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Hingesmith
Studio
Open Studio

Whale living-hinge box

A big head and a curled tail. Nautical nurseries, a baby shower gift box.

Big head, curled tail. The wall is one strip of plywood with a living hinge cut into it, so the whole outline wraps from a flat sheet. Set the size in millimetres, pick a hinge pattern and a lid, watch it fold in 3D, then export the cut file for your laser.

Open the Whale in the Studio See Pro pricing

Pro shape: preview and fold it free, export from $9 a month or $149 once.

Whale box: a 3D render of the laser-cut living-hinge box in Baltic birch with its scored lid drawing

At the suggested size

200 × 119 × 80 mm on 3 mm plywood

These numbers come from the same engine that makes your file, built at the size the Studio suggests with the Straight Lattice hinge. Change the size, stock or pattern and they update live.

parts
6
on 2 sheets of 420 × 297 mm
of cutting
20.0 m
570 hinge cuts
wall length
499 mm
in 2 strips that butt-joint
tightest bend
R13 mm
rounded to suit 3 mm stock
hinge load
92%
of the safe twist limit
lid art
Scored
a matching line drawing on the lid
Whale lid as the laser sees it: red cut outline and blue scored lid art
The lid, as the laser sees it. Red is the cut, blue is the scored lid art. Turn lid art off in the Assembly tab for a plain lid.
Three lids

Drop-in, Snap-lock, Magnetic Lip. Every lid works with every shape.

Three stocks

3 mm, 4 mm, 6 mm. Hinge spacing and corner radii follow the thickness.

Kerf-compensated

Tabs grow and slots shrink by half your kerf, so parts press-fit without sanding.

Hinge patterns

Hinges that suit a whale

Any of the 21 patterns works on this shape; the cut spacing adapts to each curve of the wall. These four suit the Summer and the beach collection. Each link opens the Whale with that hinge.

Ripple cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
RipplePro
Waves that roll diagonally
Fish Scales cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Fish ScalesPro
Arched dashes
Basket Weave cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Basket WeavePro
Mirrored waves
S-Curve Sine cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
S-Curve SinePro
Wavy S-curves

Ripple: Waves whose phase drifts along the wall, so the crests roll across it diagonally. Water, beach and whale themes; it looks like a current moving round the box.

Before you cut

From file to finished box

Import the SVG at 1:1, give the blue layer a light score pass and the red layer a full cut, score first, then cut. The guides cover settings by machine and material, assembly, and selling what you make.

More like this

Summer and the beach, and neighbours

Sun lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
SunPro
Twelve rounded rays
Seashell lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
SeashellPro
Ribbed scallop shell
Starfish lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
StarfishPro
Five plump arms
Ice Cream Cone lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
Ice Cream ConePro
Scoop with drips on a cone
Pineapple lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
PineapplePro
Oval fruit, leafy crown
Pumpkin lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
PumpkinPro
Five soft lobes
Ghost lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
GhostPro
Dome with a scalloped hem
Coffin lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
CoffinPro
Gothic six-sided case
All shapes in Summer and the beach Browse all 100 shapes

Questions about the whale box

Is the Whale box free to export?

You can design it, change every setting and fold it in 3D for free. Exporting its cut file needs Pro: $9 per month, $59 per year, $149 one-time. The Rounded Box, Curved Cylinder and Hexagon export free, so you can test your laser settings before you buy.

What size can a whale box be?

Anything from 60 to 400 mm across and 30 to 250 mm tall; the suggested size is 200 × 119 mm. Picking the shape keeps your current scale and applies its proportions, then you can set the width and length to the millimetre. Curves need a minimum radius for the hinge to bend (8 mm on 3 mm stock, 10 mm on 4 mm, 15 mm on 6 mm), and the studio warns you if a size is too small for your stock.

Which lasers and software can cut it?

Any laser whose software imports SVG or DXF at 1:1 in millimetres: LightBurn (Omtech, Monport, Ortur, Atomstack, Creality, K40 and most CO₂ and diode machines), xTool Creative Space, Glowforge (SVG), LaserGRBL and Inkscape. The file has a red cut layer, a blue score layer for the lid art and fold marks, and a black sheet boundary.

What material should I cut it from?

3, 4 or 6 mm flat sheet stock. Baltic birch plywood bends best; poplar plywood and MDF work for gentler curves. The hinge spacing is sized for the thickness you pick, and the free bend test strip tells you how far your particular sheet will go.

Can I sell whale boxes I make with it?

Yes. Boxes you cut from your exports are yours to sell, on Etsy, at fairs or anywhere else. What you may not do is resell or share the cut files themselves as a template.

Fold a whale box in your browser

No account, no download to install. The design opens ready to size.

Open the Studio