The UnaBox

By Claudio Bernardini
Category: Woodworking, Home
Time Required: 1-2 days
Difficulty: Easy

My architect friends Lorenzo Bini and Roberta Pezzulla made this little project for a very young and dynamic client: Lorenzo’s 6-month-old goddaughter. They wanted to make a box that the child could use her whole life to store small, personal, precious things. So they created the UnaBox, taking inspiration from an Indian box (by an anonymous designer) that had an obscure opening system with 2 pivoting lids.

The box’s dimensions are based on the golden ratio, and it allows access only to patient and curious people; many adults have tried to open it and failed. Here’s how to build one yourself!

Steps

Step #1: Cut the pieces.

The box is made from 11 pieces cut from a single board, plus a screw and a thin peg for the pivot and locking pin. Check out the files section for a rough schematic and visit http://makezine.com/20/unabox for CAD drawings and an assembly sequence.
To make the pieces, you can send the drawing to a CAD/CAM company and wait for the mailman, give it to a good carpenter, or cut the pieces yourself using a small handsaw or band saw.
Finish everything roughly with a wood file, and then more precisely with plenty of sandpaper.

Conclusion

Get SketchUp and AutoCAD models of the UnaBox pieces, and drawings of the assembly sequence in Flash and SVG, at http://makezine.com/20/unabox.

This project first appeared in MAKE Volume 20, page 65.

2 Responses to The UnaBox

Josh on March 13th, 2013 at 8:49 am said:

Could this be made using 1/4 inch wood?

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Small Woodworking Projects on March 15th, 2013 at 12:28 pm said:

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