Gifts · Intermediate
Dovetailed Keepsake Box
A cherry box with hand-cut through dovetails and a lift-off maple lid. Small enough to finish in a weekend, good enough to give away.
$9
Instant PDF download after checkout. Yours to keep, re-download any time.
- Size
- 10 × 6 × 4 in
- Wood
- Cherry sides, maple lid
- Tools
- Dovetail saw, chisels, marking gauge
- Joinery
- Hand-cut through dovetails
- Time to make
- 1 weekend
- Plan
- 9 pages · PDF
A look inside the plan
A sample page from the download. Tap one to see it full size.
Page 2: the box and lid, measured.
What’s in the plan
- Full-size dovetail layout you can glue to the boards
- Sawing and chopping, step by step
- Fitting a lid that lifts off but does not rattle
- Finishing cherry so it darkens evenly
Your first dovetails
Through dovetails on half-inch stock are the easiest place to learn. The plan includes a layout you print and glue to the wood, so all you have to do is saw to the line.
The lid
The lid has a rabbet underneath that drops into the box. The plan shows how to fit it so it lifts off with one finger and doesn't slide around.
From a reader's bench
