Lubin Locking Box

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19
I saw this on Tic Toc a couple nights ago and thought it would be interesting to make one. This one is made from Maple and Bottle Brush wood. It is 3 1/2" square and 1 1/2" thick. In the original , they have one magnet mounted in the hole in the top to keep it locked. When unlocked the ball can fall out after it is opened. I put a magnet in both holes so it stays in there all the time. I made a 45 degree set up in the mill and used a dovetail router bit and  flipped the part for the cuts on each side so it was centered all the time. On the next one I'll make a jig for the router table to do the same thing. The nice thing about the mill is that I can do all the cuts by climb cutting and eliminating breakout as the cutter is exiting the piece. The high speed of the router table may not have that problem.
The trick of the lock is that when the steel ball is stuck to the top hole, it is exactly half way out so there is a minimum of movement. You just put the bottom down and rap it on a hard surface and  the bearing falls to the magnet in the bottom of the hole in the bottom piece.

It is finished with clear satin lacquer  on the outside. the inside is finish with Walrus oil bowl wax!

Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day

19 Comments


Now if you devise an ingenious way to manipulatively unlock that ball/magnet… you’d have a great puzzle

If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD

A nice deceptive box.

Ron

live to tell the stories, they sound better that way

clever 

*TONY ** Denver * ALWAYS REMEMBER TO HAVE FUN

your way above my pay grade jim !

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

Pretty cute little toy!

The Other Steven

I've always thought these would be fun to make. Maybe someday. Your's looks great!
Nice box, and very interesting way to open.
My brain is tired! Fun project. No idea how it works. 🤔
Thank you all for the nice comments. This is not my design but I did add a magnet in the bottom hole as explained below.

Hi Barbara. On the surface it looks like an impossibility to open with dovetails going in both directions. By when you see how it opens with the dovetail at 45 degrees, it makes it clear how it opens. But it does not slide because there is a steel ball sticking halfway out of it's hole in the top and it hangs there because of a magnet in the bottom of the hole. The bottom has a deeper hole lined up with the top and when you rap it down on a hard surface to dislodge the ball from the top magnet, the ball drops down and sticks to the bottom magnet and you can slide it open . I put a magnet in the bottom hole because if you have something in the round pocket in the box, you would want to open it upside down so it won't fall out. If the magnet were not in the bottom hole, it would lock up as soon as you turned it over.
That is how it works!

Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day

Thanks Moke !!!

Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day

On the surface it looks like an impossibility to open with dovetails going in both directions
Well...still seems beyond me, but certainly is a fun project. 
Maybe some day...................................


I will make one.

https://dutchypatterns.com/

Thanks, Tom, Peakplane and Dutchy!!

Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day

Like the tricky staff!!

...woodicted

Hi Ivan..Yes I'll try anything once . I like slick assembly and hidden features!

Cheers, Jim ........................ Variety is the spice of life...............Learn something new every day