adapting plans to your own use.

Tray made to fit tools box.

A reader asked my help in locating plans for a hand crafted eyeglass case. He has copies of two of my books, Basic Box Making, and Tiny Boxes, and hoped that I might direct him to plans for what he has in mind.

I would like to take the mystery out of design, and thereby make it easier for my readers to adapt designs to fit their own needs.

So how do you craft a box to fit a particular object? The first thing is to measure it, and then use your common sense to determine the necessary space to surround it, making it easy to lift in and out of the box.  For instance, I am making a tray to fit inside my tool box. Do I need plans for that, or do I simply take measurements and cut my parts to fit? Believe it or not, the same applies for making a case for eyeglasses.

After you have measured the size of the object, what comes next? Choose a box that is made using tools that you have, and in a design you like. Then alter the dimensions so that the inside space will be what you need for the object. It is simply a process of applying math.

One of the problems with plans in books or in magazine articles, is that you begin to think they are necessary. One of the advantages of writing my own books and plans is that I am allowed to simply make things without the interference of set plans.

Make and create...