DIY wood box: master class and drawings

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:47

Let's try to make such an object as a wooden box with our own hands. How useful is this accessory? Carved wood boxes are perfect for storing small souvenirs and small collectible items such as stamps or coins. They will decorate the interior and give it a touch of originality.

Master class. DIY wooden boxes

We will make the box from a sheet of plywood 8 mm thick as the most affordable material. First you need to make sure that the plywood that we are going to use with a flat surface does not contain delaminations, traces of knots and other minor defects. The texture pattern should be uniform, then the sheet can be easily cut without fear that pieces of veneer will break off during operation.

Well, let's get started. First of all, a drawing of our future product should be applied to the prepared surface - a diagram of a wooden box. To do this, take a pencil and simple drawing devices such as a ruler and a compass. If there is a finished drawing thatyou need to scale, take care of the accuracy of drawing each corner and line. A correct and neatly executed drawing of a wooden box is a necessary condition for success.

Rectangular elements allow the plywood sheet to be used most economically. With a successful layout, there will be almost no unnecessary trimmings.

Cut it right

Then, with a jigsaw, we begin the procedure for carefully cutting out all the main parts - the lid, bottom and walls. The smoother our carving, the more accurate the contour of the part we will get, as a result of which the time of working with a file will be reduced.

Be especially careful when cutting along the boundary line of neighboring parts. If it goes askew, then both parts will be damaged at once, or you will have to trim both of them later.

After this, the most important stage begins, associated with the most delicate work. We are talking about sawing joints in the form of carpentry spikes. For our small box, small square spikes of a simple shape are suitable. Their height should correspond to the thickness of the plywood sheet, that is, in our case, equal to 8 millimeters.

Which tool to choose

As a rule, they are cut with a backsaw. But we can take a jigsaw or a hacksaw for metal. Its blade is excellent for working with wood, as it hardly bends.

If you have chosen a jigsaw, they should cut almost along the intended line. The indent towards the section to be cut off in size should not exceed one or two millimeters. A small excess of wood is easier to remove later with a file.

So we made straight cuts. To connect them, we bring the jigsaw to the edge and carefully turn it 90 degrees. At the same time, their movement up and down does not stop.

In the same way we cut out and delete all unnecessary fragments. The quality of this stage of work depends on how durable and reliable our future product will be. If at this stage we inadvertently spoil the workpiece, we will have to start all over again.

Now you're covered

Now let's move on to cutting out the lid on our box. Undoubtedly, such work is much easier to do than sawing spikes. But let's not relax. Do not forget to observe the evenness of the cut and maintain a right angle between the planes of our saw blade and the surface of the plywood sheet. This is done so that subsequently there are no gaps between the cut parts of the lid and the walls.

This is the most difficult stage of work completed. The next task in order - a do-it-yourself wooden box should be assembled into a single whole from individual elements. If the spikes are difficult to enter the nest or do not enter at all - do not be discouraged. Worse when they fall in.

Subtleties of technology

Excess material can be easily filed off. It is best to choose one that has a square section. Such grinding should be carried out in small portions with constant fitting of parts relative to each other.

To get the fit as close as possibleaccurate, it should be done on a table or other flat surface. For greater reliability, the walls should be put on glue. The parts must be pressed against each other for at least a short period of time.

It is most convenient to do this with a vice or clamp. When doing this, do not forget to insert a small wooden spacer between the product and the steel surface of the tool.

DIY wood box: fixing the lid

Having fastened the walls of the box, let's adjust and glue the bottom, as well as the lid. The lid of our box will be attached to the body with small metal hinges that are easy to buy at any hardware store. You can purchase small hinges in quantities of 2 or 3 pieces or one long hinge for furniture.

When working with hinges, care must be taken that they do not stick out above the surface of the body of the product. Therefore, at the place of attachment of each of them, the wood should be slightly selected. For this we take a jigsaw or a small saw along with a straight chisel.

To screw the hinges, you should choose small screws, the size of which will correspond to the diameter of the hole in the hinges. So that they are neatly screwed exactly in the intended place, and the plywood does not turn out to be split, a hole should be drilled in a size slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw. This difference should be no more than one or two millimeters.

Don't forget the castle

From the outside, it is desirable to provide the box with some kind of locking mechanism in the form of, for example, a lock, a hook orlatches. This will help preserve the contents and prevent the box from opening at the most unexpected moment.

All such parts are fastened similarly to hinges using small screws in pre-drilled holes for them. If the material of the box is wood, not plywood, even inserting a small furniture lock is allowed.

Basically, the product is ready. We hope that our project: "Wooden Boxes" turned out to be successful, and the product turned out to be neat and outwardly attractive. If this is not so - do not be upset. It is rare for a beginner who undertakes the creation of such a masterpiece for the first time to succeed immediately.

About possible shortcomings

A do-it-yourself wooden box does not have to be perfect the first time. Most often, the final version shows us unexpected omissions. Most noticeable are annoying gaps between insufficiently tightly fitted elements. Having found something similar, do not give in to the first impulse - to get rid of an unsuccessful craft. It would be wiser to carefully consider the product, analyze where the mistake was made, and take into account this useful experience.

As for the further fate of our product, much can be fixed here. For example, cracks may well be sealed and masked. After all, there are many tricky tricks.

The easiest option is to take ready-made wood putty and cover unwanted cracks with it. You can independently prepare the so-called "liquid tree", the basis of which will be the glue used in the work. Thisthe option is also suitable if we want to veneer our box with veneer.

In addition, the product can be coated with drying oil or painted. In the latter case, after filling the parts, we additionally prime them before painting.

Decorate our craft

But making a rectangular box and calling it a box is not all. The product must be decorated, and it is best to do this with a carving.

The carved box is a true work of art. There are different types of wooden boxes. In former times, many of them were carefully stored in every house. After all, people have been fond of woodcarving with the creation of a wide variety of geometric patterns for a long time.

In Russian villages, most wooden products, from furniture to dishes, were decorated with intricate carvings. Such decor was always based on the usual geometric pattern, and the aesthetic effect exceeded all expectations. Boxes carved from wood were created by real masters of their craft, they were strong and durable.

Learning to work with wood

If you don't know the techniques of geometric carving yet, it's time to learn. It's not that difficult at all. And in order not to spoil our finished, so diligently made box, we will first practice on a separate piece of wood - for example, on a cutting board.

Tools for this procedure will require the most simple. You and I will quite manage to get by with just two knives: the so-called pen-knife and a triangular-shaped joint-knife, as well as a ruler,pencil and compass.

Knife-feather is taken when it is required to cut out an elongated element, for example, a petal or a sufficiently long gutter. It is also used for small slots.

The second tool cuts through various geometric shapes, mostly triangular, as well as straight long lines. Each of the knives must be sharp and have a comfortable handle.

Geometric carving technology

Immediately before starting work, a sketch of the future pattern should be applied to the board. You can draw it with a pencil using a ruler and a compass. Or you can use a ready-made stencil, transferring the drawing to the board with a carbon paper.

Let's say our ornament contains floral motifs. It is with them that you should start working. The technology is simple: the thumb is pressed against the board as tightly as possible, and the index finger lightly touches it in the area of the upper joint. This is how holding the knife, you have the ability to control and change the angle of its inclination and the depth of immersion in the wood. With your thumb, the blade moves smoothly and accurately.

Having cut through one side of the element, the board should be turned over and the same operation should be done from the opposite side. Please note: if the shavings from under the knife curl with a "string" - it means that the tools are sharpened quite well.

How to cut geometric shapes

Elements in the form of triangles and other similar figurescut out with a cutting knife. We cut his heel into the wood at an inclination of about 45 degrees, while not bringing it to the edge of the pattern. Repeat the operation from different sides of the geometric element.

We join all the slots on the sides. As a result, the cut piece of wood falls out of the board. The remains of wood that could not be cut off with a knife are evenly and accurately cleaned.

By the same principle, we cut out all the other elements of the picture. At the end of the process, we take sandpaper and carefully grind everything. You can carry out additional processing with natural impregnation.

So we learned the simplest techniques of woodcarving. In the future, with an increase in the number of crafts and, accordingly, experience, our skill will increase. We will be able to make wooden boxes, not only varnished or painted in various colors, but also decorated with an extraordinary fantasy ornament that will look simply luxurious.