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I use boxes as an opportunity to experiment with various types of joinery. From an appearance perspective, my favorite joint is the miter. The overall construction of the box may be viewed as trivial. However, getting a near perfect 45 degree cut followed by a glue up that has all the corners at 90 degrees can be a challenge. It is good to experiment with relatively small boxes before tackling a significant piece of furniture with the same joinery. The boxes shown in the photo are the last four (out of probably ten over the last five years) Tissue Boxes that I have made for family and friends. The wood is cherry. The miters were cut using modifications of a jig by Steve Latta as described in Fine Woodworking #129, 1998. While the last four boxes do not have any reinforcement at the corners, I

have used splines, both of rectangular and dovetail cross section. I think the splines are more ornamental as the un-reinforced miter joint is strong enough for their intended use. While I can cut "near" perfect 45's, I am still searching for the best way to get all four corners at 90 degrees. This last batch used miter folding and Titebond II.

 

[bfblack]

I like a vertical spline in a miter joint for a box. Nice and strong, although glue is often sufficient. If you use a digital angle finder and set the blade at exactly 45 to the table. Cut the side and end pieces, and then you can lower the blade and cut the groove for the spline with the same full kerf blade. Simple, strong, accurate.

I have never done a vertical spline so that would be a good joint to experiment with the next time I am in the mood to make another box.

 

[bfblack]

Comments on splined miter joints prompted me to construct a simple box out of 1/2" MDF and it is shown in the attached jpg file. There is nothing particularly note worthy about this box except it is proof that i went through the exercise. For boxes of the size of a tissue box, I do not think any reinforcement of the miter is necessary.

In the process of building this splined box, I came up with a way of cutting the spline slot before the miter cut. My process is documented in the attached pdf file.

 

[bfblack]

Hi bfblack.
Those are magnificent boxes. I am curious about how to put the tissues inside them.

There is no bottom to the box. The first version I made had the lid held in place by two dowels that were glued to the box ends. Hence you could remove the lid. The recent version shown in this thread had the lid glued to the box using the same two dowel arrangement. This approach eliminates the issue with cross grain expansion of the lid if you put glue along the entire lid/box interface. Also, it is easier to install a fresh box of tissues when the lid and box are permanently attached. Felt buttons on the four bottom corners eliminates scratching of the surface that the box is placed on. I can post a drawing if there is interest.

 

[bfblack]

Nice. Because of health issues, I go through five or six boxes of tissue per week. I don't like Kleenex brand because they don't pop up as you get to the bottom. I prefer Puffs, which has a side opening. I guess you'd just extend the opening to one side to match the package. Good point on expansion.

My design is specific to the larger size (110 count) Kleenex brand.

 

[bfblack]

Here is my latest in a series of tissue boxes. I added string inlay and joining cherry and maple along a curved interface.