So i fancied the idea of producing a number of these little boxes. they would priced low as a gift idea perhaps £10-£12. selling online would not pose any problems as they could easily fit into a padded envelope and be sent 1st class for very little. larger boxes i imagine will have more issues. for example how to pack? will it require a box? postage cost may be off putting to buyer? etc. etc.
with these thoughts in mind i decided this would be a good item to start my online shop at folksy.com
following my initial build of a pick box (which i gave to my son) i decided to make one or two changes. the first box was like this...
obviously it is the shape of a pick, but also the magnet is visible, sitting on the surface of box. i didnt like this, also i didnt like the fact that you had to fully turn the lid 180 degrees so as to get a pick out. As you can see in the picture here turning 90 degrees doesnt allow you to remove a pick.
i therefore decided upon this design...
I changed the shape to resemble the body of a guitar, (it looks awful due to my poor photoshop skills) I build the magnet into the box instead of on its surface. this does make the magnet connection weaker but still plenty strong to keep the lid closed in its place. frankly the osurface mounted magnets were a little too strong, on occasion ive wondered if someone welded it closed in my sleep. in any case i prefer the look and feel of this and so made four this weekend and plan to go from here to my folksy.com shop and see about listing them.
The process i went through making this has helped me to evolve the heart box i made recently. future heart boxes will incorporate build ideas from this box. the heart box had the option of lifting off the lid, but with this pick box the swivel lid is fixed by means of a design feature of the dowel. (see pic below)
the dowel is made using brass, then a small nut was rounded on the grinder/sander and then using epoxy it was fixed to the brass, this prevents the lid from being lifted through the box. Also using brass as a dowel instead of wood is a much nicer look.
in making this pick box i quite by accident discovered that if i put one of the magnets inside the box instead of on top of the box it still works, causing the two magnets to fix together. This involves very precise drilling but it just looks so much prettier. this is accomplished by drilling from the bottom through to about 1mm from the top of the box, using epoxy to hold it in place, then when the bottom of the box is glued it conceals all evidence of the magnet as well as concealing the bottom of the above dowel.
both of these elements (Dowel/Hidden magnet) will be included in future builds like the small heart box intended to be a ring box which i will be making this week.
As my projects have been getting increasing smaller over recent weeks i was moved to make a couple of jigs. and wow they are just the best 2 things ive made in a long time. my hands were getting ever closer to moving parts like the band saw blade and drill bits. so first up i made a sled for the band saw. ive used one on my table saw. (which finally gave up and died today after 15 years) every table saw should have a sled. once you make and use one you can never go back. in fact i may never use my chop saw again because of the sled. but we digress... using similar build mechanics i build a sled for my band saw incorporating two stop blocks which also act as a vice to hold small pieces of wood like the pick box. this makes it infinitely easier to cut the top and bottom off of a box, completely removing my hands from any danger. im just so pleased with it. my hands as they are make most tasks very frustrating and difficult so when i come up with ideas to help, like this sled, its such a relief and pressure removed.
the other jig is nothing new in woodworking ive just never used one. a number of years ago i lent a friend a woodworking jig book i owned and in return he made me a jig which was a table top clamp. i appreciated the gesture but never did use it, however, this tiny pick box required very precise drilling steps and i was having difficulty holding the small pieces still on the drill press, so i build a small table that sits on my drill press table with a slot for my clamp to move along and hold even very small pieces in place for the drill press to do its thing.
with this clamp a permanent feature on my drill press table i wonder why i had not done it sooner and now can not live without it.
often in the past ive thought of jigs as pointless time sinks especially if i will never use it again after this particular build is over. if you are unlikely to use the jig for years if ever whats the point. now, however im going headlong into making a variety of small boxes and other small projects with the goal of manufacturing a steady flow of these to sell at craft fairs and online shops like etsy.com i need to have a few jigs and other setups that i can have to repeat build steps quickly easily and safely. this means i need to be more alert to seeing the need for a jig instead of just muddling through.
anyhoo, both jigs can be seen here in the build video for the guitar pick box, if you like what im doing please subscribe and follow me on this journey into making beautiful boxes, and hopefully this thing that brings me enormous pleasure can also make some money and bring pleasure to others as they take these designs into their homes.
(this box was my first with the magnet showing, future ones will have the magnet hidden from view)
