Small Lidded Boxes
by Pam Reilly
Making a turned lidded box is a wonderful way to combine artistic creativity with functionality. Unlike vases or bowls, there are no hard and fast rules associated with boxes. There are no height-to-width ratios to follow, no basic standards for the size of the opening or the base, and no general guidelines for finials in terms of size, shape, or whether they’re even needed at all. As long as it looks good (whether that be to you, your family, or a buyer), fits nicely in the hand, and opens, it’s a good box!
There are certain goals I set and attempt to achieve whenever I’m making a box. First, the box should look balanced. In other words, the lid should not overpower the base so that the box looks top heavy or vice versa. Nor should the finial be too large, too small, or too ornate. Also, the form of the base and lid should complement each other and not appear mismatched.
Second, the fit of the lid should be appropriate for its intended use. If you want to impress other turners, a tight fit is sure to attract some admirers. A tight fit is essential if you’re making a needle case or a pillbox for travel. However, if the box is intended to be used for jewelry or
to hold paper clips, odds are good that the owner will want to be able to open and close it with one hand; therefore, a loose, but not sloppy, fit will be important. The same is true if the box is a gift for someone who is arthritic or elderly.
And last, achieving a good grain match and an invisible joint between the lid and base is one of the more challenging goals I set for myself. It’s a nice surprise when what appears to be a solid piece of wood opens up into two pieces, or when one expects the joint to be in one spot and it’s actually somewhere just a little higher or lower. Grain match and invisible joints only help to enhance the beauty of a box!
WOOD SELECTION
When making small lidded boxes, choose wood that has visual appeal in small sections. Burls, figured wood, and many exotic woods work well because they can have a lot of character in a small length. You’ll be hollowing end grain, so you’ll also want a timber that works nicely for this application and doesn’t pose a lot of problems with tearout. The wood should also be very dry to minimize, if not eliminate, any movement. The box featured in this article is made from holly and sports a bloodwood finial.
LET'S GET STARTED
Start with a piece of stock at least 4" long and about 3" square. Mount it between centers with the grain running parallel to the lathe bed and turn it into a cylinder. I like to use a roughing gouge to do this. Once the blank is round, make tenons on both ends of the cylinder (see Fig. 1). Both of these tenons will eventually be used to mount the blank in your chuck so, depending on the types of jaws you use, you may need to dovetail them.
Stop the lathe, examine the piece, and decide which end will be the lid and which will become the base of the box. Any knots or voids that are present should go in the base; you don’t want anything to weaken the lid. If there are any striking grain patterns or colors, you may want those in the lid as well. Most boxes are typically viewed from above, so the lid should provide the most initial visual impact.
Once you decide which end will be the lid, measure 1" to 1-1/4" from the tenon and make a mark. With a 1/16" thin parting tool, make a straight cut in the blank (see Fig. 2). It doesn’t have to be deep because it’s just a guide.
There are two ways to proceed from here. You can either remove the blank from the lathe and, using a bandsaw, slice the lid and body apart following the guide cut just made. Or, if you have a thin-kerf handsaw, leave the blank on the lathe and use it to separate the lid from the base, again following the guide cut. There should now be two pieces, each with a tenon. This process ensures a
minimal amount of wood loss and will give the best grain match.
THE LID
Mount the shorter lid section in the chuck. Clean up the face of the lid blank with a 1/4" parting tool to create a nice, clean, flat surface. Try to remove as little material as possible but be sure to remove any errant saw marks.
Shape the outside of the lid using a 3/8" spindle or detail gouge (see Fig. 3). Focus primarily on the shape of the rim, but leave plenty of mass for supporting the cuts you’ll make on the inside of the lid. Once the rim area of the lid is completed on the outside, you’ll be able to see how deep or shallow the inside of the lid should be.
You can use a spindle gouge to shape the underside of the lid, but my favorite tool for this task is the Sorby Multi-Tip tool with the rounded cutting bit (see Fig. 4). It’s very effective on end-grain work yet is small enough to enable you to turn fine details.
As seen in Fig. 5, I chose to make a series of waves or peaks (can’t quite call them beads because they’re not fully rounded) to detail the underside of the lid. The general concept here is to have a surprise hidden inside the box. I sometimes use V-grooves as an alternative, but chatter work would be a satisfactory option as well.
Because I typically make my lids pretty thin/shallow, I leave a button or nipple in the center of the underside. This provides space for drilling the hole that the finial tenon will fit into without drilling through the lid.
Once the detailing, if any, is complete, it’s time to tackle the spigot that the box base will fit into. I find that a 1/4" box scraper with a slightly skewed end works well on smaller diameter boxes. The scraper should cut just above center, and the handle should be elevated just a few degrees in order to make a clean, straight cut. I actually cut a slight dovetail here, angling very slightly out as I increase the depth of the cut. This gives you that little “pop” as the lid is removed from the box–a sure sign of a good fit!
Keep in mind the desired final thickness of your box when you determine where to make this cut. The closer you are to the edge of the rim when you begin your cut for the spigot, the thinner your outer rim will be, and, thus, the thinner your box will become. Once this step is complete, blend the resulting flat into the rest of the underside so it is minimized (see Fig. 6). You only need a very narrow shelf here.
Shape the outside top of the lid as best you can–it doesn’t have to be perfect as it will be cleaned up later. Leave a narrow cylinder of material for support while sanding (see Fig. 7). Sand the underside and outer rim of the lid, being careful to keep the details crisp.
When the sanding is done, use the parting tool (in this case, I like the 1/16" thin parting tool) to part the lid from the waste (see Fig. 7). Set the lid aside for later. Now it’s time to work on the base.
START THE BODY
Mount the remaining portion of the blank in the chuck. True up the face with the 1/4" parting tool, just as you did on the lid, again being careful to remove as little material as possible. Then, with the 3/8" spindle or detail gouge, true up the cylinder and determine where the bottom of the box will be. By cutting a small indentation at the anticipated bottom of the box, you can see the box body, even in the rough, and this will make it easier to make your desired shape emerge (see Fig. 8).
FIT THE LID
Now, take the lid and place it up against the end of the body (see Fig. 9). This gives you a feel for how deep you need to make your next cut, which will be for the tenon onto which the lid will fit.
This is the tricky part and if you’ve ever read Richard Raffan’s book, Turning Boxes, you’ll recognize the technique. Take a square-edged skew chisel and lay it on its side on the tool rest in the scraping position with the toe towards the headstock and the handle swung over towards the tailstock at about 45 degrees relative to the lathe bed (see Fig. 10).
Use the skew to cut an angled tenon similar to that shown in Fig. 11. Make light, gentle cuts, stopping the lathe frequently and matching up the lid until it just barely fits over the end of the angled tenon (see Fig. 12). (Depending on the kind of detailing you have under the lid, you may need to partially hollow the end of your blank so that any high points on the underside of the lid don’t bottom out on the base and throw off your fit.) Once you determine that the lid fits over the end of the angled tenon, straighten it out using the skew, keeping the cutting edge of the skew parallel to the lathe bed (see Fig. 13).
As you straighten the tenon, it’s a good idea to keep stopping the lathe and testing the fit. If too much wood is removed and the fit becomes sloppy, it’s not the end of the world. Using the 1/4" parting tool, remove the tenon altogether and start over with a new angled tenon. The only drawback is a shorter box and, because more material was removed, the grain match will probably suffer.
Once the tenon is straight and the lid fits as tightly as is practicable, place the lid on the box and, using the 3/8" spindle or detail gouge, finish shaping the top of the lid. If the fit is tight, but not tight enough to withstand cutting, wrap some masking tape around the joint of the lid and base (see Fig. 14).
Another trick is to take a wet paper towel and, with the lathe off, wet the tenon. Put the lid back on while the tenon is wet and they’ll stay together quite well. Often the heat from sanding will make the lid expand and a tight fit can loosen significantly; however, once it cools, it will tighten back up.
DRILL THE FINIAL HOLE
Once the lid has been sanded, it’s time to drill the hole for the finial. My finials typically have a 5/32" tenon on them, so that’s the size brad point drill bit I use. I fit a Jacobs chuck in the tailstock, lock the drill bit in place, and drill the hole as shown in Fig. 14. I don’t usually drill more than 1/8" to 3/32" deep. Be sure you don’t drill through the lid! You may need to make a final pass over the top of the lid with the last grit of abrasive paper you used to clean up any scuff marks left from drilling, but aside from that, the lid is complete.
Before removing the lid from the body, step back and take a look at the box with the lid on it. Picture what you want the body to look like and make sure that the form works with the shape and design of the lid. For example, I like to have beads on the rims, and I think they look better if they are at the widest part of the box. That means that the box body must have a smaller overall diameter than the rim of the lid. As I shape the body, I need to keep fitting the lid onto the box to make sure the diameter just under the rim is appropriate. You would need to do the same thing if you wanted the rim and body to be exactly the same diameter or if they were tapered somehow.
FINISH THE BODY
Shape the exterior of the box using the 3/8" spindle or detail gouge (see Fig. 15). Keep fitting the lid as needed to make sure the two sections complement each other. Remember to cut downhill and, aesthetically, it’s always best to avoid sharp angles.
When the outside is done, hollow the inside (see Fig. 16). Again, I prefer the Sorby Multi-Tip tool for shallow end-grain hollowing.
While it is not necessary to follow the shape of the exterior, I find that the even wall thickness achieved by following the exterior shape gives the box a more balanced feel. Because I like to add details to the bottom exterior of the box, I usually leave 1/8" to 1/4" in the base of the body regardless of the final wall thickness. I am fond of curves and do not like having a 90-degree angle between the wall and floor of the interior of the box. Your tastes may differ, though!
After you have finished hollowing the body, sand the inside and outside of the box. Be very, very careful not to oversand the joint tenon. It doesn’t take much to dramatically alter the fit of the lid. In fact, many times I don’t sand the tenon at all. If the cut is clean, doesn’t look ragged, and the lid fits just the way I want it to, I won’t touch it. However, there are occasions where I’ll sand it with 180 grit for a few moments until I get the fit I want. Just remember its intended use and proceed accordingly.
Part the box from the waste with the 1/16" thin parting tool. You don’t want the body to fly into orbit or, heaven forbid, bang on the tool rest, lathe bed, or floor. So if you’re not good at catching pieces as you part them off, bring up your tailstock to help hold the box in place as you do so. There are a number of homemade and commercial jigs that can be put on the live center to assist in this.
FINISH OFF THE BOTTOM
Reverse the box in the chuck so that the jaws are
grabbing the tenon that the lid fits onto (see Fig. 17). This is a delicate process; you don’t want to mar the tenon, but you don’t want your nicely finished box body to come loose either. Tighten the jaws until they make contact with the wood and then turn the chuck key another eighth to a quarter turn. Grab the box and see if it wiggles at all. If there’s movement, tighten the jaws a little more and test it again. Keep doing that until the box is solidly held. IF YOU OVERTIGHTEN THE JAWS, YOU’LL CRACK THE BOX!
Make very light cuts across the bottom of the box with a freshly sharpened,
3/8" spindle or detail gouge. You don’t want to use a lot of pressure or be too aggressive. Create a concave surface so the box will rest on the outer ring of the bottom. Add details here if you wish. I used my 1/4" parting tool on its side as shown in Fig. 18 to turn V-grooves in the bottom. Note the steep angle at which the tool is being held. This is necessary so the small circumference doesn’t skate the tool towards the center.
Sand the same as the rest of the box and it’s done. Remove the body from the chuck. If you tightened the chuck just enough to hold the box and used a moderately hard wood, you’ll have only the slightest mark, if any, from the chuck jaws on the tenon. I just leave them when that happens.
TURN THE FINIAL
Scrap wood or pen blanks are what I choose to turn my finials and a 3/4"-diameter blank approximately 4" to 6" long will yield a pretty big finial.
Finials can be made in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. They can either echo the form of the box or they can be a totally different shape. Your imagination is the only limitation.
Finials are usually made from a species that contrasts with that of the rest of the box; this helps to bring out variations in grain and color. For example, an ebony finial will bring out the black grain in a Zebrawood box.
Hold the blank in the chuck using No. 1 jaws or the equivalent. If the blank is less than 6" long and you seat it as far into the chuck as it will go, you won’t need to support the end with the tailstock. Start at the tailstock end (which will become the top of the finial) and work towards the headstock and bottom of the finial.
Once the overall shape of the finial is complete, it’s time to cut the tenon that will fit into the hole you drilled earlier in the top of the box lid. I have found that for most of the dense hardwoods that I use, a 5/32"-diameter tenon, approximately 1/8" long provides plenty of strength. If the tenon winds up being too long for the hole that’s drilled in the lid, simply grind off the excess on the sander.
I use a plastic syringe to inject some Titebond II glue in the hole in the lid, then insert the finial and let the glue dry before finishing and buffing.
FINISHING
Gel polyurethane or simply Renaissance Wax seems to provide the best finish for my boxes. Again, the finish chosen ultimately depends on the intended use of the box–especially for the interior. Oil finishes may not be the best choice here because they tend to smell due to the evaporation of the solvents. Apply your finish of choice and wait approximately a week before buffing.
Buffing small pieces is a challenge! Be sure to hold onto the lid tightly to prevent it from becoming a flying saucer. And, when buffing the box body, be careful not to let the wheel catch on either the rim or bottom edge of the box or the piece will be snatched right out of your hands. Once you’ve finished buffing, you have a new treasure in which to put your special keepsakes.
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