Old Joints

Had a wander around a bit of a bric-a-brac / (unrefined) antiques shop recently, and found some interesting old boxes.  These boxes are not jewelry boxes by any stretch of the imagination, but not every box needs to be a work of art to fulfill a need.

I do see these boxes (from 40 to 80 years ago), and feel we have really lost a lot with the development of modern packaging and materials.  Sure they have convenience, low cost, low weight, easy recycling, but a cardboard box of whiskey has no class compared with a wooden case.  Note the particularly fine box (or finger) joint on this case of Johnnie Walker.  The fingers are about 3-5mm wide.

Johnnie Walker Case

This second box is older, and serves quite a different purpose to the above case.  It is a WWII ammunition box, and is designed for robustness and strength.  The fingers in this case are angled as you can see in the photo, so it appears to provide a bit of a wedging action when lifted (ammunition is notoriously heavy).  There is nothing pretty about the box – it is completely functional in application.

WWII Ammunition Box