Making Set-Up Boxes

Set-up boxes (also called full-telescoping boxes) can be fairly easily made with a few simple tools. The process itself is actually fairly simple. Once the measurements have been determined, a piece of chipboard (also called boxboard for obvious reasons) is cut to size and then scored where the sides will fold down. The excess corner pieces are removed and the sides are folded and taped into place. Sounds easy, right? Here are the full directions along with materials recommendations and sizes of some of the more common boxes in the industry.

Note: Click on the images to get a full size version.

MATERIALS
Board: Either single-ply chipboard or single-ply illustration board (see below for information on choosing a type of board).

Tape: I used masking tape since it’s repositionable and fairly thin (won't show as much under the artwork wrap).

TOOLS
Clamps: Quick clamps are about the best things ever invented! Two of them used together can apply more than 250 pounds of pressure for pressing and clamping, I use the Quick-Grip mini bar clamps.

Cutting Mat: Great for using as a backing to cut when using an xacto knife. Be sure to get one that is larger than the largest piece you wish to cut.

Xacto Knife and Blades: To cut and trim the materials.

Straight Edge: Either a metal ruler or a ruler with a metal edge. The metal will keep the xacto knife from cutting pieces from the edge of the ruler (and no longer cutting a straight line).

Cutting Fence: I use a piece of 1"x2"x24" hardwood (maple) that I clamp to the working surface. For larger cuts, or for cuts using an elevated fence, I use a 3"x3"x24" piece of oak (specifically made for wood turning, which means that it will be straighter and more accurate). You can also use pine, but I find that the hardwood pieces tend to be straighter and stay straighter over time. When using a cutting fence that you clamp to the working surface, you must have a working surface that has enough clearance beneath it to accommodate the clamps used to secure the fence.

Gapping Materials: Since you will need to set a cutting fence at a variety of distances from a fixed backing, you will need materials in a variety of thicknesses to set an accurate gap. Wood can be used for gaps of 1/4" to 1" or more. Aluminum bars can be used for gaps of 1/16" to 1/4". Scraps of single ply chipboard can be used for thicknesses of approximately 1/32".

Scoring Tool: Basically a hand held device with the tip of an xacto blade sticking out from the bottom. I made one from some scrap 1"x3" pine stock, a few screws, and an xacto blade. I used the blades from the xacto wood carving kit since they are thicker and will stay straight when cutting. The regular xacto blades will probably work just as well, though I haven't tried them.

To make a scoring tool, cut 2 pieces of 1"x3" stock that are approx. 3" long. Secure them so that the long edges line up perfectly (set them on a flat surface and use a quick-clamp to secure them together. Pre drill and countersink holes for screws at either edge. Screw the two blocks together. Doing so with no blade between them will ensure that the blocks will be snug when assembled with the blade in place. Disassemble the blocks and cut very shallow grooves in the blocks where the blade will go. This will keep the blocks from deforming when reassembled with the blade in place. Just be sure that the grooves aren't so deep that the blade moves freely when assembled. You shouldn't need anything else to hold the blade in place except the pressure of the blocks when screwed together.

Note: You can use a straight edge and an exacto knife to score the boards. Just be sure to run the knife lightly over the boards one or two times to score approximately halfway through the board. Doing it this way will be very time consuming. If you're planning on working on more than one or two boxes, you should take the time to make a scoring tool. It takes about 30-45 seconds to score a board using the scoring tool (once the backing and gapping materials are set in place)--much faster than measuring and scoring with an xacto knife.

GETTING STARTED
First decide the size of the box. You can start by measuring the size of an existing box or you can create a custom box of any size that you want.

To measure an existing box, be sure you measure the piece of chipboard that forms the top of the outer piece or the bottom of the inner piece. If you look carefully at the box itself, you will see the edge of the chipboard piece beneath the artwork wrap. This will be roughly 1/16" from the outer edge of the box half. This is the measurement for your piece (not the outside measurement).

It will take some getting used to measuring the chipboard beneath the artwork wrap, but you'll get the hang of it. Simply remember that all box dimensions (both top and bottom) are in even 1/16ths of an inch (or even millimeters if made using metric measurements). If your measurement isn't an even 16th of an inch, then round up or down.

Depth is measured in the same way, by measuring the board beneath the artwork wrap on any side of the box (tops and bottoms have the same depth).

To create a custom box, start from either an outer measurement (roughly the finished size you want for the box when assembled) or the inner size (the size of the well of the inner part).

The size of the box will determine the type of material to be used. Smaller boxes (roughly 8" square or smaller) can be made of single ply chipboard, which is thinner. Larger boxes can be made out of more sturdy illustration board (only slightly thicker than single ply chipboard, but very durable and straight for use in bigger boxes).

Once the material has been chosen, you can choose the difference in measurement between the outer and inner halves of the box. For chipboard, you may use a difference of 1/8"-3/16" or multiple differences (one difference for the width and another for the height). Some companies use a difference of 1/8" in one direction and 3/16" in the other. This is to allow for the extra artwork wrap one opposite sides of the box. That is, if the extra flap of artwork from the sides wraps to the top and bottom edges, then the height would have a difference of 3/16” and the width would have a difference of 1/8”.

For illustration board, use differences of 3/16"-1/4".

Since the artwork for your box will likely be laminated, you may want to go to the thicker difference between top and bottom pieces.

For Example: The tops of the Fantasy Flight Silver Line boxes have a measurement of 7.75" x 10.125", the bottoms measure 7.625" (difference of 1/8") x 9.9375" (difference of 3/16").

LAYING OUT AND CUTTING THE BOARD
Once you have determined the sizes for the top and bottom pieces and the height of your box, you can calculate the size of board to cut out. For each board you will need to know the width, the height and the depth of the box. Calculate as follows:

Board size = WIDTH + 2 * DEPTH x HEIGHT + 2 * DEPTH

For example: the Silver Line boxes are 1.5" deep. The tops are 7.75" x 10.125", the bottoms are 7.625" x 9.9375". The board for the top piece should be:

7.75" + 2 * 1.5" x 10.125" + 2 * 1.5" = 10.75" x 13.125"

The board for the bottom should be:

7.625" + 2 * 1.5" x 9.9375" + 2 * 1.5" = 10.625" x 12.9375"

Note that the difference in width from the top to the bottom is only 1/8" and the difference in height is 3/16". If you wanted to make a box the same size as the Fantasy Flight Silver Line box, but made out of illustration board (for extra stiffness and durability), you would start with the same size top piece:

7.75" + 2 * 1.5" x 10.125" + 2 * 1.5" = 10.75" x 13.125"

and adjust the bottom piece to have a difference of 1/4" on either dimension:

7.5" (7.75" - .25") + 2 * 1.5" x 9.875" (10.125" - .25") + 2 * 1.5" = 10.5" x 12.875"

You can cut the board in a variety of ways. The simplest is to measure the sizes on the board and cut them using a metal straight edge and an xacto knife. This will be a little more time consuming and probably not recommended for making more than a few boxes of the same size.

Note: When using an xacto knife and a straight edge to cut the board, make multiple, shallow cuts to gradually cut through the board. Trying to cut through the board in a single pass will put too much pressure on the blade and could cause it to snap or wander off the cut line resulting in an uneven edge.

Cutting out larger numbers of boards of the same size is best accomplished using a cutting fence and a cutting device. The best for cutting chipboard is a guillotine style paper cutter. Your rotary trimmer may also be capable of cutting chipboard in straight and accurate lines (mine makes a mess of it).

Set the fence (I use a 24" piece of 1"x2" stock) at the proper distance from the cutting edge and clamp into place. Then simply set the piece of board against the fence and cut. Begin with either the top or bottom dimensions and cut first the WIDTH + 2 * DEPTH and then the HEIGHT + 2 * DEPTH (or vice-versa). Repeat for the other piece (if you cut the top pieces, then repeat for the bottom pieces or vice-versa). Note that when using a guillotine style paper cutter, press firmly on the chipboard stock when cutting since the blade tends to pull the material away from the cutting fence as you cut.

SCORING THE BOARDS
Once your boards are cut, you can begin scoring them. The scoring will cause the board to fold in a predetermined way without undue bunching or deforming of material. A proper score should be close to 1/2 the thickness of the board being used. To achieve this, use a fixed a backing against which the board will be placed. A raised cutting fence is then clamped to the backing such that a board may easily slide underneath it and come to rest firmly and squarely against the backing.

The distance from the backing TO THE CENTER OF THE BLADE WITHIN THE SCORING TOOL WHEN SET AGAINST THE CUTTING FENCE must be exactly equal to the required depth of the finished box. In the example of the Fantasy Flight Silver Line box, the distance of from the backing to the center of the blade within the scoring block must be exactly 1.5".

For my scoring tool, the center of the blade is roughly .75" (but not exactly) from the edge of the tool. I therefore need to use another .75" (approximately) of gapping materials. In the illustration below, the only gapping material required is a single piece of wood measuring .75” thick. Hold the gapping materials next to the scoring tool and measure from the edge of the gapping materials to the center of the scoring tool blade.

In the following illustration, I show the gapping materials needed for a gap of 1.375”. As you can see, a variety of materials are needed to get exactly the right gap. I had to use a clamp to hold all the gapping materials to the scoring tool so I could measure them.

Begin by clamping the backing to the working surface. The backing must be longer than the longest edge of your cut board (with enough room on either side for clamps). Then set your cutting mat on the working surface against the backing. Set 2 pieces of board on the cutting mat against the board, then set your gapping materials on these boards and against the backing, clamp them into place. NOTE that you don't want to clamp them so tightly that the edge of the gapping material is deformed, since this edge will determine the straightness of the scoring.

Remove the 2 boards and you're ready to begin. Using 2 boards for the gapping material will create an elevated fence under which a single board will easily slide for insertion and removal.

Note that this setup will be used for all boards of your box (both tops and bottoms). Take a SCRAP piece and do a test scoring to check for proper placement of score (proper distance from edge of board to the score) and proper depth. Place the scrap against the backing. Set the scoring tool against the gapping materials so that the blade begins off of the board. Applying neither too much nor too little force, drag the scoring tool along the gapping material once or twice until a proper score is formed.

A properly scored piece will bend easily along the score. You don't want to score so deeply that the board is cut completely through (either entirely across or in places).

Once you're ready to begin, take a piece of cut board and rest one edge along the backing. Score, remove and repeat for the other edges of the board. Repeat for all boards.

Note that you will only score ONE SIDE of each board.

FINISHING
Once scored, you will need to cut out the corner pieces. Carefully run an xacto knife along the scored lines to completely cut away the pieces of the corners of every board. After doing so, you'll have a bunch of fairly uniform tiles to use in other prototypes!

Once the corners have been cut, fold each side of each board.

Precut enough pieces of tape for each corner of each board.

For each corner, fold the sides down so that they line up at the edges. You may need to push one edge up slightly to get them to line up. Once aligned, apply the tape to hold the corner together. Repeat for all corners of all boards.

That's it, you've got your finished box!

SIZES OF COMMON BOXES (measurements in inches)

Mayfair Midline (Modern Art, Power Lunch, HellRails, etc.)
Top: 6.25 x 8.375 x 1.75
Bottom: 6.125 x 8.1875 x 1.75

Fantasy Flight Silver Line (Citadels, Arena Maximus, etc.)
Top: 7.75 x 10.125 x 1.5
Bottom: 7.5 x 9.9375 x 1.5

Rio Grande/Alea (Puerto Rico, etc.)
Top: 8.5 x 12.0625 x 2.5
Bottom: 8.3125 x 11.875 x 2.5

Large Square (Fantasy Flight (Lord of the Rings), Days of Wonder (Ticket to Ride), etc.)
Top: 11.5625 x 11.5625 x 2.6875
Bottom: 11.375 x 11.375 x 2.6875