The Box With a Split Personality

(2) 34" lengths x 1" total width [When Open] Piano hinge
(2) 34-2/16" (865mm) X 5/8 (15.8mm)- 90/o Angle Aluminium lengths of & (2) 10.82" (275mm)
(4) 1.5" Case Latches [See Image 4]
(8) 1/4" (6mm) x 1" (25.4mm) Pan Head Bolts (with square) nuts See [Image 2&3]
(2) 13" x 3/8 (9.5mm) Chrome Chain [Image 3]
(2) 7-1/4"x1" leather or plastic bolt-able Handles
8MM Marine Ply. (4) Pieces @ 275x 75mm (4) @ 865x 75mm (3) @ 295x865mm divide by 25.4 to get inches ..................
(16) 1"long x 1/16 Approx Or Some Similarly Fine Counter-Sunk head screws fine 1mm pilot drill
(100) 1" fine panel pins & pin hammer
(100) 3/8 Long x 1/16 Or Fine brass or steel screws (flat or +Counter-Sunk head)
(4) 1.5"x 2.5 Ali 90/o Corner Trim Or General Purpose Cupboard Angle Brackets

Set- Square / Steel-Rule or (Spirit-Level)
Tenon Saw with medium blade or fine wood saw
Wood (PVA Water Proof Grade)
Varnish (Polyurethane) & Brush
File Rasp / Med & Fine Sand Paper / Wood-Plane / Wood Vice Or Plastic Sash Clamp
Goggles
Pencil & Measure
Patience & Inspiration :-)

Draw the dimensions of the box on the marine-ply using a ruler / pencil & set-square ---- try and be economic with the ply-board, mark the board including the width of cutting device allowing for blade thickness. Use short dashes, measuring from a corner or an edge then join with ruler - using a spirit-level to check straightness of all edges and Set-Square to transpose angles to 90/o - draw all dimensions as panels put side-by-side, in theory you limit the amount of cutting required to part your board.

I drew two pencil lines parallel and cut between them with a very committed cut of my saw. You should end up with (4) pieces 275x75. (4) @ 865x75 & (3) @ 295x865. Now gather the pieces which have the same dimensions clamp together with adjustable clamps place in wood-vice or vice with soft jaws and File/ Plane edges to true them up MAKE SURE THEY Are all 90/o and on size. Take sharp corners off with file and then sand.

The idea of my Instructable is to make a Book-Case not for books but a case that opens up with dimensions that are equal on both sides. We will fabricate each section separately then join them together.

Once you have your pieces and are happy they are 90/o and they conform to the other dimensions, it's time to put it all together. I started by checking the base and top to make sure I was happy with sizes.

Now for the sides end ends I just made sure the edges were not overlapping on either side of the base, but were a perfect fit (no such thing but we do try). I achieved this by putting everything in situ, I then drew on the inside, it should make an 8mm +/- .5mm gutter all the way around the base-board (Base or Top) I then gauged the centre of the gutter by splitting the difference - Now this becomes our guide for screwing / drilling & Pinning our box / Sections.

Now we know that our side & end pieces are accurate drill 2 pilot holes 5/8" from top edge & bottom edge of each front end back corners & Half the thickness of the wood In. This will then help to join the end & side pieces together. You need to mark them in sets as the wood cuts will deviate slightly in geometry. You need to do the Top & Bottom compartments as separate pieces.

Once we have our rectangle screwed in position, place on the base and check all edges line up. Then we place on a flat surface upside down & apply a nice bead of Wood- Glue around the top of our rectangular frame. Now place Top/Base in the same position we had it when we marked it up the glue may spread a little from the sides but this is okay.

Now using the gutter we made start with (4) panel pins (1" x 1/32 ) -hammer with pin hammer 1 pin in a corner, keeping it central Between our gutter mark. Check for drift (edges move out of line) when your happy continue with each corner (avoid hammering pins at an angle) this will split the wood -

A Trick I Learnt was to blunt the sharp end with the hammer, this stop splitting ( it does work) -leave these to dry- whilst it's curing apply a bead of glue on the inside edges at 45/o, (like your caulking around the bath-tub) this adds strength when it dries.

What we end up with in effect, is 2 boxes without tops - now we place one on to of the other - The top ones base becomes the bottom ones Lid. We now join them together using our Piano-Hinge.

Having placed both boxes on top of each other, so we can see the inside of both - we need to work out what gap we need between them - as the hinge has a spine width (see Illustration) this is so we do not cripple the hinge when the box is parted. I put approx. 1.5 -(1/16) gap by finding a suitable spacer (Card /Paper). Now take a pencil or pen and mark some holes where the hinge screw holes are. Try to centralize the hinge, so the holes are symmetrical down the length of the box. Now take a (pilot drill or Brad-all) to make start holes for our screws. 1/2 Long x 1/16 [FineCounter Sunk-Head] brass screws.

Screw only a handful of screws at each end, the middle and either side of the hinge. Now try to open your box (Fowling should not occur) if it does you need to adjust the hinge - this is why we only screw in a few.

When your happy with the results we now put the lid/ Top Hinge on this is a bit tricky but do-able . Again we have to take into consideration the space/ Clearance for the spine - there will be overlap on the box - but it's minimal and not a problem for this application ( it's inside). Be careful not to split the wood you need good pilot holes but not too big or screws will not hold.

All the screws may poke through the box a fraction (A needle end) just dress this flat with a file - this issue will occur inside and outside the box - also the hinge corners will need to be blunted ( Curved).

Once both of the hinges are installed, the box should open like a book and the lid should open out like a piano top.

Let's deal with the lid/ top first - it is very precarious to leave it like this- so I installed two - extension limiting chains - using the (2) 13" chains I decided to use only 12" and leave a slight excess for adjustment at each end- so the lid only extends a little past 90/o, other wise it will come crashing down after you let go.

To install you need to drill (2) 6mm clearance holes for our 1/4" (6mm) pan head bolts . The holes are drilled at 3/4" [19mm] and Central from the edge of the lid and the same, on the side of the box. We do this at either end. [See Image 1]. Then we but and bolt the chain ether side of the wood.[Image 2.]

Now for our catches - here we again, need pilot holes and being careful not to split the wood. They need to be set up so they are in the closed position - otherwise , they maybe to tight or too loose, resulting in the box not closing properly. [See image 4].
Note: The hinges are not installed the same way up - this is because the lid & Box section are a different width. [See Image5] They are also fitted at different points; for the lid /top 8.85" (225mm) From each edge and the base [Second Section] is 2-2/16". (55mm) from each edge. See [Image 6].

Now our final fixings are the carrying handles - again we need to drill 1/4" (6mm) clearance holes for pan head bolts - the handles sit opposite each other and central.

Set the handles up so the are central and the bottom one touching edge of the box opening and an 8mm gap on the top handle from its bottom. [See Image 2] - these need to be set up so you can get your hand in, Bearing in mind they have a little adjustment [From Flat Position they pull up 1/2" on each end], You have to take into consideration, there maybe better handles and fixings available-this is what I already had to hand. [See image 1]

Next up is the box re-enforcement, this is because the box is long and may be weighty I decided to put a general purpose cupboard corner bracket [See Image 2] . They are fixed inside both boxed, only on the long sides, oposite each other. This box was for my archery kit -it is an allpurpose box, for any application. Image [3] shows some bindings /webbing to keep larger objects in place [Elastic is used and pinched by the screw and washer.

If plastic bits boxes are used these can be permenantly screw to the inside of this box?

The final piece of this puzzel is the base re-enforcement as the box will be layed flat on any surface [Mine is Grass/ Tarmac /Astro-turf. this helps protect the bottom of this box . for this we need 3/4" [19mm] aluminium 90/o angle /Corner/ Carpet Trim For this we find the centre along its length and drill 2mm holes ever 4" [100mm]. See [Image 4]

There You Have It, The Completed Item. It is Not Too Hard To Construct.......REALLY.....:-)

Please Rate & Comment ------I will be happy to clear up any queries, should there be any.