Renewed Optimism - Small Box

Really like the red against the wood! Sharp!

2 Likes

Nice job!

1 Like

I have that same question. Noticed that one other poster said their build needed a bit of glue. Can anyone point me to a good thread on snap-fitting and kerfs? My first approximately two hundred projects are likely to be making custom bins and little shelves and such, just because it’s so much easier to join 1/8" materials with interlocking joints than with tiny screws or nails or glue or brackets.

1 Like

I’m having trouble thinking of a single thread on this. It has been discussed quite a bit though.
I make a lot of boxes and bins so my F360 tutorials lead you through the design process but I’m afraid they lack a good section on kerf.

1 Like

There are tutorials on kerf for the major 2D vector programs in the Matrix in the Table of Contents in the Tips and Tricks category. (Can’t link from the phone…it’s the first topic)

Also one for F360.

4 Likes

Link is here:

1 Like

To be fair to polarbrainfreeze, I believe his design assumed perfect 1/8" thickness and material thickness is as important as kerf in designing for snap fit.

Another issue to consider is how much use will your bins receive (assuming a wood product and not a manufactured product like acrylic) and what is your climate like? Even if they are kept inside a climate controlled building all day the changes in humidity between summer and winter could see the wood shrinking and expanding so that what is snap fit in one season is loose in another. I own an old house, it’s climate controlled, and there is one closet door that is essentially sealed through the summer and opens freely in the winter. I have similar plans for bins and storage, and gluing can be a messy PITA, but I’ll be doing it anyways. This may not be an issue for everyone, but I think it will be for some of us.

7 Likes

Also to be fair to me… :smile: … I have not had a chance to cut it myself. I’m looking forward to being able to test my designs before sharing them.

9 Likes

Right, it is far nicer than I could ever do in the vacuum of not being able to iterate on a :glowforge:

3 Likes

It is really nice when you can design without needing any fastening agent, but it gets difficult, especially as @caribis2 pointed out with changing humidity. I made a nice stamp box that that fits together perfectly immediately after a cut. It’s doing pretty well after four months, but the joints are a bit looser from use. I’ve also noted that things dry up in the winter and that can cause some issues.

As to kerf, I do .007 for very tight joints in Proofgrade. I do .006" for very tight acrylic joints of .21" acrylic.

6 Likes

@PFI-Guy any idea how to save in chrome on a mac (single button mouse). My wife had problems with the previous mouse upgrade so I went back to the 1 button (oops).
Thanks guys

If your mouse is one of the Magic Mouse variety, I want to say that pressing and holding on the top right side of the mouse will give you a dialog box to “save as”.

I will verify that in a couple hours on my Mac Mini.

@PFI-Guy is correct, if you have a Magic Mouse click the mouse with your finger on the right side.

If you don’t have a Magic Mouse (or even if you do) hold down the “Control” key on your keyboard while clicking and that will bring up the same right-click menu where you can select “Save Image As”

3 Likes

Always forget about the “Control” key functions. My first Mac friend called it the “puppy foot” key.

Out of curiousity, did you anneal the acrylic prior to the cut or did you do the cut pieces afterwards? If you did the cut pieces afterwards, I guess its safe to say there was no deformation?

I’m a bit fascinated with the idea of this. I’m assuming you just did this in your oven, or do you have a kiln of some sort?

1 Like

I stuck it in the oven at 170 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour at the end of the process. I haven’t noticed deformities doing that; but I place acrylic on aluminum foil so that even if it did melt into a pile of stinky goo it wouldn’t ruin the oven.

1 Like

is your oven unusably stinky now?

1 Like

No. I have noticed no effects at all in my oven after annealing acrylic. I wish I could say the same for tonight’s dinner.

8 Likes

Thanks so much for the svg. I also made me tha box n I love the design

11 Likes

It looks really nice. Good job!