Wooden Hair Clipper Case

I recently purchased a hair cutting set as a gift and the box it came in was not to my liking as everything was in a big jumble and would fall out every time I opened it up.

This got me motivated to try my hand at building a more functional box to pair with the gift.

So with no experience worth mentioning I set to rummaging in the garage to find some suitable boards in the pile of wood scraps.

Prior to this step (but not shown) I designed a box out of cardboard as a prototype to test fit my clipper set to make sure everything fitted.

Decide on the size of your box. My final design was 15cm x 25cm x 7cm on the outside edges.

Next mark with a pencil the lines where you need to cut and cut them with a table saw (you could use a hand saw if necessary).

A helpful tip is to measure and mark only one distance at a time between cuts, otherwise you might loose a few mm due to the saw blade width.

Adjust the teeth on your table saw to a 45 degree angle and cut both the ends of each side panel. See picture.

Test fit your corners for square.

Cut a groove along both the top and bottom of the side pieces half the width of your lid. Use the same measurement to find how far from the top and bottom the groove should start.

Next cut a notch half the depth of the wood around all the edges of the top and bottom pieces. This should fit snuggly into the grooves you cut in the side pieces.

To make the divider cut a rectangle that is half the height of the outside edges of the box and 1cm longer than the inside distance of the box.

Make several passes with the saw 0.5cm into the halfway point of both the short sides of the box. This will be where the divider will slot into.

After test fitting and filing/sanding any places that need to be squared in order to achieve a tight fit, you are ready to glue the box together.

Run a small bead of wood glue along both edges of each join and fit the pieces together. It is a good idea to be as careful as you can not to spill glue in places you don't want it as the glue will stain the wood.

Glue and fit all the pieces together, except the middle divider, and tightly tape around the four corners of the box to hold it securely while the glue cures.

I designed the box so that all pieces fit together into an enclosed box which will be cut open after the glue has dried. This way the lid will match the bottom perfectly.

After leaving the glue to cure overnight or however long is recommend for the product you are using, it is time to cut the box open.

Set your table saw to a blade depth of just under the width of the wood.

Then set up you guard at a distance from the blade thay equals the width you want for your lid.

Carefully pass the box through on all sides, finishing the cut off with a hand saw. This way you reduce potential tear out.

As this was my first time building anything like this I made several errors with my cuts so that all the seams didn't quite fit perfectly.

In order to fix this I sanded down all surfaces of the box, saving the wood dust, and mixed it with some pva glue to make a wood filler to fix any gaps. By using the sanding dust I made sure the filler matched the color of my box perfectly.

Now is the time to stain your wood if you want to, and finished it with some varnish or tongue oil.

I used a wooden furniture oil on the inside and outside. (The container no longer had the label so I don't know exactly what it was)

The next 3 steps are optional but I felt that lining the box would give it a much more completed finish.

Measure the depth of the box and cut strips of your lining material to the correct width. Then trim them to the correct length.

I used some reasonably heavy weight upholstery fabric for this.

I wanted to build in some straps to hold the scissors, brush, and blade oil, etc, so I cut appropriate lengths of elastic and sewed them on to the lining fabric before I glued it to the box.

Spread contact adhesive glue on both the fabric and the parts of the box they attach to and then carefully place the surfaces together. Press firmly to make sure you have good contact and to smooth the glue out.

Use a ruler and measure the box to find the center.

Place the two hinges at equal distances from the middle and lightly mark the screw holes with a pencil.

Do the same for the catch, lining it up with the middle of the box front.

Take a drill bit that is the size of your screw neck (smaller than the teeth), and drill pilot holes where you made marks for the hinges and catch to go.

Screw the hinges and catch to the box.

Because the hinges I used were quite small I added an extra bit of bracing connecting the lid to the box so the lid wouldn't be able to swing too far and potentially break the hinges.

Decide how far you want to go with your brace and drill pilot holes.

Cut a piece of ribbon or webbing to the correct length.

Fold over the end and make a little hole. Pass the screw through the hole working it past the teeth snug to the head of the screw.

Now screw both ends in place.

And the box is completed!

I arranged the hair clippers on one side of the box and the different clipper guards on the other side.