Box wall thickness

[poolhound]

Just wondered what other box makers typically used as the thickness for their box walls.

I have a few interesting odds and ends of stock lying around that I thought would make some cool boxes but some are not that big. I am considering resawing them but I may only end up with 5/16 which seems rather thin.

I have usually not gone much thinner than 1/2" has anybody made boxes with thin stuff maybe even 1/4"?

[LCHIEN]

seems to me like its a decision based upon the use of the box.
light items can easily use 1/4" walls, heavier items and bigger items need 1/2 or 3/4" walls.

I see the boxes the stores and restautants receive multiple bottles of wine use wood no thicker than 5/16 or 1/4" - they can get pretty heavy, even.

[poolhound]

I see the boxes the stores and restautants receive multiple bottles of wine use wood no thicker than 5/16 or 1/4" - they can get pretty heavy, even.

Good point, I hadnt thought of that.

[LCHIEN]

I would also expect that the type of joinery used has a part. its hard to get strong simple butt joints in 1/4" wood since there's little gluing or nailing surface. Using corner braces will strengthen them at the cost of internal space and looks. However, finer finger joints can hold a lot more glue area internally so a 1/4" box with the right joinery can be quite strong.

[JR]

I, too, have been using mostly 1/2" material. I share your confusion about milling to narrower thicknesses, since a lot of the available lumber is 3/4".

I think you could use thinner stock for smaller boxes, say up to 6" long and 2" or 3" high. In fact, I think it would be perfectly proportional for those smaller boxes. For boxes larger than that I'd be concerned that it would just look a bit out of whack.

As Loring points out, the issue is not usually the functinality of the thin wood. It's really a question of your design esthetic.

JR

[herb fellows]

It's actually a combination of the utility of the box, the joints used and the size of the box. You wouldn't want to make a 2'x3' box out of 1/4' unless it was just going to sit there. On the other hand, five fingers!