Arachnid Labs Angled Brackets
I'm going to start by saying this is a bad product review, which is very different to a review of a bad product. I was sent some of these angled brackets by Arachnid Labs, it's an L-Shaped bracket with 2 pre-tapped M3 holes and it's intended to hold 2 panels together at right angles to each other. This review will probably come across as overly negative, I had some brackets and no immediate use for them so I had to figure out how to use them and where they will be useful.
Update:
These brackets are absolutely perfect for much larger designs and cases, particularly in perspex. I have since gone on to make such a box while prototyping designs for our new laser cutter.
The first thing I made was a simple test brace. This allowed me to check that the holes and slots were all in the right places. One side of the bracket has an extra tab, cutting a slot into the material allows the tab to key into the material and it prevents it rotating. I decided to make finger joints on the material join to prevent the second panel from rotating, this was not entirely necessary as long as the slotted side is longer than the non slotted side. The joint is a lot stronger than I expected, it's very sturdy and has a lot of potential.
With the holes in the right places I tried to make my first box. I used the brackets conservatively and put only 4 brackets built into the base of the box. The first problem I noticed is that the brackets don't hold the side panels at exactly 90 degrees so they started to splay at the top of the box. If you want to make a full box you're going to need brackets on every side and that makes the smallest box possible about 50x50x50mm.
I made a second box, this was intended to be a business card holder for some Archnid labs cards (when I show these brackets to people they will want to know where they can from). The box has a drop down front to access the cards, and learning from the previous box I put brackets all around the sides to stop them splaying. I used 2 brackets to hold the base on and 1 bracket for the lid (I only want to unscrew 1 screw to open the box). The lid works moderately well, I put the slot in the lid panel so when I remove the bracket it isn't in the way of the cards, the fundamental flaw is in the base. Using only 2 brackets on the base means the whole thing leans forward. Another fairly major issue is that the brackets inside the base stop the cards from sitting flat inside the box.
On the positive side of things;
- The brackets are well made, the screw threads were particularly smooth.
- They are a sensible price, about 18p each.
- They make a really sturdy joint.
- I like wood, I make dozens of boxes with finger joints and I glue them together, it's strong, fast and cheap. This is a bracket for use with plastic boxes and materials you can't just glue together.
- Each side of the box has a protruding bolt, this is just an aesthetic on the sides but on the base you are left with a box that rests on a series of bolt head. There is a good chance it will scratch the surface it is resting on.
- The inside of a small box is cluttered with the brackets themselves. If you want to put things inside the box you may have to juggle it round the bracket and things can't rest flush against any of the inside surfaces.
- I thought this might be good for box lids, but if you leave the brackets on the side walls and just take the lid off you have brackets protruding into the opening which are likely to scratch your hands as you reach into the box.
- There is a minimal size that these brackets would be useful for, these small demo boxes were all too small really which is why this is a bad review.
