Tea Boxes

Very tidy little boxes there Blake. A couple of questions:

- how are the corners held together . . . glue?
- what do you have done for the bottom?
- are the little “inserts” in the corners decorative or do they serve a purpose?
- what kind of hinges did you use?

Im asking so many questions as I just may “borrow” your design and make a couple.

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

The “inserts” are called keys. The box would fall apart without them because an unreinforced miter will fall apart even with the best glue. We discussed it in this thread... may want to read it. Also, there are a lot of great books out there on box joinery. Check them out. Look for titles by Doug Stowe.

We also discussed those hinges in this thread. (Barbed slot hinges)

The bottom is just a piece of thin plywood which fits in a groove near the bottom of the box sides. The inside of the bottom is covered with blue velvet.

-- Dust collectors suck.

Blake those boxes are nice. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one that takes a bit long to finish projects!!!

-- Betsy - There is no strength where there is no struggle

Great looking boxes Blake. Like Betsy said, it is reassuring to know that somebody besides me takes that long to finish a project. I’ve got a couple that I have been working on for months, and they are not big projects :-)).

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

Hey Blake, those are sweet boxes. I’ll bet the ladies were pleased.

-- Maplewood, MN

awesome boxes.. and what a nice way to store the packages of tea! I, too, might have to copy the idea.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Great boxes, Blake!

Now I’ve got to go look around the house and shop to see if any of my unreinforced miters have fallen apart yet. <g>

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Nice gifts Blake. The tea bags were a great idea.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

Blake,

The boxes come up very nice. I think they are a perfect gift.

I do have one concern though. From the picture it seems that the mitered pieces of cherry that go around the maple beveled piece are glued to the beveled piece. This might not be a good thing since the expansion of the top in the summer will readily break the mitered frame (the keys will not hold it together since the force is enormous; only metal can keep wood from expanding). This is the reason the panels are floating in the traditional door construction.

You made some comments on another thread about the need for keys on mitered corners. For a small box I do not think it is a big concern. It turns out that the partial side to partial side grain glueing is surprisingly strong. On wide miters, the expansion of the wood puts so much pressure on the joint that the glue line fails. The keys are strong enough to still keep it together. This is the primary reason why you do not see mitered corners on kitchen cabinets (at least not very often). The keys are very decorative though and add visual interest.

I hope you do not mind the comment on the top but I think it is a big concern.
Alin

-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida

Nice boxes, Blake! I’m sure they were well received too.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Very nice. Great wood and special gifts. Well done.

-- Ron, Twain Harte, Ca. Portable on site Sawmill Service http://westcoastlands.net/Sawmill.html http://westcoastlands.net/SawBucks2/phpBB3

Alin: I agree with you about the keys not being a necessity in a small box like this. But I don’t think the construction of the top will be a problem. I would never build a large table this way for the reason you stated, but I’ve made quite a few boxes where the center of the lid was “captured” this way, and I’ve never had a problem. It may also depend on where you live and how drastic the seasonal humidity changes are.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

I’m not sure how big tea bags are where Alin lives, but on a small box like that, wood movement shouldn’t be a big issue. Also, the keys are a nice effect, necessary or not. Those are nice little boxes, Blake.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

I’ve heard that you can make a mitered corner a wee bit stronger by adding a layer of glue to the joint, letting it dry for a short time and then adding glue on top of that for the final glue-up. That way, the glue soaks into the end-grain on the first pass and the second pass bonds glue to glue and end grain. Did that make sense?

-- Log...log...it's big, it's heavy, it's wood!

I like the way you relieved the edges of the lid and the box where they meet. Nice design touch.

-- JP, Shelbyville, KY

great discussion … lots of information being shared.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Tom (and others),

You are right. I completely missed the fact that the boxes are small. On a regular size box I would not use this method, though. I’m sure a box made like this could survive 5-10 years but probably not more (you go on vacation and you turn the AC off and puff goes your box). I guess it depends on what finish you use as well.

In any case, this issue is something to keep in mind.

Alin

-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida

Alin, (and everyone else)

Thanks for the comments and concerns, but you are looking at a genuine free floating panel on those boxes. Trust me, they will be around for more than 5 years. My projects are built to last.

As for the floating panel, the whole idea was to make a floating panel that looks a little different than the usual. There are two groves, one in the lid’s “frame” and one around the panel, which overlap. The lip of the panel comes out on top. It is a full 3/4” thick but looks much more delicate because of the way I did the joinery.

And I don’t trust simple mitered glue joints (without reinforcements) for anything. The keys are located top and bottom of the sides as well as in the lid. Also the grain orientation of the box sides is faced so that the annual rings of the cherry arc outward, so that shrinkage will tend to pull the miters tighter instead of wanting to pull apart (wood cups away from the annual ring arc).

The text ”Understanding Wood” has become my woodworking bible, ever since I discovered it. It is a must read for new woodworkers. The difference in my projects from before and after reading that book has been phenomenal.

As far as “only metal can keep wood from expanding,” I’m gonna have to disagree with you there, did you happen to see this blog by Todd?

You could probably drive a truck over these boxes and still enjoy the tea.

-- Dust collectors suck.

Beautiful box = beautiful present.

-- Jiri

Great looking box (s). Only took a year, huh?

Well they were worth the wait.

Gary

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

And by the way Alin, I don’t mind the comment at all. We should point stuff like that out to each other… that’s how we learn. And I know that you know your stuff. I appreciate your observation.

-- Dust collectors suck.