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Router-Carved Valet Dish[8/4 Wide · 2ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 5 valet dishes
Shop Black Walnut 8/4 Wide · 2ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 2' Lengths / 6-8"
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
A thick hardwood catch-all for keys, wallet, watch and change. Each dish is a 10" × 11" glued-up block with a deep pocket routed in from a shop-made template. One pack of 6–8" wide 8/4 lumber makes five — one for the dresser, one for the front hall, and three to give away.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dish halves | 10 | Boards 1–5, two each | 10" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Dish blanks (glued pairs) | 5 | Two halves each | 10" × 11" × 1¾" |
| Pocket (routed) | 5 | One per dish | 8" × 9" × ¾" deep, 1" corners |
| Template, ¼" MDF | 1 | Shop-made | opening 8¼" × 9¼", 1⅛" corners |
Blanks: two 10" pieces from each board, edge-glued → 10" × 11" × 1¾".
Pocket: 8" × 9" with 1" corners, ¾" deep, leaving a 1" rim. Routed in ¼" passes with a guide bushing and a ¼" MDF template.
Template opening: pocket size plus 2 × the bushing offset. Example: ½" bit in a ¾" bushing → ⅛" offset → 8¼" × 9¼" opening, 1⅛" corners.
Finished size: Each dish 10" × 11" × 1¾", pocket 8" × 9" × ¾" deep. Wider boards give a wider dish and pocket.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 8/4 Wide · 2ft (6–8" wide, S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- 1 piece of ¼" MDF, about 14" × 14", for the template
- A 14" strip of ¼" hardboard or acrylic for a wide router base
- Double-sided carpet tape
- 20 felt pads
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: wipe-on oil, hardwax oil or water-based poly
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square)
- Plunge router with a guide-bushing kit (¾" bushing)
- ½" core-box bit or a bowl-and-tray bit
- ¼" roundover bit
- Jigsaw or scroll saw and files (to make the template)
- 4 bar clamps, 12" or longer
- Planer or belt sander
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
- S2S only: jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
Why S2S only? The 6–8" wide 8/4 boards come S2S: both faces planed, edges rough. Plan on losing about ¼" per edge when you straighten them.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · 6–8" wide 8/4 S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (5½" clean at the narrowest), planned at 1¾" thick · sizes drawn for the narrowest board in the pack. Wider boards give you a bigger offcut or a wider part — never a shortage.
Step-by-Step
S2S Lumber Pack (6–8" wide)
Surfaced 2 sides — straighten edges first
- 1 Prep the boards. Trim ½" off each end to remove any end checks. Joint one edge straight, then rip the other edge parallel (¼" off each rough edge is our planning allowance).
- 2 Crosscut the parts. Square one end of each board and cut it into two 10" pieces. Keep each pair together and mark them — the grain will match across the seam.
- 3 Glue up the blanks. Edge-glue each pair into a 10" × 11" blank. Long grain to long grain, so glue alone is plenty. Keep the faces level, clamp, and leave overnight.
- 4 Flatten. Scrape off the glue. Plane or sand both faces flat — the blanks fit most 12" planers, or use a belt sander. Square the ends if the glue-up slipped.
- 5 Make the template. The guide bushing rides on the template, and the bit cuts a little inside it. That gap is the offset: (bushing size − bit size) ÷ 2. With a ¾" bushing and a ½" bit it is ⅛". So for a 8" × 9" pocket, cut a 8¼" × 9¼" opening with 1⅛" corners in a piece of ¼" MDF about 14" square. Sand the opening edges smooth — every bump shows in the dish.
- 6 Set up the router. Fit the bushing and a core-box or bowl bit. Screw a wide base (a 14" strip of ¼" hardboard or acrylic with a hole for the bushing) to the router so it can't drop into the opening as the pocket gets wide.
- 7 Fix the template. Centre the template on the blank so the pocket leaves a 1" rim all round. Stick it down with double-sided carpet tape, press hard, and clamp the blank to the bench.
- 8 Rout the pocket. Take passes about ¼" deep until you reach ¾". Each pass, run the bushing around the template edge first, then clear the middle with overlapping strokes. Move clockwise around the inside of the template.
- 9 Sand the pocket. A core-box bit leaves small ridges on the floor. Sand them out with a foam sanding pad or sandpaper wrapped around a tennis ball, 120 → 180 → 220.
- 10 Shape the outside. Round the outer edges and corners with a ¼" roundover bit or by hand. Ease the pocket rim slightly so it doesn't feel sharp. Sand everything to 220.
- 11 Finish. Wipe on 2–3 coats of oil or hardwax oil, inside and out. Stick four felt pads under the corners so the dish won't scratch a dresser top.
Why a template? Freehand pockets wander. A template makes every wall straight and every corner the same, and all five dishes match.
Why the bushing offset? The bushing is bigger than the bit, so the cut lands inside the template edge. Make the opening bigger by the offset on every side and the pocket comes out the size you want.
Why ¼" passes? A deep cut in one go burns the wood, strains the router and can grab. Light passes cut clean and keep control.
Why does grain direction matter? Wood swells and shrinks across its grain, not along it. Every glue joint in this plan joins parts whose grain runs the same way, so nothing fights the seasons.
Make It Yours
- Charging slot: rout a ½" × 3" slot through the rim at the back for a phone cable.
- Two compartments: make the template with two openings and a 1" bridge between them — one for keys, one for a watch and rings.
- Leather liner: glue a piece of leather or cork into the pocket floor.
- Initials: wood-burn or carve initials into the front rim for a gift.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Clamp the blank and template to the bench before routing. Keep both hands on the router.
- Let the bit stop spinning before you lift the router out of the pocket.
- Wear a dust mask when cutting and sanding, especially exotics (padauk, purpleheart, sapele).
Frequently Asked Questions
The 6–8" wide 8/4 pack comes S2S (faces planed, edges rough). Straighten the edges with a jointer, a table saw and a straight-line jig, a track saw, or a hand plane.
Yes. Work out the offset: (bushing size − bit size) ÷ 2. Add that to every side of the pocket to size the template opening, and to the corner radius.
A fixed-base router works. Drill a ¾" starter hole in the middle of the pocket to the pass depth, set the bit in the hole, then start the router with the base flat on the template. Deepen the hole before each new pass.
You can go to 1" and still leave a ¾" floor. Go no deeper — a thin floor can crack.
Planned offcuts only: about 2¾" off the end of each board, plus the wood routed out of the pockets. All 5 boards go into the dishes.
Yes. A 4ft wide pack makes ten dishes: crosscut every board in half first, then follow this plan. Or make five long 20" × 11" entryway trays.
