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Sizing The Lid And Base

Whether you glued up your own stock or not, you must dimension your lid and base pieces so as to get an even overhang all around.

Begin by truing up one corner, which will be your reference for the other measurements. Ensure one of the long edges is straight and the adjacent short side (end-grain) is square to it. Then place the box on top, leaving an overhang of ⅜” (10mm) from each edge. Mark the overhang on the side to cut off with a small knife nick. From there, square a knifewall all around and cut like any other cross-grain cut, first creating a step-down for the saw to register against.

For the width, add an overhang of 3/8” on both sides as before, but this time, mark the cut line with a pencil. Then rip cut to the line with a hand saw.

Note: The lid differs from the base in that there is no overhang on the back. Instead, it will be flush with the back of the box so that the lid can open freely towards the back. Therefore, on the lid piece, only add one 3/8” overhang for the front edge.

Ensure you have one square corner before you begin
Ensure you have one square corner before you begin
Add 3/8" (10mm) to both ends and make a knife nick on the end to cut off
Add 3/8" (10mm) to both ends and make a knife nick on the end to cut off
Square a knifewall across the board all the way around
Square a knifewall across the board all the way around
Pare on the waste side of the knifewall
Pare on the waste side of the knifewall
Cross cut to length with a medium/large tenon saw
Cross cut to length with a medium/large tenon saw
Measure the width in the same way by adding an equal overhang
Measure the width in the same way by adding an equal overhang
For sawing along the grain, a pencil line is enough
For sawing along the grain, a pencil line is enough

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