vitamin boxes

I like to take supplements and it bugs me the way I have about 20 vitamin bottles sitting around on the counter. That, and I've always been fond of little boxes with doors on them.

This will be my first instructable that I will rate "difficult". It's surprising how hard making a simple box turned out to be. I'm sure there are people out there who know how to do this the proper way, but I forged ahead anyway.

a task for a lunatic

Step 1 Supplies

clamps, and jigs, lots of them
some things of various size that you know to be square
small finishing nails 1/2 or 3/4 inch long
light birch plywood 1/4 inch thick (avoid the kind that has been treated with a waterproof sealer (appears shiny))
drill (hand drill preferred)
tsquare
table saw
wood planer
elmer's glue
water color paints
pencil, brushes
something to be the handles for the doors
wooden dowel
hot melt glue gun

Comments

[sgsidekick]

Cute idea. I like it. And...you can never warn too much about table saws! I suffered a kickback injury while making a cedar chest. Wood hadn't cleared blade when I reached down to turn off the saw, and it slammed into my gut like a train! The instructor was impressed that I kept my feet; told me he'd seen big guys laid right out from something like that (guess females can handle more pain). well, not 20 minutes later, everything was tighter than a Scotsman's purse, and I ended up in the ER. It was a month before I could wear anything other than sweats! So warn away! I thin these boxes are very cute, so of course I'll have to try them! Thanks for the posting.

[Eye Poker]

Kickback turned a 12x12 piece of MDF into the wooden frisbee of death. It flew over 100 yards.

[sgsidekick]

Whoa!!! Frisbee of Death! I bet!!!

[RaisedByRobots]

Ouch! I haven't had a kickback yet. I'm not entirely sure what it is or how it happens. All I know is it is one scary tool.

[sgsidekick]

Kickback is where all the wood hasn't completely cleared the blade. The spinning blade catches it and flings it back at the operator with astounding speed, force, and excruciating pain. That's why you need to make sure the wood is pushed completely past the blade before you take your eyes off it: a lesson I learned all too well. On the plus side, this 10" saw is quite interesting. And if you have no saw at all, the lumber store or home improvement store where you purchase your wood will make the cuts for you, for a small fee.

[RaisedByRobots]

Yes I really like this cute little saw. It is intended for people who like to make miniatures. But since I have a small apartment, it's just the right size. I clamp it to my kitchen table and away we go. So far I've only used it to cut 1/4 inch plywood. I like it a lot and it's relatively quiet compared to a regular table saw. About as loud as a vacuum cleaner, which is pretty loud I guess, but it's not as bad.

[sgsidekick]

LOL A REAL table saw!~

[whisperonthewind]

For those who don't already know, Elmer's makes a great wood glue, too.

[Warlrosity]

Hohnestly..... FAVED!

[night creature]

Fantastic Instructable! I really like these boxes! I would be tempted to make them, even though I have little woodworking experience, however, I am lacking in a table saw! Also, is the hand drill really necessary? I am pretty handy with my power drill. I would be tempted to make them of different sizes-and, different openings-would give a quirky effect when several are displayed together. I really like the paint effect. Is it difficult to get the color even, though? I have little experience with watercolor, and I would think some areas might "hold" the paint more then others-though, that might be an interesting effect!

[RaisedByRobots]

Cool! I'm glad somebody else thinks its a good idea! =) Yes, you could do it without a table saw, but I couldn't! If you know how to cut very square straight lines, no reason you couldn't use some other method for cutting the wood. Even with a table saw, I wound up with some wobblies, so, to each his own tool.

I used a hand drill because the wood is so thin and easy to go off center and drill out through the sides. You certainly could use a power drill, no doubt, with enough skill.

Strangely, the wood really likes the watercolor and vice verse. I find that the watercolor tends to be less streaky and stainy than it is on regular paper when it is applied to the soft white birch plywood. You can get really nice effects by layering colors. The photos don't show it, but some of the pieces really glow beautifully. I put down a layer of crimson red paint and then a layer of dark brown paint over that and it looks really amazing - very warm and rich tones. I also got a nice effect from a layer of light orange under a layer of sepia. The watercolor really glows that way.