Box Project

Dicebox

You will need:

1. A Laser Cutter

2. Plywood 7/8in by at least 10 x 15in

3. A Caliper dial

4. Wood Glue

5. A USB

6. Adobe Illustrator

7. Tape

8. Sandpaper- P225 and P80

Look around the house and find what needs to be organized.

Find a messy drawer, a closet or make your own toothbrush holder.

I brainstormed three ideas, a box for small trinkets, a box for colored pencils and the one we will make

A DICEBOX.

I drew inspiration for my dicebox from the Wymwood website. They make all sorts of D&D related containers and trinkets.

Their dice box measurements are 10 x 8 x 1.5in. I made my dicebox 10 x 10 x 1in. I also included a divider for dice storage.

If you want you can change the dimensions, just make sure you have enough wood.

Above I created an isometric drawing of my box.

I then input my box's dimensions into a website called Box Designer.

Box Designer takes your dimensions and creates a changeable PDF for you.

Make sure you have your USB connected to the computer when you create your Box Designer file.

Before you create your file measure your wood's thickness. If you have one use a Caliper Dial. It is very accurate and easy to use. If you are using the wood I used the width of the wood is .215in.

Make sure to include the width of your wood into the dimensions so your box is the exact measurement that you want.

To edit your box you should use Gravit Designer.

Open your downloaded box file in Gravit.

When you open your file make sure that the measurements are in inches.

The file will have a lid for the box, but we want to have an open top, so make sure to delete one of the bigger pieces.

Then move the box pieces so that they are right up next to each other to conserve space. Don't forget to create a divider if you want one. You can create a divider by using the drawing tool. The measurements of the divider I created were 10in x 9.785in x .215in

Also, make sure that the dimensions are correct and what you want.

When you are done download your box as an SVG file onto your USB.

Before you can take your USB to the laser cutter to print you need to change your file into an AI file.

Adobe Illustrator is the place to change your file.

Once you open your file you need to ungroup the box and delete the little box that is surrounding it. You can find the box if you move your mouse around the box. You also need to

Then download your file onto your USB yet again but this time as an AI. file.

Once you've done this you can connect your file into the Laser Cutter.

Above is a list of steps you should take to safely cut your box. These are the steps for my school's laser cutter, but know that each laser cutter is special. Make sure you learn how to operate the laser cutter safely and check with someone who is a professional.

When you have your pieces you can start assembling them.

Lay them out and make sure to have the burnt side on the inside so the outside is pretty and neat.

When you glue them do it one side at a time, lay the two pieces next to each other and connect them. Put the glue on the places where the notches connect, this will ensure that the glue gets to all the places it needs to be.

Then fold the outside edge up and tape it down tightly.

Do this to each side, cleaning the glue as you go.

I put the divider two inches into the box, but you can do it wherever you want. I simply marked where I wanted it. I placed glue onto the bottom of the piece and taped it down to the box.

When sanding, make sure to sand with the grain instead of against it.

Also, make sure to not put too much pressure on the wood, do a lot of light brushes.