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Handmade Wooden Cheese Boxes for Artisanal Cheese

December 2021
Cheese Making Home Page

I wanted some nice wooden cheese boxes for some soft Epoisses style cheese I made;  here is how I made and painted hardwood WOODEN CHEESE BOXES, 4 1/4" diameter.

Soft cheeses have been packed in wooden cheese boxes for centuries.  Before I get to how I made them, here are the finished wooden cheese boxes I made for the Epoisses-style cheese I made.
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Cheese Boxes with hand-painted tops.

Steps to make a round wooden cheese box:

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I started with sheets of 5.5" x 100" x 1/42" Curly Maple Veneer sheets
I bought the veneer from www.veneersupplies.com and they shipped rolled up in a nice compact cardboard box.
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I drew out circles for the bottom and also the lid tops.
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Cut the lids out on a high speed jig saw; I cut them over size!
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I cut the sides for the box and lid using a razor knife.
Below is a picture of the four parts I used to make each wooden cheese box:
  • 1.5" x 14.5" strip for the box sides
  • 1" x 15" for the lid sides
  • 4.5" diameter circle for the bottom
  • 4.75" diameter circle for the lid top
  • The circles at this size, are oversized and will be trimmed down later. 




Picture
Wooden cheese box: box and lid sides, top and bottom.
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I made these gluing forms for the lids and boxes. It took me a couple times to get these diameters just right to get a good fit between the box and lid. There was trial and error and I had to throw away 2 boxes and lids before I got it right. The lid form is 4 7/16" diameter and the box form is 4.25" dia.
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Wrapping the sides around the form, the wood overlaps itself about 3/4" and I glued these together with gel super-glue.
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See the gel super glue on the top of the box sides?
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Gluing the lid top to the sides, the dowels in the form, help me pull the form from the lid after the glue is dry.
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Here is a glued up wooden cheese box base; I chose to trim the corners at 45deg as shown, I did that before gluing them up.
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Here is a wooden cheese box lid glued to the sides, you can see how over size it is. After dry, I trimmed the top flush to the sides with a sharp razor and then sanded it smooth.
After gluing on the flat tops and bottoms of the wooden cheese box, I let the glue dry, and then I carefully trimmed them with a sharp razor, finally sanding them smooth.
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Used a pencil to sketch out the text on the lid
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On the right, you can see the paintbrush I used and the small caps full of red and black paint.
And here is the finished handmade and hand-painted wooden cheese box!:
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Here is the finished wooden cheese box
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I was very pleased with this homemade Epoisses style cheese which even included a rind washed in Marc de Bourgogne.
Copyright 2016 - 2022 www.argobuilder.com ALL photos and writing are by the Argo Builder and his crew, unless noted otherwise. Contact jason@argobuilder.com to request permission to use any writing or images from this site. Thanks. Use the information at your own risk, please ​make safety your first priority, the author does not claim responsibility for the accuracy ​or inaccuracy of any information on this site
  • Home
  • The Shipyard
    • Building SCAMP "ARGO"
    • Compac 16 Pilothouse
    • Building a Kaholo SUP
    • Making a SUP Paddle
    • Ships' Provisions
    • True Seafaring Tales: Book Reviews
    • Nautical Fiction: Book Reviews
    • Seafaring and Boat Building Reference Books
  • The Woods of Arcady
    • Wisconsin Mushroom Hunting
    • Wisconsin Wildflower Photo Gallery
    • Making Apple Cider
    • Making Maple Syrup
    • Building a Stone Arch
    • Making Traditional Wooden Skis
  • The Homestead
    • The Warp and Weft >
      • Making a Large Tapestry Loom
      • Making a Small Hand Loom
      • Weaving Projects for Small Hand Loom
      • Beautiful Handmade Tapestry Beaters
    • The Merry Blacksmith
    • Making Cheese
    • Wooden Cheese Boxes
    • How to Make Pickled Pike
    • Wisconsin Bluegill Fry
    • Making Wooden Spoons by Hand
    • Handmade Wooden Dustpans
    • Making Broom-Corn Brooms
    • Making Horsehair Brushes and Brooms
  • The Muse
    • Poetry
    • Antique Typewriters >
      • Underwood Standard Portable 3 Bank Typewriter
      • Corona 3 Folder Typewriter Refurbishment
      • Typewriter Platen Replacement
      • Design of Rubber Parts for Antique Typewriters
    • Making an Alphorn
    • Alphorn Gallery
    • Making an Alphorn Bag
    • Viking Lur
  • The Model Maker
    • Making a booknook
    • Krick Alexandra Steam Launch >
      • Assembling Miniature Steam Model Clyde Oscillating Steam Engine
    • Ship Model FD 10 Arnanes Fishing Smack Johanna
    • Artesania Latina, Cargo Ship "Capri"
    • Building a Ship in a Bottle
    • Model of a Disney Water Taxi
    • BlueJacket Optimist Sailboat Model
    • Oseberg Viking Ship Model
    • Making a Cuckoo Clock
    • 3D Print Workshop
    • 3D Printed Object Gallery
  • Tales of Adventure
    • Sailing from Door County to the UP Michigan
    • Sailing Northern Door County
    • Sailing Lake Superior Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
    • Sailing Lake Huron: St.Ignace, Mackinac Island, Les Cheneaux Islands, St Martin Islands
    • From Manitowoc to Algoma and back on a small boat, 2017