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Hardwood Keepsake Box[4/4 · 2ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 1 keepsake box, 1 ring box
Shop Black Walnut 4/4 · 2ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 2' Lengths
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak (QS)
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
A solid hardwood box for letters, photos, watches and the small things worth keeping, with a hinged lid and a matching ring box made from the last board. The corners are rabbeted and pinned with dowels, the bottom and lid are two-board glue-ups, and no screws show from the top or sides. One 2ft pack makes the pair.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S4S size | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front and back | 2 | Board 1 | 11⅜" × 4" × ¾" | 11⅜" × 3½" × ⅞" |
| Ends | 2 | Board 4 | 7¼" × 4" × ¾" | 6⅛" × 3½" × ⅞" |
| Bottom halves | 2 | Board 2 | 11⅜" × 4" × ¾" | 11⅜" × 3½" × ⅞" |
| Lid halves | 2 | Board 3 | 11⅜" × 4" × ¾" | 11⅜" × 3½" × ⅞" |
| Bottom and lid, after glue-up | 2 | 2 halves each | 11⅜" × 8" × ¾" | 11⅜" × 7" × ⅞" |
| Ring box bottom and lid | 2 | Board 5 | 5" × 4" × ¾" | 5" × 3½" × ⅞" |
| Ring box front and back | 2 | Board 5 wall blank, ripped | 5" × 1 15/16" × ¾" | 5" × 1 11/16" × ⅞" |
| Ring box ends | 2 | Board 5 wall blank, ripped | 3¼" × 1 15/16" × ¾" | 2⅝" × 1 11/16" × ⅞" |
Corners: rabbets in the front and back (one board thick, half a board deep); ends sit in them, two glued ¼" dowels per corner. No glue on the rabbet faces.
Bottom and lid: two pieces edge-glued, grain running the length of the box.
Bottom to walls: screwed from below in 3/16" clearance holes so the panel can move. No glue.
Lids: big box on two small brass butt hinges; ring box swivels on one ¼" dowel pin.
Finished size: Keepsake box, S4S: 11⅜" L × 8" W × 5½" H, inside 9⅞" × 6½" × 4" deep · S2S: 11⅜" × 7" × 5¼", inside 9⅝" × 5¼" × 3½" deep. Ring box about 5" × 4" × 3½" (S4S) or 5" × 3½" × 3½" (S2S).
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 4/4 · 2ft (S4S or S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- One 36" length of ¼" hardwood dowel (17 pins)
- 16 × #6 flat-head screws for the bottoms: 1¼" (S4S) or 1½" (S2S)
- 2 small brass butt hinges, about 1½" × 1", with screws
- Lid stay or a short brass chain (optional)
- Felt or velvet for lining (optional)
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: wipe-on oil, hardwax oil or water-based poly
- 8 felt pads
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)
- Table saw with dado stack, or router with a straight bit and fence (rabbets)
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits, ¼" brad-point bit with a depth stop
- Sharp ½" chisel and a marking knife (hinge recesses)
- 4–6 bar clamps, 12" or longer
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
- S2S only: jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
S4S or S2S? S4S boards arrive flat and square on all four sides — cut and build. S2S boards have rough edges you straighten first, and finish ⅞" thick instead of ¾". No jointer? Choose S4S.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · S4S boards 23½"/47½" long with ¼" to square an end, 4" wide, ¾" thick · S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (3½" clean), ⅞" 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
S4S Lumber Pack
Surfaced 4 sides — no jointing
- 1 Crosscut. Cut two 11⅜" pieces from each of boards 1, 2 and 3: the front and back, the bottom halves and the lid halves. Cut two 7¼" ends from board 4. From board 5 cut a 5" ring box bottom, a 5" ring box lid and a 10¼" wall blank.
- 2 Glue up the bottom and lid. Edge-glue the two pieces from board 2 into the bottom and the two from board 3 into the lid, each 11⅜" × 8". Match the grain for the lid; it's the face everyone sees. Clamp and leave overnight.
- 3 Make the ring box walls. Rip the wall blank in half, about 1 15/16" wide. Cut a 5" front and back from one strip and two 3¼" ends from the other.
- 4 Cut the rabbets. On the inside face of both ends of every front and back piece (big box and ring box), cut a rabbet ¾" wide and ⅜" deep. One saw or router setting does all eight. Test on scrap: an end piece should drop in snug.
- 5 Assemble the walls. Fit the ends into the rabbets and clamp each box square, tops flush. At each corner, drill two ¼" holes through the front or back into the end, 1" deep, about ½" from the top and bottom edges. Glue the dowels into the holes only, tap them home and trim flush when dry.
- 6 Fit the bottoms. Set each box on its bottom panel, edges flush. Drill 3/16" clearance holes up through the bottom, 1" from each corner and one in the middle of each side, so the panel can move. Countersink and drive #6 × 1¼" screws into the wall edges. No glue on the bottoms.
- 7 Sand. Plane or sand the dowels and corners flush. Sand all parts 120 → 180 → 220 and round the outside edges. Chamfer the underside of the lid's front edge so fingers can lift it.
- 8 Fit the lids. Big box: set two small brass butt hinges into shallow recesses on the back edge, about 1½" in from each end. Mark with a knife, chisel the recesses, pre-drill with a 1/16" bit and screw. Ring box: drill a ¼" hole through the lid at one back corner, centred over the end wall and ¾" into it, and glue in a dowel pin so the lid swivels open.
- 9 Finish. Wipe on 2–3 coats of oil or hardwax oil inside and out, so both faces of each panel move the same. Line the bottoms with felt or velvet if you like. Add felt pads underneath.
S2S Lumber Pack
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). S2S boards finish ⅞" thick, so screws and some sizes change — use the sizes in this column.
- 2 Crosscut. Cut two 11⅜" pieces from each of boards 1, 2 and 3: the front and back, the bottom halves and the lid halves. Cut two 6⅛" ends from board 4. From board 5 cut a 5" ring box bottom, a 5" ring box lid and a 10¼" wall blank.
- 3 Glue up the bottom and lid. Edge-glue the two pieces from board 2 into the bottom and the two from board 3 into the lid, each 11⅜" × 7". Match the grain for the lid; it's the face everyone sees. Clamp and leave overnight.
- 4 Make the ring box walls. Rip the wall blank in half, about 1 11/16" wide. Cut a 5" front and back from one strip and two 2⅝" ends from the other.
- 5 Cut the rabbets. On the inside face of both ends of every front and back piece (big box and ring box), cut a rabbet ⅞" wide and 7/16" deep. One saw or router setting does all eight. Test on scrap: an end piece should drop in snug.
- 6 Assemble the walls. Fit the ends into the rabbets and clamp each box square, tops flush. At each corner, drill two ¼" holes through the front or back into the end, 1" deep, about ½" from the top and bottom edges. Glue the dowels into the holes only, tap them home and trim flush when dry.
- 7 Fit the bottoms. Set each box on its bottom panel, edges flush. Drill 3/16" clearance holes up through the bottom, 1" from each corner and one in the middle of each side, so the panel can move. Countersink and drive #6 × 1½" screws into the wall edges. No glue on the bottoms.
- 8 Sand. Plane or sand the dowels and corners flush. Sand all parts 120 → 180 → 220 and round the outside edges. Chamfer the underside of the lid's front edge so fingers can lift it.
- 9 Fit the lids. Big box: set two small brass butt hinges into shallow recesses on the back edge, about 1½" in from each end. Mark with a knife, chisel the recesses, pre-drill with a 1/16" bit and screw. Ring box: drill a ¼" hole through the lid at one back corner, centred over the end wall and ¾" into it, and glue in a dowel pin so the lid swivels open.
- 10 Finish. Wipe on 2–3 coats of oil or hardwax oil inside and out, so both faces of each panel move the same. Line the bottoms with felt or velvet if you like. Add felt pads underneath.
Why rabbets and not mitres? Mitres look seamless, but they need a dead-accurate 45° on every cut, and the glue surface is end grain. Rabbets line each corner up by themselves, so the box goes together square, and the dowel pins lock it. It's the more forgiving joint for a first good box.
Why glue only the dowels? The end pieces meet the rabbets with their end grain, which doesn't hold glue. A dowel driven into that end grain is glued along its length, long grain to long grain, so it holds for good.
Why is the bottom screwed, not glued? The bottom is 2 boards wide and swells and shrinks across its width with the seasons. Clearance holes let it move. Glued tight, it could split or push a corner open.
Make It Yours
- Contrast pins: walnut dowels in a maple box (or maple in walnut) turn the joinery into decoration.
- Tray insert: rip a few thin strips from offcuts to make a lift-out tray or dividers for watches and cufflinks.
- Engraved lid: burn, carve or laser a name and date on the lid before you finish it.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Cut the rabbets with the piece against the mitre gauge, never with the end grain riding on the fence alone. Keep fingers clear of the dado blade.
- Rip the narrow ring box strips with a push stick.
- Pre-drill every screw — hardwoods split without a pilot hole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for S4S boards — they arrive flat and square on all four sides. S2S boards need their edges straightened: a jointer, a table saw with a straight-line jig, or a hand plane all work. No jointer? Choose the S4S pack.
Yes. Add 2× the board thickness to the end length, cut 45° on both ends of every wall, and reinforce each corner with glued keys (thin strips set into saw kerfs across the corner). The keys give the long-grain glue surface the mitre lacks.
Yes. A small brass hasp screws on the front with no extra woodwork. A mortise lock needs a deeper recess cut into the front wall before assembly.
Letters and cards, 4 × 6 photos, a watch or two, medals and small keepsakes. The inside is about 9¾" long and 4" deep (S4S).
About 8½" off board 4 (S4S) or 10½" (S2S), and about 2–3" off board 5. Use them for a lift-out tray or a set of coasters. All 5 boards go into the boxes.
Yes. A 4ft pack makes two keepsake boxes and two ring boxes: crosscut every board in half first, then follow this plan twice.
