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About a year ago I made two sets of "Apple Boxes", a name coined by the early movie industry for closed boxes that can be stacked to raise something in 1" increments up to 15". The full size are closed boxes (spacers) 12" X 20" in size and in heights of 8", 4", 2", and 1" that can be stacked to achieve any height in 1" increments up to 15" using just different combinations of the box heights to achieve a stack of the height desired. Although a movie industry creation, they have found their way into still photo studios as well. The commercially available versions are made from construction grade plywood, unfinished raw wood full of splinters and made terribly, but a set can cost upwards of $250. The ones that I make are Baltic Birch and finished with several coats of polyurethane.
I made two sets of full size Apple Boxes about a year ago. They have been of significant use in my photo/video studio, so I've decided to make a couple of 1/2 size Apple Box sets. The same heights, but 12" X 12" in length and width. I know, they should be 10" X 12" to be real half size, but I had a bunch of Baltic Birch scraps from larger project and found that I could make them 12" X 12". They should be easier to stack if the same size in both length and width directions.
Today I cut the pieces to size for two sets, except for the 1" height, which will be just two pieces of 12 mm glued together for about 1" thickness. Then I cut 3/8 Box joints for both ends of all of the side pieces, and 12 X 12 pieces for the tops and bottoms. Tomorrow if SWMBO doesn't change my plans, I'll be rough sanding the pieces, cutting hand holes, and maybe begin glue-up. These are being made completely from 12 mm Baltic Birch. For the larger size made last year I used 6 mm for the sides. I didn't have enough scraps of 6 mm to make these, but had plenty of 12 mm.
After finishing the full size I had comments about maybe them not being strong enough, so I jacked my Jeep Grand Cherokee up and set the front wheels on top of the two 8" high full size Apple Boxes. The Jeep weighs 6,000 lbs and the boxes didn't make even a click when the weight was let down on them, so I think that anyone or any thing standing on them in my studio will be quite safe. The hollow sizes each have three 12 mm partitions in them to help in transferring the weight from top to bottom. These 1/2 Apple Boxes will each get two partitions. I don't think I'll need to test them this time, because the sides are thicker in these than the full size sets, so they should be even stronger than the first full size sets.
Tomorrow, if SWMBO doesn't have other plans for me, I'll be rough sanding all of the pieces, cutting the hand holes, and maybe begin glue-up. In about a week I hope to have them finished with several coats of polyurethane, and in use in my studio. This size should be ideal for raising potted ferns to be better positioned in the shots. I'm certain that I'll find other uses too. The full size 8" high from the full size sets stood on end for a 20" height, make a good stool and have been used as a stool often. Smaller kids might enjoy doing the same with these. In the larger sets, hand holes are in the shorter ends. Since these are square, I haven't decided whether or not to put hand holes in all 4 sides. Still thinking about this.
Charley
Charley
I made two sets of full size Apple Boxes about a year ago. They have been of significant use in my photo/video studio, so I've decided to make a couple of 1/2 size Apple Box sets. The same heights, but 12" X 12" in length and width. I know, they should be 10" X 12" to be real half size, but I had a bunch of Baltic Birch scraps from larger project and found that I could make them 12" X 12". They should be easier to stack if the same size in both length and width directions.
Today I cut the pieces to size for two sets, except for the 1" height, which will be just two pieces of 12 mm glued together for about 1" thickness. Then I cut 3/8 Box joints for both ends of all of the side pieces, and 12 X 12 pieces for the tops and bottoms. Tomorrow if SWMBO doesn't change my plans, I'll be rough sanding the pieces, cutting hand holes, and maybe begin glue-up. These are being made completely from 12 mm Baltic Birch. For the larger size made last year I used 6 mm for the sides. I didn't have enough scraps of 6 mm to make these, but had plenty of 12 mm.
After finishing the full size I had comments about maybe them not being strong enough, so I jacked my Jeep Grand Cherokee up and set the front wheels on top of the two 8" high full size Apple Boxes. The Jeep weighs 6,000 lbs and the boxes didn't make even a click when the weight was let down on them, so I think that anyone or any thing standing on them in my studio will be quite safe. The hollow sizes each have three 12 mm partitions in them to help in transferring the weight from top to bottom. These 1/2 Apple Boxes will each get two partitions. I don't think I'll need to test them this time, because the sides are thicker in these than the full size sets, so they should be even stronger than the first full size sets.
Tomorrow, if SWMBO doesn't have other plans for me, I'll be rough sanding all of the pieces, cutting the hand holes, and maybe begin glue-up. In about a week I hope to have them finished with several coats of polyurethane, and in use in my studio. This size should be ideal for raising potted ferns to be better positioned in the shots. I'm certain that I'll find other uses too. The full size 8" high from the full size sets stood on end for a 20" height, make a good stool and have been used as a stool often. Smaller kids might enjoy doing the same with these. In the larger sets, hand holes are in the shorter ends. Since these are square, I haven't decided whether or not to put hand holes in all 4 sides. Still thinking about this.
Charley
Charley
