Help With Building a Box

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

as requested on support…

I’ve built about 10 of these boxes, all on the table saw. I’ve cut the dados on the table saw also. I’d like to set these up in Carbide Create

The stock thickness will be 3/8” and my stock height & width will be enough to cut the lid piece, box piece on one stock piece.

6¾″ deep
10¼″ wide
87mm or 3½″ high with a 1.15625 high lid

“sniglet” style joinery

First, we do Job Setup, adding in a ⅛″ kerf:

and then adding in the lid:

Ok

Then if need be, we change the grid dimension:

and draw in the rough dimensions:

and center things:

Ok

drawing in the balance of the part outlines and arranging to match the orientation:

A quick way to draw in the balance of the parts is to draw from corner-to-corner:

and then subtract the kerf from the two edges:

There are numerous possible approaches for the lid, the most straight-forward of which is to use a suitably large V 90 degree tool to cut a 45 degree miter…

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

Before doing this however, we just draw the Stock Thickness in profile:

as well as the tooling which will be used:

#311 90 Degree Solid V-bit Cutter

which we see is not large enough to cut this in one pass, but first we will set up the bottom of the cut, since that is the easiest:

Done

Repeat this at top and bottom for each side and the front and back panels:

then make a new layer, naming it by the tool to be used and the depth to be cut:

and move the geometry for this to that layer:

Then make a new toolpath:

and assign it to the layer:

setting appropriate parameters:

which simulates as:

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

To finish the cut, we could do the trigonometry to determine where the top of the tool bottoms out:

(or position and measure it)

but an easier approach is to halve the thickness:

in both directions:

repositioning so as to maintain registration:

Then create a new layer which is suitably named:

Select everything from the previous layer:

copy-paste with the cursor outside the drawing area so as to create a duplicate in registration with the original:

then move to the new layer:

Then adjust the grid increment:

=

Ok

then select each open polyline and nudge it one grid increment (which is half the (current) Stock Thickness) in the appropriate direction, mauka from the Hawai‘ian for “inland” (away from the ocean) might be apropos:

Note that to ensure that the correct object is moved one may double-click on the visibility icon for the other layers:

(though a colour difference would also make this clear)

For the central portion, remove the (current Stock Thickness from the dimensions:

and as before, make an appropriate toolpath:

(this time remembering to re-name to match the layer name)

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

Minor adjustment:

One observation, I use a 1/8 baltic birch for the bottom of the box. It would not be a part of the carve out pieces. I also use left over western red cedar strips I have from the Cedar Strip canoes I build. Those cedar strips are kind of my trade mark on these small “Memory Boxes” and also the larger cedar chests I build.

Hang on while we delete those layers and adjust…

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

Make sure to move the bottom part:

back to the DEFAULT layer before deletion.

For the bottom, it will be necessary to cut a channel — for thicker material, my preference is to cut to a depth of slightly more than one-third of the Stock Thickness leaving at least that dimension uncut along what will become the bottom to hold things and to reduce the part by two-thirds on each dimension which should allow a snug fit, but w/o interference.

First, re-draw the lines along the bottom edges:

Then align them with the bottom edges of the sides and front/back:

again, easiest way is to set the Grid Increment to match the distance which one wishes to move (or they could have instead been drawn along those edges to begin with):

Then, because things line up thus, set the Grid Increment to be half the Stock Thickness:

and nudge each again:

Then make a new layer suitably named for the tool which will be used and the depth:

As before, move to the new layer:

and create the toolpath:

selecting by layer:

OK

Then adjust the dimensions of the bottom:

This part will need to be have toolpaths set to allow it to be cut out, or a part of this dimension prepared using a suitable saw.

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

For the joints themselves, it will be easiest to temporarily close up the kerf for cutting the parts apart:

and then work out how many joints will fit.

There are two separate ways to draw up the joinery:

• draw the outlines
• draw the toolpath

Ultimately, it is most expedient to do both — the outlines allow for easy scaling and manipulation, while the toolpath ensures that there will not be an issue with the tool fitting into a narrow region.

Initially, the joints should be twice the height of the tool to be used, and equal in width to the Stock Thickness:

Select both:

and use Linear Array to replicate as necessary:

OK

Delete the extra geometry at the top:

Select the geometry which depicts the joinery:

and then asymmetrically scale it to match the height of the box:

Done

Drag into registration:

Draw a circle the diameter of the tool:

and drag it to the start position for the front joinery:

Duplicate it and position duplicates along the desired path:

Then, draw lines connecting all the centers:

Done

For the angled lines, draw a square connecting the ends:

then use those to construct circles which describe the desired arcs:

Node Edit the two circles:

cutting them open:

Then select the nodes which are outside of the arc which is to be kept:

d (to delete)

Repeat for the other circle:

d

Then select the nascent line for the toolpath:

and cut the vector along the angles:

reselect:

select the new begin/end nodes:

d

repeat for the other:

add the geometry back to the selection:

select

d

Done

Duplicate the larger arc:

Mirror Vertical:

and drag it into registration:

then delete the extraneous node:

d

and repeat this for the smaller arc:

Select the open vectors for the toolpath:

and Join Vectors:

Set the Grid sizing back to 0.125:

and nudge the outlines for the box front and side back:

It will be necessary to re-work the toolpaths to take the fact that neither the lid nor the front/side match up with the size of the joints.

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

Note the size of the lid:

then select the three pieces of geometry which describe the joinery for it:

and asymmetrically scale to match:

Done

Drag into Registration:

and repeat for the balance:

Done

Repeat the drawing of the toolpath for each customized section (alternately, the lid could have been repositioned)…

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

Once one has a joinery segment drawn up, it may be duplicated as needed:

and any extra length removed:

For the opposite sides, duplicate and mirror as necessary before replicating, repositioning the circle used to place relative to the origin:

Where segments are too long:

drag so that the desired endpoint is at a grid intersection:

then use Node Editing to reposition the final point:

Then return to the original position:

Duplicate all toolpath geometry as needed:

and Mirror to position:

Repeating until one arrives at:

Where necessary draw in missing line segements:

Select all the joinery geometry:

and create a new layer and move to it:

Associate a toolpath with that layer:

Draw in straight lines to cut the top/bottoms apart:

and position

make a new layer suitably named:

and matching toolpath:

which now previews as:

To finish, join geometry where appropriate and add boxes to cut the parts out, then arrange so as to efficiently cut out of stock (the new Nesting feature and offset geometry to define what is associated with each part may be useful).

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

as further requested on support…

…can we try a different approach? Most of these boxes I build with simple cedar. I buy the 6" wide fence slats at Home Depot or Lowes, (really cheap) and dry them out for few months. I plane them down to 3/8" (9.525mm) and make my boxes from that.

The file is:

first, ensure that everything lines up accurately:

OK

and drag things to align w/ the Grid as well:

and if there are duplicate elements, remove them:

Measure to make sure a tool will fit:

then re-create the joinery down the middle and add the requested slot:

… can we add a 1/8" slot along the bottom to slide in a 1/8" piece of baltic birch for the box bottom?

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

The easiest way to add the 1/8" slot is to simply use a 1/8" tool along a suitable Contour — this may be either to one side or the other, or directly long the path (No Offset), the latter is easier, so we draw the line where we want the tool to cut:

Done

Repeat for the other:

For complicated projects, having elements on discrete layers will assist in organization, so we make a suitable layer:

and move to that and associate the Contour Toolpath with the layer:

which now previews as:

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

We will try a slightly different approach this time, and also simplify things in the hope of avoiding previous difficulties.

First, drag the lid sections down to touch the bottom parts:

and we also drag the sides to be in contact with the front:

Then, as before, we draw up a pair of boxes which are Stock Thickness wide and twice the height of the diameter of endmill which we plan on using:

Select both:

and use Linear Array to replicate:

OK

Delete the extra at the top:

Then get the total box height:

Select the joinery boxes:

and asymmetrically scale them:

Done

Drag back into registration:

Rather than cope with the different sizes of things, select the top 3 joinery boxes:

to get their height, then apply it to the lid sections and subtract the difference from the bottoms:

(naturally, the reader is free to make other choices and arrange joint and part dimensions and apportionments as they wish)

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

For each side, use the polyline tool to draw the idealized version of the joinery:

starting outside of the box area

Done

With one drawn, it may be duplicated and dragged into registration with the other side:

Draw a circle which is ~10% larger in diameter than the tool which will be used:

duplicate and drag each copy into registration with each corner of the joiner which needs this clearance:

repeating until one arrives at:

Then select the line and circles for one side:

and use Trim Vectors:

to remove what is not wanted:

repeating until one arrives at:

OK

OK

Join Vectors

Yes

Repeat for the other side:

repeating until one arrives at:

OK

OK

Join Vectors

Yes

The boxes which represent the joinery may now be removed:

and the open vectors selected

and Node Edited to remove the extraneous ends (which arguably should not have been drawn)

d

d

Done

Fix the extra rounding at the top:

done

shift-click to add the short line segment to the selection:

Join Vectors

optionally node edit

and delete the superfluous node:

d

Done

It will also be necessary to correct the roundings which should not have happened at the joint at the top/bottom interface:

(and at the same time, the top/bottom portions may be separated)

d

Done

Draw in the missing line portions using the squares to force node positions:

Done

Done

and join and delete superfluous nodes as before:

Join Vectors

Node Edit

d

Done

d

Done

It should now be possible to select:

and duplicate the joinery geometry:

and then mirror each set:

and align the duplicate with the opposite end:

OK

Mirror Horizontal

shift-click to add a part of the side to the selection:

Align Vectors

align to the opposite side:

Ok

If desired, swap the joinery geometry around so as to achieve the desired appearance:

The extra squares may be selected:

and deleted

as may the original geometry:

The remaining geometry may now be nudged around by one grid increment in pairs:

the gaps filled in:

Done

Done

and the geometry which defines each part selected:

and Joined

Yes

Repeating until one arrives at:

Then, the lines for the slots may be shortened by Stock Thickness:

Done

Scale

Done

Lastly the part geometry is selected and offset by endmill diameter plus 10% or so:

and the perimeter deselected:

and the small interstices deleted:

Then the original geometry may be selected and the tabs re-created… once things are moved apart sufficiently to allow a reasonable number.

delete

Offset Vectors

Apply

select:

and restore tabs:

being careful to place them where they will connect with uncut material:

adjust number and placement as desired

OK

Arrange toolpaths so as to cut from inside-out (so the “Bottom Slot” toolpath from before should cut first), then select the offset and part geometry:

and cut as a pocket down to tab height:

Then select the part geometry only:

and associate it with a Contour toolpath which compleats the cut:

which previews as: