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Desktop Planter Boxes[8/4 Wide · 2ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 2 planters
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.
Two chunky planter boxes for a desk, a sideboard or a sunny windowsill. Each box has 1¾" thick walls, a solid bottom and four small feet, and holds three small pots or a row of succulents. The parts are straight cuts and the corners are screwed and plugged, so there is nothing tricky. One pack makes both — keep one, gift one.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sides | 4 | Boards 1–4, one each | 14" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Ends, grain vertical | 4 | Boards 1–4, one each | 5½" tall × 4½" × 1¾" |
| Bottoms | 2 | Board 5, ripped strip | 10½" × 4½" × 1¾" |
| Feet | 8 | Board 5, the leftover strip | 1¾" × 1¾" × ⅞" tall |
Box: two 14" sides; two 4½" wide ends (grain vertical) and a 10½" × 4½" bottom fit between them, flush at the bottom.
Fasteners: #8 × 2½" screws through the sides — 2 into each end and 2 into each bottom edge — in ⅜" counterbores, plugged. Glue on the bottom's long edges only.
Feet: four 1¾" × 1¾" × ⅞" blocks under the corners, glued long grain to the sides.
Inside: sealed with spar varnish, or fitted with a plastic liner.
Finished size: Each planter 14" L × 8" W × 6⅜" H with feet (wider boards make it taller). Inside 4½" W × 10½" L × 3¾" deep. About 5 lb empty in walnut.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 8/4 Wide · 2ft (6–8" wide, S2S)
- 24 × #8 × 2½" flat-head screws (coated or stainless), 12 per planter
- 24 × ⅜" wood plugs, or a 24" length of ⅜" dowel
- Wood glue (Titebond III — it is water-resistant)
- Spar varnish for the inside (or plastic planter liners about 10" × 4")
- Hardwax oil or exterior oil for the outside
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Small pots, potting mix and pebbles
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square) — with a stop block
- Saw for rips (table saw, or circular/track saw with a guide)
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits, ⅜" brad-point bit
- Flush-cut saw
- 2 bar clamps, 12" or longer
- Small brush
- Tape measure, combination square, pencil
- 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 Match the sides. Rip boards 1–4 to the width of the narrowest one — at least 5½". That width is the height of both planters, so all four sides and ends must match. Square one end of each board.
- 3 Cut the sides and ends. Crosscut a 14" side from each of boards 1–4, then a 5½" end blank from what's left. Rip each end blank to 4½" wide. The ends stand with their grain up and down.
- 4 Cut the bottoms and feet. Rip a 4½" strip off board 5 and crosscut two 10½" bottoms. Crosscut the narrow strip that's left into eight 1¾" feet.
- 5 Dry-fit a box. Stand two sides on edge, set an end between them at each end, flush, and drop a bottom between the ends, flush with the bottom edges. Clamp it dry. The inside is 4½" wide × 10½" long × 3¾" deep.
- 6 Drill the sides. On each side, mark two screws into each end — 1" from the top and bottom, ⅞" from the side's end — and two into the bottom edge, ⅞" up and 3" in from each end. Drill a ⅜" counterbore ½" deep, then a clearance hole through, then pre-drill into the end or bottom.
- 7 Glue and screw. Glue only the bottom's long edges — they meet the sides long grain to long grain. Clamp the box and drive #8 × 2½" screws. No glue on the ends; they cross the sides' grain, so the screws hold them.
- 8 Plug and add the feet. Glue ⅜" plugs into the counterbores, saw them flush and sand. Glue a foot under each corner, under the side, with its grain running the same way as the side. Tape them until dry.
- 9 Seal and finish. Sand 120 → 180 → 220 and ease the edges. Brush 3 coats of spar varnish inside, into every corner. Wipe hardwax oil or exterior oil on the outside and the feet.
- 10 Plant it. Set a plastic liner inside, or keep plants in their nursery pots on a layer of pebbles. Water lightly and never let water stand in the box.
Why stand the ends grain up? Then the ends and the bottom both swell and shrink across the box together, so the corners don't fight each other. The screws also bite into the ends' long-grain edges, which hold far better than end grain.
Why seal the inside? Wet soil against bare wood stains it and can crack it. Spar varnish or a liner keeps the water off the wood, and the oil outside keeps the look natural.
Why plugs? Counterbored screws pull the corners tight without clamps fighting you, and the plugs hide them. In a contrast species they become a detail.
Why pre-drill? Maple, oak and hickory split if you drive a screw without a pilot hole. Pre-drill every screw and countersink so the heads sit flush.
Make It Yours
- Contrast plugs: walnut plugs in a maple box, or maple in walnut.
- Pen and phone caddy: skip the seal and use one box on your desk for pens, a phone and notebooks.
- Long sill box: make one 20" box from the same parts by adding the second set of sides end to end — or use a 4ft pack.
- Drainage: drill three ½" holes in the bottom and stand the box on a tray for herbs that like to drain.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Rip the narrow foot strip with a push stick, and cut the small feet with a stop block and a hold-down — never freehand.
- Pre-drill every screw — hardwoods split without a pilot hole.
- Brush spar varnish in a ventilated room and let it cure a week before planting.
- 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.
Not if you use a liner or keep plants in their nursery pots on pebbles — that way water can't sit against the wood. For herbs that need to drain, drill three ½" holes in the bottom and stand the box on a tray.
The inside is 4½" wide, 10½" long and 3¾" deep. That holds three 3" nursery pots, a row of succulents, or a small snake plant in a 4" pot.
It's built for indoors. Outside, use stainless screws, Titebond III and exterior oil on every face, and bring it in for the winter.
Planned offcuts only: about 3⅜" off the end of boards 1–4, the ⅞" strip ripped off each end blank, and the ends of the two strips on board 5 (about 1⅞" and 8"). All 5 boards go into the planters.
Yes. A 4ft wide pack makes four planters: crosscut every board in half first, then follow this plan twice. Or make two long 30" window-sill boxes with the same section.
