple,business card case,business card holder,wooden case,wooden business card holder,wooden business card case,wood case,business card carrying cae,men's gifts,gifts for business men

Carob,wenge,curly maple,business card case,business card holder,wooden case,wooden business card holder,wooden business card case,wood case,business card carrying cae,men's gifts,gifts for business men

Carob,wenge,curly maple,business card case,business card holder,wooden case,wooden business card holder,wooden business card case,wood case,business card carrying cae,men's gifts,gifts for business men

Carob,wenge,curly maple,business card case,business card holder,wooden case,wooden business card holder,wooden business card case,wood case,business card carrying cae,men's gifts,gifts for business men
Now my cousin wants 2 more, and my mopther-in-law another one.

I made 12 in total and it took me 3 days. that included milling the carob from a log.

Gallery

Comments

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967 Posts
Fantastic looking cases. dude! This one is going straight to my favorites file.
 

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4,054 Posts
Very nicely done : )
 

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1,100 Posts
I've seen these around before but I've never before seen a nicer one.

Lee
 

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Adding this to our list for nice presents. Very fine work you do.
 

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544 Posts
Now THIS is Sweeeeeeeeeeet!
Very nicely done and the wood combination is perfect.
I really like the whole design and this in going into my favorites !
 

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1,401 Posts
Great Job !
 

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26 Posts
Very very neat. I love the mixed uses of wood. Job well done!
 

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27 Posts
Nice. How about a blog entry with the plans and construction technique?
 

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12 Posts
well done .i,ve used brass wire on my boxes and had the same problem with the brass working its way out.in the last six years i have been using wooden dowels made out of hard wood in all my boxes and never had a problem,once the outer section of the dowel has been glued into the outer section of the box it do not come out.i use a pencil sharpener to make dowels from 2mm up to 6mm these dowels are strong enough for small boxes.
 

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I actually made a box to hold a pen which I made in which the top and sides swivelled up. Not wanting to have the brass "rods" show through, I drilled the bottom rear of the center portion along with each of the sides. The sides were drilled only part way through from the inside. I then put the brass rods into the bottom, and then pushed the sides on and glued and clamped the top and sides, trapping the brass rods inside.

I'm curious about the dimensions of these cases, as well as the number of parts and order of assembly you used. It looks almost like you used a solid piece with a widened kerf (vertically on the table saw, perhaps) to hold the cards.
 

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19 Posts
I bought a box of hardwood pieces from Rockler and have been trying to figure out what do do with some of the pieces. Now I know, thanks great build/concept.
 

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I made one with plans from wood magazine using maple and walnut
 

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2,097 Posts
Beautiful solution.
 

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Great looking card holder
 

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521 Posts
Great looking card holders. Top of the line…............
 

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I saw this project a couple of times and now think I am going to comment for sheer lack of enthusiam and motivation at work today… How long did this take? Are you planning on making more, or was this "too custom" of a piece to reproduce accurately. Do you have the plans? Care to sell them? Something like this would sale well in Japan. Most Japanese business people carry these around… it is like their signature… Anyways, great work, what kind of wood did you use? Were they scrap or did you purchase them with this specific intent? What did you use for hinges? Does it lock shut or is the clearance tight enough to keep it closed? Is it meant to stay open or kept closed in your breast pocket? I don't imagine you wearing a suit.
 

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I saw this project a couple of times and now think I am going to comment for sheer lack of enthusiam and motivation at work today… How long did this take? Are you planning on making more, or was this "too custom" of a piece to reproduce accurately. Do you have the plans? Care to sell them? Something like this would sale well in Japan. Most Japanese business people carry these around… it is like their signature… Anyways, great work, what kind of wood did you use? Were they scrap or did you purchase them with this specific intent? What did you use for hinges? Does it lock shut or is the clearance tight enough to keep it closed? Is it meant to stay open or kept closed in your breast pocket? I don't imagine you wearing a suit.

-GX

Thanks for all the kind words. I built 12 in 3 days including all of the lumber milling and creating some jigs & methods. Any way you shave it, it takes a while to build. I will make more as time permits. I sold some for $30. then raised it to 40.00.
I will post the plans on my blog. Please check it out there. It is yours for the taking.

I carry my cards in them everywhere I go in my jeans/shorts pocket. (Not a suit guy, good guess). It's a nice conversation piece and almost anyone is a customer.

I did use lumber I had in stock to make them. Not really scrap as you need to plane to 1/8". Hinges are a piece of 14 gauge copper wire. These lil boxes are tough! I used crazy glue and Titebond 3 with good results. They don't really click shut, tho I pondered putting small rare earth magnets in to for a latch, but finding them that small is a challenge. Of the two magnets I found I had that would work, I dropped one and never did find it again!

you can set this on a desk as a stand, then fold it up and take it on the run with you. It is meant to be a case but functions well as a stand. Friction keeps it open.

Greg~
 

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very nice. How did you get them to stop at the angle for display?
 
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