http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes.html I love making boxes: plenty of scope for challenging hand-skills, but possible in a small space with minimal tools and materials and no hevy lifting. A box is in effect a cabinet laid on its back - so the same principles and challenges apply but on a smaller scale - so the tolerances become even finer since a minute gap or discrepancy will look enormous on a small piece. Every style, no matter how simple, has its own challenges. Hinged lids demand very precise fitting work if the hinges are to work well and look neat; loose lids can be replaced different ways round and any error in the squareness of the corners will be doubled to the observer. Corners can be mitred - a joint that looks deceptively easy - or jointed in a variety of ways. Mitres and dovetails are my favourites because each in its own way looks beautiful and each makes its own demands on the hand-skills of the maker. http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes.html#0 9a8555e6-90cf-45a8-9cd5-21398731dee8 http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/002.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/002.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_132"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">A basic box in Walnut and Ash. The simple slab lid sits in a rebate and is opened with a see-saw effect from the chamfered ends. Looks simple, and it is - but if it’s not square the first person to turn the lid round will notice!</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes.html#1 b13545d6-f0aa-468a-a267-f7ba2ff84c7f http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/02.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/02.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_132"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Slightly more complex - adding a divider makes a useful little box for keeping patience playing cards. </p></div></div> http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes.html#2 4ad7fd83-7a1c-46c1-8251-570889d0cff6 http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/03.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/03.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_132"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">The laminated lid adds interest, reflecting the interior layout of the box</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes.html#3 7de6273f-180e-497c-81cf-49902adec9d1 http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/05.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/05.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_132"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Another playing-card box - this time in African Blackwood and Walnut. AB is a beautiful timber, but working it is not for beginners - and not for the faint-hearted whatever their experience!</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes.html#4 eddaf3d3-72c7-4f57-97fe-4e15667d5dda http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/07.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/07.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_132"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Tissue box covers in Ash and Andaman Padauk, with floating panelled tops and through-dovetailed corners</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes.html#5 3649b60c-5720-4f16-bc09-549e74ec742e http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/15.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/15.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_132"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Pencil box with a traditional sliding lid - again, Ash and Andaman Padauk</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes.html#6 35c9cb40-a67f-42e8-8d21-5684f0a46c44 http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/08x.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/08x.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_132"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Cutting in a hinge the old-fashioned way. Done well, this achieves a neat finish and perfect fit for the box lid</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes.html#7 e91c8027-58a7-4f11-ab7c-ace13db611d6 http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/73.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/73.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_132"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Brusso stop hinges are designed to hold the lid open at 95 degrees. To prevent binding, the square hinge knuckles must be left fully exposed.</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes.html#8 4e634f03-bcfe-45d6-8046-99542b2cffcf http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/18.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/18.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_132"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">A keepsake box for a bereaved client, in African Black Walnut and Canadian Hard Maple</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes.html#9 0e28d896-0ddb-4773-bdc1-3328cee21f67 http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/12.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/12.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_132"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">Ash and Andaman Padauk<br/></p><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; " class="Caption">This lid is hinged on captive, concealed brass pins. The lid must be fitted as part of the assembly with no margin for correction later</p></div></div> http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes.html#10 ac7e7189-91a2-40b0-bf1b-a050f7f2e58d http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/11.jpg?derivative=thumb http://web.me.com/wordsifter/Michael_Forster/Little_Boxes_files/Media/11.jpg?derivative=micro <div style="padding: 0px; " class="image_cluster_layout_style_default_External_182_132"><div class="image_cluster_layout_style_default"><p style="padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-top: 0pt; " class="Caption">This is all Ash from the same tree. The dramatically different lid results from using timber from closer to the heart of the tree which has begun to turn olive in colour. The 2-piece lid pivots on brass pins</p></div></div>