Cool Upcycled Wood Boxes Using Salvaged Wood

Contributing Editor A.J. Moses makes a business out of using salvaged wood. In fact, he calls his company Castaway Woodworks because so much of the material he uses has, literally, been cast away by someone else. He takes a lot of pride in giving those materials new life.

Working with reclaimed wood

Using salvaged wood is quite the rage these days which may leave you with some questions, including — what is reclaimed wood? In addition to knowing what the material is, it’s also good for you to get some background on what it takes to work with this salvaged wood. It does have some characteristics you should know about.

Box proportions

AJ uses the Golden Ratio when dimensioning his boxes. This is a great thing to know about as you’re working on project designs. The ratio is 1.6:1. How to use it? Determine the length of one side, and then multiply or divide it by 1.6 to get the other side. For example, AJ’s boxes are 5” x 8”. The Golden Ratio is a great trick to know about to make sure your projects have pleasing proportions.

Reinforcing corners

Mitered corners can be weak, thanks to the end grain to end grain nature of the joint. It’s a great idea to reinforce the corners with a spline. In addition to adding strength, a spline can become a significant design element.