Continuous Grain Folding Boxes

and with a bit of adjustment we arrive at:

Next up is adding the logic to allow one to export the two separate files which will be needed:

  • pockets for the rabbets
  • V carving for the fold point

So we add two variables and a bit of logic:

Attached (One Piece Box.zip (8.2 KB) ) should anyone want to experiment with it in BlockSCAD — it’s also publicly available at:

https://www.blockscad3d.com/community/projects/812966

Next up is the Customizer and putting it up on Thingiverse.

Awesome work @WillAdams! Can’t wait to try it out!

Almost done!

Wiring up the Customizer and getting the export possible is just a little bit of code:

V carving geometry:

Pocket geometry:

except I need to go back and tweak some numbers.

Wouldn’t this be an easy thing to do with a 90 deg V-bit in CC like @45rpm has shown in the cube videos? It would not have the fancy dado but it would have continuous grain with corners cut at 45deg.

Yes, but I’ve done those in the past.

I was mentioning that to @MarkDGaal, it is simple and can be done by anyone with basic tools.

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Of course, but the joint wouldn’t be as strong and glue up is a much bigger pain in the butt because everything wants to slide around on you vs. lock together.

Think about a silverware drawer or something else that takes a routine beating.

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Well if you leave the onion skin on the outside, there is very little shifting when you clamp together. I agree that a locking joint is better/stronger but you can get the continuous grain look very simply.

Once everything is in place one will be able to export a pair of DXFs:

One Piece BoxP.dxf (2.5 KB)

One Piece BoxV.dxf (108.0 KB)

Open one in Carbide Create, import the other and assign suitable toolpaths:

and

which previews as:

Attached.

One Piece Box.c2d (39.6 KB)

For folks who want different sizes: One Piece Box.zip (795 Bytes)

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This one was my original inspiration:

In discussing this on Reddit had the following thought:

https://old.reddit.com/r/shapeoko/comments/fkd8x3/tutorial_on_making_one_piece_boxes/

… I suspect the best thing to do for a given lot of lumber would be to do a series of test cuts.

Which is kind of annoying, since probably the folding would work better along the grain than at right angles…

But that raises an interesting idea — why not make such a box with the plywood oriented at 45 degrees — the wood grain at the fold/joint would then be consistent, and I think you’d get an interesting visual appearance, esp. if the base of the box was square.

To expand on that — does the geometry work out if you splayed the box out, or brought it in to make a vessel which was narrower at the top than at the bottom? I’m think it wouldn’t — you should need to model the angles and adjust them to match the angle of incidence of the folds/joinery — but doing so (I guess you’d need a 3D model of the angle and to use a very pointy tapered endmill with a ball tip) would be a an interesting extension to the project.

If anyone wants to try this and has a suitable piece of stock they’re willing to sacrifice in testing (and a suitably pointy endmill) I’ll gladly try to work up a test file — it’ll probably have to be exported as an STL with CAM done in MeshCAM or something similar.

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I’ve never had much luck “folding” wood in any direction. Seems the only way for me to do this would be the tape-and-cut-thru-the-wood-and-not-the-tape method from the above video.

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Will to clarify… you want someone to try to do 2 things.

  1. See the Above run on a piece of stock oriented at 45degs on the wasteboard?
  2. Create boxes that have openings that taper in and taper out based on the geometry of the lap joint?

Those are just idle wonderings on my part — the first should be easy for someone to do (I’m going to try it this evening) — if someone has a piece of plywood and wants a square box, let me know the dimensions of the plywood esp. the thickness, the desired box, and I’ll work up files for it — you’ll need a narrow 90 degree V endmill such as a Whiteside Router Bits 1500 V-Groove Bit with 90-Degree 1/4-Inch Cutting Diameter and 1/8-Inch Point Length

The latter looks like it will require some geometric adjustment of the joinery — I’ve shelved it until a later time since it will also require a narrow ball-tipped tapered endmill (or endmills of arbitrary angles? Does anyone know of a source for same?)

The Rockler dado set looks good on paper, but it takes a couple of hours of trial and error, changing shims and blade height to get it right, and it’s never really as perfect as the pictures look. I’m actually a Rockler employee and one of my jobs is demonstrating this dado set. It makes sense in a production setting, but for one-off drawers, a lock miter joint, etc. is much better. A lock miter joint is a bit challenging to set up on a router table, and I think using a CNC to cut this joint makes more sense. Also doses not limit the size of the drawer box since the 4 sides are not attached during the milling process.

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Glad you commented. It is like other supposedly easy to use jigs. Almost all are fiddley and require a lot of test cuts to make. And then take off to use std blade, and you are back to square one.

Agreed. The other issue is that such a thin veneer of wood is left for bending that is almost invariably cracks somewhere along its length. And the thickness of each sheet of plywood is variable, requiring more fiddling with the cutter.

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If you take the design you show. Use a 90degree .5 dia vbit and run a profile on the center line and set the cut depth to just a little bit less than .25 assuming you are using .25 plywood .Then cut away the 4 corner squares then the 4 sides will fold up and make your box.
I make boxes like this all the time . If you change the size of the plywood then you have to use an larger Dia 90 degree vbit.
Jeff

Correct, I show that at: