Animal Box

This is another fun project I do with students.

Supplies

• 1 inch thick Basswood for the body (I used a piece that was 3 by 5 inches)
• 1/8 inch thick Maple (or other hard wood) for the back and lid
• 2 neodymium magnets
• 3/4 inch brad
• Wood glue
• CA glue

Create a drawing of your animal and transfer it to the basswood. In the drawing I make sure that I have room for the brad (at the eye) and the magnet. Save the drawing to use as a template later on.

Use a scroll saw(coping saw, jig saw, forstner bit) to cut out what will be the inside of the box.

Glue one piece of the Maple onto the back of the body and clamp overnight.

Use a scroll saw or band saw to cut out the outside shape of the box.

Cut

Cut the lid out of the other piece of Maple

Use the paper template to mark where the magnets will go. The magnets I used are 1/16 inch thick and have a 3/8 inch diameter.

Magnets

I ground off the center point of a 3/8 inch forstner bit so that it wouldn't drill all the way through the lid.

Use the forstner bit to drill a hole 1/16 inch deep in the lid and the body.

Use CA glue to glue in the magnets making sure they will attract and not repel each other when the lid is closed

Brad

With the lid on the box use a 1/32 inch drill bit (smaller diameter than the brad) to drill a pilot hole through the lid and the body. Through the lid only, drill a 1/16 inch diameter hole (about the same diameter as the brad). This will allow the the lid to pivot open once the brad has been hammered in.

Sand

With the brad hammered in just enough to keep the lid in place (you will want to pull it out later for finishing), sand the outside of the box so that the lid, body and back are all flush and smooth

Finish

Remove the brad so that the lid and the body can be finished separately. For this project I used a "Tung Oil Finish."

Once dried, you can install the brad with a hammer.