Ever since reading about the idea of a slab box in “Box Making Basics” by David Freeman, I’ve been dying to give it a try.
A lifetime ago, when I was still making box mods, I purchased a lot of stabilized wood blocks. Two of them, made from stabilized box elder burl, remain untouched when I stopped making vape mods. Due to the small size, I didn’t know what else to do with them.
The book “Box Making Basics” by David Freeman is a really good resource for beginners, and comes with complete plans and measurements of every box project.
A slab box is unique in a few ways:
- You do not need hasps, latches or any type of hardwood
- It’s the simplest form of a box you can make
- You can use almost anything as a lid – wood, resin, ceramic, concrete, etc
Although I don’t have pictures of every step, basically I had to re-saw my stabilized wood block down to about 12mm. Then I sanded both surfaces with a belt sander, using 120 grit sandpaper. I trimmed them down on the table saw and ended up with two blue, and two brown lids.
I made the box carcass from leftover maple, with oak for the bottom panel and miter keys. The process of making the carcass is very similar to how I made this wooden watch box (video).
I finished this slab box with Tried & True Danish oil, my favorite finish for boxes and other small projects. The Danish oil really brought out the beauty of the wood, adding layers of color and texture.
Here are some proper shots of the slab box. It’s very small but can still fit small things like keys, coins, guitar picks, and even your Airpods case.
Overall, I’m very happy with how these boxes turned out, although I ended up with only three. This was due to miscalculation on part when milling and cutting the maple for the carcass. I was off by about 3/4″, so there wasn’t enough material for the fourth box. I’ll probably make a different slab box later.
These slab box designs are now available on my Etsy store. I’m looking forward to creating more designs in the future.
