12″ long keepsake box plans

Parts

Cut list

Kerf 1/8″ included. Every cut runs edge to edge.

Steps

• Tape measure
• Speed square
• Pencil
• Drill/driver
• Clamps
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection
• Dust mask
• Circular saw or miter saw
• Hammer
• Countersink bit
• Small screwdriver
• Awl
• Sander, 120 and 180 grit

Underlined words have a short explanation: hover or tap them. All of them are on the glossary page.

1. 1Before you start

   Read every step once, start to finish, before you buy or cut anything. Each step names the parts it uses by letter; the parts list gives their sizes.

   Set up somewhere flat with good light. A pair of sawhorses with a sheet of plywood on top makes a fine work table.

   Wear safety glasses whenever a tool is running, hearing protection for saws, and a dust mask for sanding and for cutting treated wood or sheet goods. Tie back long hair and loose sleeves. Keep children and pets out of the work area.

   • Tip At the store, pick straight boards: hold each one up to your eye and look down its length. Skip boards that bow, twist or have big knots near the ends.
   • Tip Measure twice, cut once. Most mistakes are a misread tape, not a bad cut.

2. 2Cut and label the parts

   Cut every part on the cut list. Cut the longest parts first: if one goes wrong, it can still become a shorter part.

   To mark a cut, hook your tape on the end of the board, make a small V with its point exactly at the measurement, and draw a square line through the point with a speed square. Put an X on the waste side.

   Cut on the waste side of the line, so the blade's kerf (about 1/8″) comes out of the scrap, not your part.

   Write each part's letter in pencil on a face that won't show, and stack the parts by letter.

   Sand the faces before assembly while they're flat and easy to reach: 120 grit, then 180.

   ✓ Lay the parts out and count them against the parts list. Measure a few: if one is off by more than 1/16″, recut it now.

   STOP. Let the saw reach full speed before it touches the wood, keep both hands clear of the blade's path, and never reach under a board you're cutting. Support long boards on both sides of the cut so the blade doesn't pinch.

3. 3Cut the walls square

   Cut the front and back (A) 12″ long and the ends (B) 5 3/8″ long. The ends fit between the front and back.

   Check each cut with a square: an end that is even slightly out of square leaves a gap at the corner that glue cannot fill.

   Cut each pair against the same stop block, so both pieces of a pair are exactly equal.

   • Tip Grain runs along the length of a board. Cut and sand with the grain wherever you can: across it, the wood tears and scratches show.

   ✓ Stand the pieces into a box on the bench: corners close tight, and the outside measures 12″ × 6 7/8″.

4. 4Glue and screw the walls

   Glue the ends of an end piece (B) and set it between the front and back (A), flush at the top and bottom.

   Drive 2 screws, 1 5/8″, through the front and back into each end piece: 3/8″ from the top and bottom edges, centred on the end's thickness. Predrill and countersink each one; this close to the end of a board, an undrilled screw will split it.

   Repeat at the other end.

   Measure both diagonals across the top and push the box square. Wipe the squeeze-out inside with a damp cotton swab before it sets.

   • Tip Drill a pilot hole for every screw within 2″ of the end of a board, or the board will split. Then countersink so the screw head sits flush.
   • Tip Spread a thin, even layer of glue on one face with a finger or scrap: enough that a little beads out when you clamp, not so much that it runs. Wipe the squeeze-out with a damp rag right away, or scrape it once it turns rubbery; dried glue blocks stain and finish.

   ✓ The diagonals match within 1/16″ and the box sits flat with no rocking.

5. 5Attach the bottom

   Cut the bottom (C) 12″ × 6 7/8″ from 1/4″ plywood: the full outside size of the box.

   Spread a thin bead of glue on the bottom edges of the walls and lay the bottom on, good face up (inside). Line up its edges with the walls.

   Pin it with 1″ brads every 3″, about 13 in all, angled very slightly inward so they stay in the middle of the 3/4″ walls.

   • Tip A bottom glued on square also squares the box: line it up on two edges first, then pull the box into line with the other two.

   ✓ The bottom's edges are flush with the walls all round. Sand off any lip with a block.

6. 6Shape the lid

   Cut the lid (D) 12″ long from the 1×8. It is 3/8″ deeper than the box, so it overhangs the front for a finger to lift it.

   Soften the top edges and corners with 120-grit sandpaper on a block, rounding them over a little at a time, then 180 grit.

   Set the lid on the box, flush at the back and ends, and check it lies flat. If it rocks, sand the high corners of the box's top edges, not the lid.

   • Tip Grain runs along the length of a board. Cut and sand with the grain wherever you can: across it, the wood tears and scratches show.
   • Tip Pick the nicest-looking piece of board for the lid: it is the face everyone sees.

   ✓ The lid lies flat on the box with no gap you can see, flush at both ends and the back.

7. 7Sand and finish

   Sand every face and edge of the box and lid with 120 grit, then 180 grit, always moving along the grain (the lines in the wood). Sanding across the grain leaves scratches that the finish makes darker.

   Soften every sharp edge and corner with a few strokes of 180-grit paper on a block, so edges don't splinter or chip.

   Vacuum the dust, then wipe with a tack cloth or a barely damp rag and let it dry 10 minutes.

   Brush on a thin coat of water-based polyurethane along the grain. Thin coats dry clear; thick coats drip and stay sticky.

   When it's dry (about 2 hours; read the can), the surface feels a little rough because the water raised the grain. Sand very lightly with 220 grit just until smooth, wipe off the dust and brush on a second coat. Three coats on anything handled every day.

   Let the last coat dry overnight before you handle it much.

   • Tip Pine goes blotchy under stain. If you want colour, brush on a pre-stain conditioner first, or use a gel stain.
   • Tip Finish the back and underside too. Wood that is sealed on one side only can cup as the seasons change.
   • Tip Work in a warm, dry, well-ventilated room. Below about 50°F (10°C) most finishes dry slowly and cloudy.

   ✓ The surface feels smooth and even, with no drips on the edges and no dull, dry patches.

8. 8Hinge the lid

   Hold the lid closed with tape. Place the two hinges on the back, 1 1/2″ in from each end, with the hinge pin right on the seam between the lid and the box.

   Mark the screw holes with an awl. Drill pilot holes 1/16″ wide and only as deep as the screws are long (wrap tape round the bit as a depth flag).

   Drive the small screws by hand with a screwdriver that fits the slot exactly. Rub a little wax or soap on each first: small brass screws snap easily.

   Stick a bumper dot under each corner of the box.

   • Tip If the lid binds, a hinge is slightly crooked: back out one screw, move the hinge a hair, and drill a new pilot hole beside the old one.

   ✓ The lid opens and closes without binding, and closes flush with the box at both ends.

   STOP. Small lids still pinch fingers. This is a keepsake box, not a toy box.