Making Wooden Boxes With Box Joints

I wanted to create a box that was durable enough to use outdoors, that would either hold writing, or art supplies, or whatever you decided to bring with you when you go out on adventure!

Step 1: Cut the Wood

In terms of wood, I wanted something durable so I decided to go for white oak which is naturally weather resistant. I began with cutting up the pieces for the sides.

Step 2: The Joint

To connect the box together I went with box joints. There are a couple of reasons for that - first of all I love the way they look. They're so classic and elegant, and they work well to sand if you want to create rounded corners. It's also a very strong joint and feels rather utilitarian which I like. To create these joints, I used a jig for the router, however you could create them using hand tools, or a table saw jig too.

Step 3: The Tops and Bottoms

At this point I decided to make a couple more boxes, while having all the tools out - so I cut up pieces for four boxes. The sides are all made out of white oak, however the tops and bottoms differ a bit, since I didn't have material on hand for them all to be the same. So two of them have tops and bottoms in white oak, one is made in rosewood and one in walnut.

Step 4: Glue Up

After the tops and bottom pieces were cut up, it was time to glue the boxes together. First gluing the joints together, and then adding the top and bottom, and securing everything with clamps.

Step 5: Trimming the Sides

To made sure the tops and bottoms were nice and neat, I first used the band saw, as well as a hand saw f to trim the sides later.. To further clean up the cuts, I used a hand plane as well as a chisel. It's important that the boxes are nice and even to be able to continue with the next step, which is cutting them open!

Step 6: Cutting Them Open

Once the boxes were nice and even, it was time to take them to the table saw and cut them open. After doing the first three cuts, I placed a wedge on one side so the box wouldn't pinch and you could cut all the way through.

Step 7: Hinges

For hinges, I used a couple of different ones. Quadrant hinges on two, as well as regular back facing hinges on two. To prepare for the quadrant hinges I used a jig and a router for a precise fit.

Step 8: Rounding the Corners

To create a nice, round-ish look, we decided to route the sides of all the boxes, and then sand them smooth.

Step 9: Conclusion - Watch the Video!

To see the final result, make sure to watch the video that goes over all the steps!

In the next Instructable I will go over finishing these boxes, and creating leather inserts as well as closures and straps for them.