one quick thing that I noticed here, is the thin carrying handle.
I would add a few extra layers there, and then maybe wrap with leather. One thing I learned from being a DJ for many years is that carrying a heavy milk crate full of records without smooth rounded edges on the handle can really be uncomfortable.
…Im sure the same will go for tools.
So the votes are in and @steph_ is the winner of this weeks challenge! Congratulations!! send me your info so I can get you your prize.
What?? No way! That’s so awesome 
Way to go @steph_!
I tried to make this very box with a cutter, i don’t have illustrator, so i imported the pdf to inkscape, then saved as dxf so this chinese cutter could import that… but along they way it either lost some scaling or was just designed short. Im thinking its more likely to be the file conversion.
However, I took it as example and designed my own, just need to get a fastener, like some magnets or a clasp.
Nice work! It needs a design on the cover. 
I tried, but couldn’t get it to come out right. Ive got a jpg of a gameshop’s logo (unicorn and star) but inkscape wanted to make about a thousand shapes overlapping on it.
So figure i will need to wait for the gf to do that.
That, minus some garbage in the open space.
Was thinking i would have to run it through photoshop, trace it, isolate the unicorn and star, put on a clear background, then run it through vector magic or other conversion thing, but so little time, and so little energy after getting no more than 3-4.5 hours of sleep each night for about the past 10 days.
Here you go:
Thanks @dan! It’s going to be about a week before I can get back to that laser I’ve been using. Pics will be forth coming though!
That looks awesome!! I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if some of the sizing errors were inherent in the parent file, I haven’t had the chance to actually cut this thing out on a laser yet! I’m sure it’s going to need some post-cutting fixes. I love the compartment additions! Where did you get your birch? They look like good quality sheets!
Lumberyard near me can order 5’x5’ sheets of baltic birch, at 16.99 a sheet, plus 8$ special order charge. So i got 2 sheets, had em cut 12x20" (15 each) for about 45 after tax.
Amazon has a set of 12x24 of a lot less quantity for about 45$ plus shipping, so, this is certainly a win.
Wow, I’m jealous!! Now I’ll have to hunt around to see if there are any lumber yards near me who’ll do something like that
There’s a place in Calgary that has several thicknesses of it in 5x5 (Windsor Plywood for my fellow Calgarians), my plan is to get them to lop a 20" slice off one edge of a 1/8 and a 1/4" sheet so I can fit them into my vehicle to get them home, because I have a table saw to do the rest. Since I am getting the pro model, I may delay doing all the 12" crosscuts just yet though, just in case I realize I need something bigger that the passthrough could help me with.
I had always wondered why Baltic Birch came in 5x5 sheets, given that a 5 foot square is pretty much impossible to get into virtually any non-pickup-based personal vehicle, but clearly, they knew that Glowforges would have a 12"x20" bed, so they wanted the sheets to be evenly divisible into that size! Of course 4x5 would fit that requirement too and also fit into most vehicles, so I guess I am still wondering why the 5x5…
The Baltic Birch people definitely looked into the future and saw the Glowforge when they decided on 5x5, I’m convinced!
Thanks @Sawa for the suggestion of the lumber yard, I found one 30 minutes away from my house that’ll cut up an 1/8" thick 5x5 into 12"x20" sheets for around $20!! They’ll be getting lots of orders from me in the near future.
I had thought for a while that you’d need a table saw to cut down larger stock into 12"x20" pieces. And I sorta felt sorry for people without one. Then I realized, all you really need is some way to get large stock home. Because unless you’re making something 11.9" x 19.9", you don’t need the accurate, straight cuts of a table saw. The cheapest circular saw can rough out wavy-cut, sub-12" x 20" pieces. And if hand cutting won’t do, then clamp a furring strip or 2x4 or whatever to it as a guide for the saw. Sure, you may wind up with a little more scrap, but not bad all things considered.
I’ve enhanced that book box to include a solder metal inlay and a leather tie that loops around a grooved tab on the side. After stringing it through, i find that i should either have the tab protrude from the front cover (not desired) or put in some kind of tension clip to hold the string tight. For now just tieing it like so works.
I get more laser time on wednesday so I’ll have some more images of a mk3 box. This is the mk2.
I apologize in advance for the quality of that inlay, i had just used a hand dremel for the first time this weekend to do the recess, and used a very cheap soldering pen.
I had another test scrap of wood and found if i just laser out a 1/8 wide recess, it will fit in securely and cleanly on its own. The mk3 will have a new soldered faceplate (hopefully, I haven’t perfected getting text or images out of this chinese laser cleanly yet)
Please do not take any offense that seeing your wonderful, well-made box reminded me of something my dad made many decades ago. My dad, who would have been 115 
this year, was so fond of creating ways to ‘fix’ things and make things ‘work’ again. The original box for this childhood game fell apart during the years, so dad made this out of a piece of cardboard, a piece of twine, and a fastener cut out of a piece of plastic. I can only imagine the great fun and innovative creations he could have produced with a Glowforge. I guess that will be up to me, now. 
None taken. I just prefer that as much flat frontal space as possible is presented. Also, those style clasps can snag and get bent, so I just don’t prefer it. It certainly is a functional method and your papa’s craftiness was well delivered!
