Any Interest in Custom Cube Boxes?

[DistinctThought]

Greetings friends,

I made myself a prototype for a custom cube box today with my raccoon logo, and I was wondering if anyone on the forums would be interested in some of these? This one is just made out of a cheap poster board material, but it still turned out great; with a better material the box will be quite durable.

I can easily make boxes for any size cube (within reason, for those of you who will challenge me to make a box for their house) and with whatever design someone sends me. For 3x3x3's, I could make them for maybe $3 for the first box and then ~$1 for each additional one depending on what material I end up using. Thoughts?

Thanks for reading!

Note: I realize that my design is quite boring, and I would love feedback on how to make my own boxes more aesthetically appealing!

Note 2: Even though the box is nominally for my 54.6mm ShuangRen, I scaled it for a 57mm cube, which is why there is extra space in the box.

 

[chron0s]

This is neat - is there a minimum quantity? I'd love to order some 2x2 and 3x3 boxes to use for gifts.

 

[DistinctThought]

This is neat - is there a minimum quantity? I'd love to order some 2x2 and 3x3 boxes to use for gifts.

Nope, I'd be willing to make single boxes.

 

[Tabe]

I think I would be interested, especially with (at least) a slightly better material and maybe color. I have a number of cubes that could use some boxes.

 

[TipsterTrickster]

I would use it to store and protect my puzzles with a picture of the type of puzzle on the front. Do you think it would protect them and keep dust out?

 

[DistinctThought]

I think I would be interested, especially with (at least) a slightly better material and maybe color. I have a number of cubes that could use some boxes.

Thanks for your reply! There's no reason that either the image or the box need to be black and white. I'm going to experiment with a couple of other materials today, so I'll update the post here as to how they turn out with better images.

I would use it to store and protect my puzzles with a picture of the type of puzzle on the front. Do you think it would protect them and keep dust out?

Picturing the type of puzzle is a great idea! And yes; I originally wanted to make boxes for those of my cubes without because the stickers chip and the lube gets cruddy after sitting out for a while. On the other hand, the cubes I have that came with boxes stay pretty unmolested. Just using a thin poster board for the box already offers roughly equal protection to the boxes that come with cubes though, so I'm excited to see what a firmer material will offer.

 

[Max Cruz]

What is a firmer material? Link?

 

[Duncan Bannon]

I'm interested with a firmer material too

 

[chron0s]

Awesome stuff DT! I'm interested in firmer material but even the existing material looks good for protecting cubes in storage.

How do you print stuff - you print directly onto the box? What a good format for graphics to put on there?

 

[DistinctThought]

What is a firmer material? Link?

I'm thinking laminated paperboard will work great, but I won't be able to try until I get some in the mail. It comes in many different thicknesses, too.
https://www.westrock.com/en/products/paperboard

I'm interested with a firmer material too

Thanks!

Awesome stuff DT! I'm interested in firmer material but even the existing material looks good for protecting cubes in storage.

How do you print stuff - you print directly onto the box? What a good format for graphics to put on there?

I print before cutting the box out, but on the same material, yes. I want to start laminating the material to prevent the graphics from getting scratched up. Vector (.eps) or raster (.svg) image files will work best, but any image with a high enough pixel density (>300 dpi) will result in a pretty darn good image.

 

[DistinctThought]

Today I tried using polyethylene. The box turned out great (1st pic) BUT polyethylene is notoriously difficult to decorate with ink. I tried to photo-engrave the top of the box, but unfortunately the design didn't show up that well even as the plastic started to melt (2nd pic).

Conclusion: Polyethylene is fantastic for durability, but lousy for customize-ability.

I also decided to make a box out of wood. I don't have the advantage of a miter saw or table saw, so I did all the angled cuts by hand and the result was predictable: the pieces didn't fit together quite as seamlessly as I would have liked. Nonetheless, the box turned out decently well (3rd pic). I added a foam lining to the interior and used magnets to keep the lid closed (4th pic). It makes my magnetic GAN feel right at home! I also photo-engraved my cubing coon on the top of the box (5th pic).

Next time I'll finish the wood and clean up the aesthetics with an attractive veneer, but I count this a successful project for today!

Conclusion: Wood is durable and customizable (and super cool) but a pain in the ass to make well haha.

 

[teh yoshi]

Those boxes look dope and I love your goofy raccoon logo.

I wouldn't mind having a wooden box with nothing on it but that random raccoon on it.