Wooden Pokemon Pokebox (square Pokeball)

Just be honest, we all have this problem at the moment. (at least when you are reading this in the summer of 2016) As long as you are keeping your pokeballs in your backpack, it is no problem, but as soon as you want to store them somewhere else, the round format is not ideal.

They always roll away and they are impossible to stack. That is why I made this revolutionary square pokebox! They won't roll away and are really easy to stack. Now you have seen it, you can't live without it anymore.

It would be a perfect project for a laser cutter, but I don't have my glowforge laser cutter yet, so it became a bit more basic. I used only scrap materials so it is perhaps not always the best way to do it, but for me it was the cheapest way.

If you are going to make this on a laser cutter, than please share the designs with me so I can add it in this Ible.

Step 1: You Will Need

Materials:

4 mm thick plywood
scrap piece of thin (0,75 mm) metal
piece of piano hinge
M3 nut and bolt and some rings

Tools:

Saw
Sander / file
Wood glue
Contact cement
Tin snips
Red and White paint
Sharp
Ruler / square
Drill

Step 2: Cutting the Wood

I used a skill saw and a band saw, but it is also doable with a hand saw, table saw or if you have it, a laser cutter.

You will need to cut 19 pieces for the box and two extra for the hatch.

Almost all of them can be cut out off 3 strips of: 80 mm, 72 mm and 68 mm. So first cut this three strips.

You can see on my hand drawing that I labeled them.

Cut from the 80 mm strip:

A - 80 x 80
C - 80 x 31
E - 80 x 31
G - 80 x 35
I - 80 x 35

From the 72 mm strip:

AA - 72 x 72
B - 72 x 72
CC - 72 x 42
D - 72 x 31
F - 72 x 31
GG - 72 x 5
GGG - 72 x 16
H - 72 x 35
J - 72 x 35

From the 68 mm strip:

BB - 68 x 64
DD - 68 x 42
FF - 68 x 42
HH - 68 x 26
JJ - 68 x 26

I used my band sander to square them off.

Step 3: Glue the Box Together

Some hints to make it easier to glue it all together:

AA goes on A, BB on B and so on. (Both GG and GGG go on G)
On the back the box is only one layer thick, so nothing goes on E and I.
The second layer of the front only goes on in the next step. (so leave C and G off for now)
The top goes on the box, the bottom goes in the box.
BB doesn't go in the middle of B, but flush with the back.
The small piece GG aligns with the top and GGG with the bottom of the box, so there should be a 5 mm gap between GG and GGG

Glue it all together and clamp it until it is dry.

Step 4: Add the Front Plates

Mark a 5 x 20 mm cutout on the middle of the one of the long sides on both front plates.

Cut them out. (I was lucky, because my belt sander is exactly 20 mm to this was easy)

Glue the front plates on.

The box should be able to close now.

Step 5: Finish the Wood

You probably can skip this step if you used a laser cutter of if you are a better carpenter than I am.

File or sand all the corners and gaps smooth.
Fill the gaps with a filler. (if you have gaps)
Sand the inside of the top a bit smaller so it will fit nicely in the bottom.

Step 6: Make the Button

Cut a 20 x 20 mm piece of ply and drill a hole in the middle. (I drilled a 7 mm hole)
Clamp the square on the top of the box and transfer the hole into the box and drill it out.
Use a fretsaw or a square file to make the hole in the 20 x 20 mm piece bigger and square.
Transfer the square hole on an other piece of ply and cut it out.
Check if the small square fits in the square hole.

Step 7: Paint

Paint the bottom white and the top red.

The pieces for the button should also be white.

I first used primer before I did the final paint.

I used rattle cans, but it works perhaps even better with a brush.

Step 8: Just Add Black

Because I am lazy, I used black markers (sharpy) for the black. This was really easy and worked great.

First I did the edges with a fine sharpy, and than I finished it of with a thick marker.

Don't forget the little piece on the bottom part of the box.

Step 9: The Hinge

Cut a piece of piano hinge to the width of the inside of the box.
Because a bit of the pre-drilled holes are slightly visible, I wanted the hole to be in the middle.
Put contact cement on one side of the hinge and on the part where it should go on the bottom of the box.
Put glue on only half of the other part of the hinge, because 10 mm will remain exposed.
Also glue the part of the top where the hinge will go.
First press the hinge on to the bottom.
Close the hinge a little and put the top on the box
Pull the hinge on the top. I did this by putting a small hex-key trough the hole in the hinge and pulling it out. (you can also use a bent out paperclip.)
Open the box and push the hinge in place.
Use the markers again to paint the hinge black.

Step 10: Cut the Hatch

Mark the width of the inside of the top of the box on a piece of thin metal.
Cut it off.
Put it all the way in the top of the box and mark both the hole and the edge.
Mark a strip of 20 mm through the middle that ends 15 mm from the top.
Cut into the metal on the 20 mm markings in the middle, until 15 mm from the top.
Cut the two corners off just above the edge makings.

Step 11: Bend the Catch

Put the metal in the bottom where it would be when the box is closed.
Mark the 5 mm gap in the wood, on the strip.
Cut the strip off 5 mm past the bottom of the gap in the wood.
Bend the last 5 mm almost all the way.

Step 12: Add the M3 Bolt

Drill a 3 mm hole where you marked the hole on the metal.
Put enough rings on the M3 bolt that it including the head of the bolt is more than 4 mm. (the rings must fit in the hole)
Bolt the bolt in the hole.
Put it in place.
Push the bolt without pushing it in the hole.
Check if the catch goes past the wood.
Adjust the rings if necessary.