So, I needed a box. Not just any box, mind you. I needed something solid to chuck a load of old, heavy tools into. The plastic ones I looked at felt flimsy, like they’d crack the first time I dropped a spanner in. Decided I’d just build a wooden one myself. How hard could it be, right?
My first go was a disaster. Just tried cutting some 45-degree angles, mitre joints they call ’em, and slapped them together with wood glue. Looked okay for about five minutes. Then I put a bit of pressure on it, and bang, the corners just popped open. Pretty useless. Total waste of time and glue.
Okay, plan B. Tried the same mitre joints but added some nails. That was better, held together at least. But it looked rough as hell. Nails sticking out, sometimes splitting the wood near the edge. Still didn’t feel properly strong, like it would give way if I really loaded it up. Getting pretty fed up at this point.
Figuring Out These ‘Brighton’ Things
Then I was looking at an old chest my grandad made, proper solid bit of kit. Noticed the corners were mitred, but had these little bits of wood slotted in across the joint. Did some digging around, turns out they’re often called Brighton corners, or keyed mitres, whatever. Seemed like a lot more messing about, but they looked strong. Figured I’d give it a whirl.
First step was getting those mitre cuts spot on 45 degrees again. My cheap mitre saw wasn’t exactly precise. Spent ages fiddling, shimming it with bits of paper, making test cuts on scrap wood until I got it bang on. That alone took most of an afternoon.
Then came the fiddly part: cutting the slots for those little wood keys, or splines. You’re supposed to use a fancy jig, apparently. Well, I didn’t have one. So, I rigged something up myself on my table saw. Clamped a board to the fence, set the blade height low. Felt a bit dodgy, honestly. Had to be super careful lining up each corner piece, holding it steady while I pushed it through. Measured everything about fifty times. Nearly sliced into the wrong part on one corner, heart skipped a beat there.
Making the Keys and Gluing Up
Once the slots were cut (phew!), I needed the keys themselves. Found some scraps of oak, which was harder than the pine I was using for the box. Thought the contrast might look okay too. Cut small strips, slightly thicker than the saw blade kerf. Then I spent ages sanding each little piece down by hand until it was a nice, snug fit in the slots. Not too tight, not too loose. More fiddling.
- Got the glue out. Wood glue everywhere, as usual.
- Put glue on the mitred faces themselves.
- Put glue inside the little slots I’d cut.
- Slid the oak keys into the slots.
- Brought the two sides of the corner together.
- Clamped the hell out of it. Seriously, I think I used every clamp I own. Looked ridiculous.
Left it clamped up overnight. Probably could have taken them off sooner, but I was paranoid after the first failed attempt. Didn’t want any nasty surprises.
The Final Result
Next day, took the clamps off carefully. Scraped off the dried glue squeeze-out. The corners felt solid. Like, really solid. Sawed the ends of the oak keys flush with the box sides using a little hand saw, then sanded the whole corner smooth. Have to say, it looked pretty decent. The darker oak key against the pine actually looked quite smart. And the strength! You could stand on this box now. It feels bombproof compared to my earlier tries.
So yeah, Brighton corners. Bit of a pain to do? Absolutely. Took way longer than just slapping some glue on or banging in a few nails. But the difference is night and day. Proper strong joint. Sometimes, doing it the slightly harder, older way actually pays off. This box will probably outlast me now. Beats flimsy plastic any day.
