Boxes

[Rob Stoakley]

In the autumn of last year I made a series of boxes (15) from oddments of wood which were too good to throw away or end up on my neighbour's log burner. The style of these little boxes was developed by Rob Cosman, a Canadian craftsman and they feature a wooden hinge which, if done correctly, is all but invisible when the lid is closed:





...but when it's raised, the hinge sections can clearly be seen. This one was made in cedar from the island of Yakushima, just off the coast of Japan. It's now illegal to log the massive cedar trees, so the wood can only be obtained when the seasonal typhoons knock a few over; the cedar used for this box is at least a thousand years old.



Most of the other boxes made had a circular insert in the lid of heritage wood from the headstocks of St. Paul's Cathedral bell towers, obtained during a recent renovation in 2017-18. Each box was accompanied by a Certificate of Provenance and they were donated to the Wessex Rehab centre at Salisbury District Hospital to raise funds. The last time I enquired, one had been immediately sold for £200 - Rob

 

[DuncSuss]

Rob, these are excellent.

I've been thinking about making boxes for my higher-end pens instead of buying them, but haven't seen one that grabs me until now. I'm not much of a flat-worker, so it might be beyond both my skill and my current range of tools (I don't have a thickness planer or a jointer - mostly get by using a router sled to flatten stuff). But I'll look for articles by Rob Cosman on how to build these.

Thanks for posting!

 

[alan morrison]

These are excellent, Rob. I like a neat box, so like these a lot.
I have been making a few myself, and also interestingly trying to make wooden hinges, though not internal ones like the ones on your boxes.

 

[Adal6]

Very smart rob

 

[Rob Stoakley]

Rob, these are excellent.

I've been thinking about making boxes for my higher-end pens instead of buying them, but haven't seen one that grabs me until now. I'm not much of a flat-worker, so it might be beyond both my skill and my current range of tools (I don't have a thickness planer or a jointer - mostly get by using a router sled to flatten stuff). But I'll look for articles by Rob Cosman on how to build these.

Thanks for posting!

There are plenty of UToob videos by Rob Cosman on how to build these boxes. The essential thing is to use a small router table and 6mm half round cutter to make the matching semi-circles in the lid and back; you'll also need to purchase his hinge drilling jig from Classic Hand Tools which'll set you back a paltry £128, but it'll cope with a box/chest that uses a broom handle (almost) for the hinge. There are other ways of making the holes along the axis of the hinge, where in this case a section of 1/16" welding rod links the parts together but a woodwork lathe isn't one of them 'cos I've tried it! You need to make the holes for the welding rod absolutely concentric or it won't work; his jig, expensive as it is, guarantees this accuracy - Rob

 

[Gadget-UK]

They are awesome Rob.
Certainly shows your craftsman ship

 

[DuncSuss]

There are plenty of UToob videos by Rob Cosman on how to build these boxes. The essential thing is to use a small router table and 6mm half round cutter to make the matching semi-circles in the lid and back; you'll also need to purchase his hinge drilling jig from Classic Hand Tools which'll set you back a paltry £128, but it'll cope with a box/chest that uses a broom handle (almost) for the hinge. There are other ways of making the holes along the axis of the hinge, where in this case a section of 1/16" welding rod links the parts together but a woodwork lathe isn't one of them 'cos I've tried it! You need to make the holes for the welding rod absolutely concentric or it won't work; his jig, expensive as it is, guarantees this accuracy - Rob

Yeah, I just started watching the first of his twenty-sumthin videos on it Certainly can't accuse him of skipping details!

 

[Bill Mooney]

Very nice boxes Rob.