Sometimes in the eddy of time, after completing a large/complex/difficult project, I consciously seek out something of lesser scope as a follow-on job. Even though it may be just as demanding an execution, it seems like a reset activity where you allow your brain to release the single focus necessary to complete big jobs. Not always, but often, I choose to make one type of box or another. I’m not positive why that is, but I do have some theoretical contenders.

• Some are asked for, customer order or family request.
• I’d like to gift somebody something that I feel requires the gravitas of a purpose made case.
• I just really enjoy making boxes. Why is that? I seem to have several answers, which include…

1. Making boxes is intensive, but the time scale is short. This means that I often fabricate boxes in batches to maximize my productivity.
2. Boxes demand precise dimensions and attention to detail. Boxes can be any size, but I am speaking of micro versus macro here.
3. Boxmaking helps to justify a woodworker’s packrat tendency to salvage and store those small offcuts which are “just too nice” to discard. Speaking personally, these do tend to accumulate and it behooves me to find a practical use for them.
4. I’m going to call this one universal appeal. I have freely admitted that I enjoy box making. And the other part of the equation is that I have noticed that nearly everyone enjoys a beautiful and well-made box in which to store an object of personal significance. Maybe this has to do with the added suspense of opening a box to see or touch the contents.