Making small boxes is a favorite project for many woodworkers. While it may seem a simple process, there are many ways to build a box -- and in this comprehensive pictorial reference, veteran woodworker Doug Stowe covers all the techniques you will need to produce boxes youll be proud of.

Youll learn about making boxes by using traditional carcase joinery or by shaping on the bandsaw or lathe. Stowe also covers special boxmaking techniques associated with making lids and bases, attaching them to the box, and partitioning boxes to hold small objects like jewelry. Additionally, there are a host of techniques for creating special effects that decorate a box, turning the small, useful object into a jewel itself.

This book covers all these methods in a highly visual format that has become the hallmark of the Complete Illustrated Guide series: Everything is covered in over 500 step-by-step photos accompanied with straightforward text.

About the author
Doug Stowe is a professional furniture designer and box maker. His work has been featured in national woodworking magazines and is the author of Creating Beautiful Boxes with Inlay Techniques and Simply Beautiful Boxes. He lives on a hillside overlooking Eureka Spring, Arkansas.

Introduction

1. Tools for Box Making
Creating Shop Space
Measuring and Marking Tools
Dimensioning Tools
Shaping Tools
Drilling and Boring Tools
Holding and Clamping Tools
Sanding Tools
Hand Tools
Noise and Dust
Safety and Accuracy Aids
Shopmade Jigs

2. Box-Making Materials
Rough-Milling Small Logs
Resawing Boards
Working Boards with Handplanes
Making Wide Panels
Making Thin Stock and Veneers

3. Box Joinery
Butt and Rabbet Joints
Miter Joints
Mortise-and-Tenon Joints
Finger Joints
Dovetail Joints

4. Lids
Basic Lids
Lids Cut From the Box
Sliding Lids
Joints for Frame Lids

5. Box Feet and Bases
Box Feet
Box Bases

6. Box Interiors
Dividers and Trays
Interior Drawers
Box Linings

7. Hinges and Hardware
Installing Hinges
Installing Locks
Shopmade Hardware

8. Decorating Boxes
Inlay
Veneer
Carving

9. Shaped Boxes
Bentwood Boxes
Turned Boxes
Bandsawn Boxes

Index

A wooden box. What could be simpler? Yet what could be more profound? Boxes have become an art form and a way in which thousands of craftsmen express themselves through wonderful works in wood. A wooden box is an expression of a complex relationship. The stuff that goes inside has had a role in inspiring the design. The material, wood, with its character, color, texture, and structural characteristics, has an age-old relationship to mankind, his culture, and his survival. To make a wooden box is to be connected to the whole of human history and to our natural environment. The pleasure we may find in making a box rests on the shoulders of our loving planet, the bounty of our forests, and the box makers who have built a tradition of caring work.

In 1865 my great-grandmother, at age 11, brought her precious possessions to the United States in a tine or cheese box made by an unknown craftsman in her village of Voss, Norway. It served in my mothers family as the place where family pictures were kept. Then, with its contents of photos distributed to others, the box was a part of my home as a youth, informing me of simpler days when a young mans or womans most important things might fit in such a small space.

That this simple box could convey such meaning through more than a century tells me something important about the boxes we make. They need not be perfect to have great meaning. Make boxes for what they offer in learning. Make boxes with attention. Make boxes with love. Make boxes knowing that some may be held sacred by those you love and last generations beyond your own time.

Although this book is titled a complete illustrated guide, no book about boxes could ever be complete. The techniques used by the thousands of people making boxes could never be fully documented. In fact, it could never be complete without the inclusion of your work. In your box-making adventures, I ask that you experiment, make mistakes, and learn from them. Know that your work will become part of this large craft, this worldwide conversation, for future generations to discover and enjoy.