Occasionally I make boxes since starting leatherwork I have only made one or two so when I was asked to make this box I was really pleased.
Although I have been doing some major timber based projects over the last year box making is different so I intend to take my time and practice.
I started a couple of weeks ago with this little box which holds two Emperor sized pens.
I make an insert to hold the pens in wood and card and then used that to form a version in Kydex this will save a lot of weight in the finished product.
I wrapped the Kydex insert in suede
This worked out quite well I will finish this one day and offer it for sale.
One of the things I learned was I would like a little more height on the sides so I bought some deeper mouldings the first is 18 mm and the second is 21mm.
I dont have any Emperor pens so I make do with dowels cut to length I have formed model clips to help me with the design. I think the 21 mm moulding is the best so I will buy another length to form the rest of the pen slots.
In the future I will be making some custom dealer cases which I think will have ten slots but only 8 are required for this project
As ever plans change and this box is now for 9 pens rather than 8 so I have remade the pen trays to have 9 slots.
I have been doing some experiments with an alternative plastic this one is called High Impact Polystyrene it is lighter than Kydex and has similar properties although maybe not as strong.
These are more relevant for the dealer cases which I am working on rather than the current Emperor case.
My box making process is quite straightforward I start with the insert and then draw around it on a scrap of wood. I use this to make my frame.
I make a wooden frame and add a top and bottom and then cut the top off. I have been finding it difficult to cut the top off boxes so I have decided to try an alternative method.
I have cut the sides of the first test box along with the sides for the lid then I have taped them together for marking and cutting of the mitres. Hopefully this will give a top and bottom that will match.
I lay out the pieces of the frame on masking tape then add glue to the joining surfaces then simply fold up the pieces adding a final piece of tape to hold everything together.
Once the frame had dried I glued a top and bottom piece in place as the lid and bottom piece were held together with masking tape I was able to split them by removing the tape.
This is much easier than cutting the two apart with saw.
I had decided to shape the top so when the glue was dry I started this process.
The main reason for making a practice box is the outer cover which in this case is leather Ostrich leather. As it is very expensive I managed to find an off cut to practice with.
Having soaked the leather in cold water I formed the leather over the lid and pulled it into the shape I wanted.
I allowed the leather to dry out before gluing it in place
When the glue had dried I trimmed the edges.
I am not going to finish the inside of this case at this time as it has served its purpose as a practice box and I have the information I need to make the real box.
Time to start the actual box I set out to make the process is the same but I will show different details this time.
Using my circle tool I marked out the corners before rounding them on the bandsaw I also marked a line 50mm from the edge to help set out the bevel on the lid.
I used a router to round over the corners I set the depth lower to give the lower angle of the bevel.
The final step here was to sand the bevel into the lid it gives the lid a little more shape rather than being flat.
The next step is to apply the leather which is going to be black ostrich.
Actually the next step was to start again as the hinges would not fit I wanted to use the best hinges I could find i.e. these
These hinges have a built in stop to prevent the lid opening too far they come from http://www.fineboxhardware.com brass hinges are difficult to get at the moment but they managed to find me a pair for this box.
Thicker boards are required to keep within the size restrictions for the drawer it is going to live in I have remade the interior as well.
I am not going to go through all of the steps again but it now looks like this.
Now back to where we were before. Time to add some leather.
This is the ostrich leather which has been glued in place but very carefully to maintain the texture and grain looks pretty awesome to me. It is not staying this colour it is going to be dyed black.
All of the leather is now in place the next step is to veneer the inside edges and then dye the leather.
Sometimes I find myself avoiding certain tasks that I feel are difficult in this case it was fitting the hinges.
When I purchased my Makita trim router with the accessory kit I also bought the guide rail adapter so I was able to use the guide rail to keep the router straight.
The next task was to dye the box the final colour
I have also been working on the interior of this box the owners name is going to be embossed into the suede lining of the lid.
The next step is to line the inside of the box ready for the pen insert. I cut pieces of board to fit the inside of the sides of the box. Remembering to remove the thickness of the suede from the board. Then I wrapped the boards in suede and glued them into the box.
I prepared the insert by wrapping it in suede and fixing it in place.
A friend who is a wood turner made me a blank in the shape of an Emperor pen so I can test the fit of the pen.
The owner has kindly sent me some pictures to share
I designed this box along with the owner to fit in this drawer and sit on this desk which it does perfectly. It took me some time to get it right but it has been a very rewarding experience.