String Box and Cutter

String Box and Cutter – It always seems a little difficult to find a piece of string about the house. Odd knotted lengths are unearthed from the most unexpected places and they never seem to be of the right size. Why not make a string box, with the added refinement of a cutter, and your troubles in frantically searching for a bit of string will be over. The illustration shows clearly how the box is made and it is quite simple to construct and will only take a short time.

Find a suitably sized tin box, one about 6 in. square will do admirably. The lid can either be hinged or just a push-on type. Make a hole in the side, in the centre, ¼ in. in diameter. Fasten a razor blade in the position illustrated, to use as a string cutter. This is fixed with two small bolts and nuts, threaded through the holes in the blade and two holes drilled in the side of the box. Place the razor blade so that the cutting edge covers half the diameter of the string hole. The string is pulled out through the hole and pressed on the blade and it will cut off. Fasten the razor blade to the inside of the box, otherwise there may be accidents.

This string box is ideal for a ball of string or twine and you have only to thread the string through the hole from the inside and cut off as shown. You can make up a ball of string by typing odd lengths together, using very small knots, so that they will thread through the opening.

It would be a splendid idea to paint the outside of this box with red enamel colours, and the word “string” painted on with white.