Pencil Box Plan

A while back, I built my son and daughter small pencil boxes out of some beautiful butternut a friend had given me. The boxes were light and simple, made from 1/4" stock with 1/4" box joints and sliding tops. My daughter’s has seen gentle use, mostly at home, but my son’s has traveled back and forth to school every day. During its many trips from backpack to desk, it has had at least two injurious encounters with the floor. In addition, it has been crammed so full of pencils, markers, erasers, a pencil sharpener, a flash drive and who knows what else that sliding the lid closed is a bit like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube. Time for a new pencil box. The new model needed to be a bit larger, with several compartments to keep things somewhat organized, and beefier to stand up to daily use by an energetic seventh-grader. Harder, thicker stock – 3/8" thick quartersawn white oak and walnut – and larger, 3/8" box joints would deliver strength. A large main compartment and a subdivided drawer made from 1/4" thick stock would provide ample space. But I also needed simple, durable ways of keeping the drawer from sliding accidentally out of the box and the lid from flying open at inopportune moments. Rare-earth magnets and matching washers turned out to be just the thing. –S.R