Tobacco (or Anything Else) Wood Box

Hey everyone,

Here is a quick (one day) project I made on a sunday. It's my fist box and I wanted to make it quite nice.

I think it'll be used for pipe tobacco if it keeps the humidity well enough (which it probably won't) but could be used for anything else.

As per usual, no measurements because I'm really bad at making plans ahead of time and mostly make as I go. Roughy, the box is 135*60*75mm (I think).

Alright, let's do this !

Not a bunch of pictures here as the tools I used were quite common. The only thing worth noting is that I made and used Linn's box joint jig (add one day to project) to make my joints. It's really easy to make and is sooo nice to use. Kudos to her on that design.

The box design (and dimensions) came straight from the piece of wood that I used as a lid, I built everything around it.

Tools

The afore-mentioned box joint jig

Handsaw

Hacksaw

Sand paper rough and fine (120 through 400)

Belt sander (optional)

Hammer and chisel

Screwdriver

Measuring tape

Square

Drill and drill bits

Dremel (optional)

Materials

Nice thin hardwood

Wood glue

Finishing nails 10mm

Screws 2,5*10mm

Small brass hinges

I made the joints as explained in Linn's instructables. Credit goes to her and this is where you should go for instructions.

I made the joints as small as I could, that is the thickness of my granddad's circular saw blade : 2,5 mm.

Pretty straightforward. Out of the same kind of wood as the back board, I simply nailed / glued it to the bottom and belt-sanded it flush to the sides.

Thieving magpies might want to dive in and steal your shiny possessions from the box. Let's add a lid so that doesn't happen.

I first pre-drilled the holes for screwing the hinges so the wood wouldn't be split. I then marked where the hinges would be on the lid and chiseled a notch out so the brass and wood would be flush.

My screws were too long but I knew they would be all along so I decided that I would cut the extra bit and flatten it into a nice metal circle on my lid. I think it gives it a nice look, to have a little bit of metal showing there.

Until the lid was firmly set, I kept it a tad wider than needed to allow for the wiggling room and sanded it flush once attached.

I sanded it with 400 grit sandpaper, wetted a little bit with a moist rag and let it dry to make the wood split a little, then sanded with 400 again and repeated a second time. I then finished the box with a 1:1 mixture of paraffin oil:hexane, two coats of it.

There you have it! A nice little box with a protuberance on the lid that makes it easy to open with your thumb.

Thanks for reading, please share if you make a similar box and let me know should you have any questions, I'll be happy to help!

Deluges