Carrying Case Construction

February 16, 2008 3:31 PM

CarpentryFilter: What kinds of books/resources are available to someone who wants to make a wooden carrying case?

I'm looking to make a sturdy, attractive wooden carrying case. You know how you might see an antique case for makeup, or perhaps a vampire-killer's kit full of bottles, straps for stakes, little drawers, and so forth? I'd like to build one of those, both with wooden joins but also with metal-finished corners and edges, perhaps bound with leather straps as well. I'd want to finish the wood with some kind of polish, perhaps a little engraving and painting, then polyurethane to seal it all. Functional, but also classy.

I did fairly well in woodshop but my skills have atrophied. Obviously, there will be an outlay in equipment. My local big box home improvement store doesn't have any relevant books on this kind of construction. While this branch of carpentry appears to be "cabinetmaking" according to Wikipedia, flipping through cabinetry books hasn't given me any clues.

I suspect that there is some particular name for this kind of carpentry that is the magic key to finding information from Google. Any texts on the subject would be appreciated.

posted by adipocere to home & garden (6 comments total)

The April issue of Fine Woodworking has an article on designing boxes. There are many detailed pictures that should be useful.
posted by InkaLomax at 3:42 PM on February 16

Fine Woodworking on Boxes, Carcasses and Drawers

Fine Woodworking on Joinery

"Cabinetmaking" isn't wrong, but the old-world fine craftsmanship sense of the word is used less and less; it's probably netting you a lot of information on building kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities.
posted by jon1270 at 5:38 PM on February 16

for that type of box you want finger joints (aka box joints) or dovetail joints.
I learned a great deal by reading this book, by Tage Frid which tells you how to make pretty much any wood joint on the planet. You have a very good chance of finding it in a library.

You can also look at this back issue of Woodsmith which has a lot on box joints.
posted by plinth at 5:49 PM on February 16

Google for "Steampunk"... you'll find some tutorials and instructional material put up by the small but lively community of hobbyists who build similar stuff. For instance, this.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 6:26 PM on February 16

Lee valley has a small selection of books on box making.
posted by Mitheral at 1:30 AM on February 17

You really can't go wrong with the Fine Woodworking books. Articles are available online, too, for a fee.

For general furniture making skills (and maybe even a box or two) David Marks' show on DIY Network (episodes also available online) is tough to beat. Marks' tops Norm by three or four useful tips per show, and he does it with three or four times fewer tools.

Searches under "furniture making" might be more fruitful. Box-making is closer to furniture making in terms of fit, finish, and function than it is to cabinetry and carpentry.
posted by notyou at 9:20 AM on February 17