WoodMarvels Blog

Boxes & Chests: How to Make and Decorate 15 Traditional Country Projects

Learn how to build boxes and chests like the pros! This book is intended for a person with a few projects under their belt as this book shows many more advanced techniques.

Box-Making Basics: Design, Technique, Projects

Provides a number of projects that will challenge both beginners to master woodworking enthusiasts! This book also provides information from wood selection to advanced building techniques that will give you plenty of experience in building boxes of all kinds.

Building Beautiful Boxes With Your Band Saw

This book covers every aspect of building a box using a band saw, from tools to material selection and everything in between. The author also provides a number of templates of more famous designs along with great insight into learning more about crafting using mainly a bandsaw. The designs in this book are devoid of sharp angles, instead, a smooth and flowing style which is what band saws are best for accomplishing in any project.

Making Heirloom Boxes

Written by a professional box maker (Peter Lloyd), this book showcases many original projects that use the natural beauty of the wood to showcase his very functional box designs. With hundreds of photographs, step-by-step guides across 14 projects, this is a must-have book for any serious woodworking enthusiast.

Fine Decorative Boxes: Designing & Making Original Works of Art

Creating functional, inspiring wood boxes is as much an art as science. Andrew Crawford tries to match these two in his designs and step-by-step instructions for creating your very own masterpiece. The book also comes with a lot of photographs so that you can easily go from start to finish without getting lost even if you are a beginner with only a few projects under your belt.

Celebrating Boxes

Written by both Andrew Crawford and Peter Lloyd, this is a great book to gather additional inspiration and ideas based on a 2001 competition that occurred in England for box making. This is not a step-by-step guide on how to make boxes, instead, it showcases what is possible at the peak of box making wizardry.

Making Art Boxes

“One of the most fascinating how-to books to appear in quite a while, an incredible impetus for even non-woodworkers to try their hands and band saws….Nothing has yet equaled the imaginative pieces presented here.”-Booklist.

“Po Shun Leong’s boxes are intricately detailed designs incorporating cogs, wheels and towers. They’ll amaze-and inspire-you.” -Woodworker’s Journal.

Basic Box Making

Written by Doug Stowe, Basic Box Making is a fantastic book for those wanting to learn more about the art of box making. Each step-by-step is finely detailed and many questions that novices may have about making boxes are answered. This book also comes with a companion DVD so you can get additional information and insight into making wood boxes.

Creating Beautiful Boxes With Inlay Techniques

Doug’s boxes range across many styles and complexities, whether you are a notice or expert master craftsman, you will learn something from going through the projects in this book but this book is clearly focused upon those with some experience in wood working. The book also features many essays written by the author do further expand on the concepts and ideas presented within the book.

The Art Of Making Elegant Wood Boxes: Award Winning Designs

This is a great book to learn about different kinds of joints, designs and hinges using a variety of power tools. Across 23 projects, with nice photography and step-by-step instructions (not detailed enough for a novice) you will gain fantastic experience in how to assemble a box in a creative manner.

The Best of Wood Boxes

This is a good coffee top book to get some inspiration about what is possible with books, unless you are an advanced woodworker, the lack of details on how to actually construct these boxes will give you headaches. There are a number of interesting pieces that are sure to give you some ideas for your personal projects.

The Art Of Making Elegant Jewelry Boxes: Design & Techniques

This book is for the more experienced woodworker because the instructions aren’t very detailed along with terms that many novices wouldn’t be familiar with but the beautiful photography more then makes up for this shortcoming for project ideas. The boxes, by other designers, are done using very beautiful wood and some feature some interesting features that are sure to open your eyes to the possibilities that making your own jewelry boxes can provide. There are line drawings but don’t expect to be able to follow the step-by-step instructions unless you have a completed a number of wood working projects. Great coffee table book of other peoples work!

The Art Of Making Small Wood Boxes: Award-Winning Designs

“Dual purposes underscore this richly illustrated handbook: to pay tribute to outstanding contemporary American box makers and to guide potential box makers to successful fruition of their desire….The author presents general directions. Then come profiles of 31 outstanding box makers with directions for making specific projects. A very useful and attractive addition.”
-Booklist.

Simply Beautiful Boxes

Focused on jewelry boxes, the projects shown are bound to give you ideas for any box you plan on building in the future. Not having a table router will also make your life difficult if you choose to build some of the boxes showcased in this book. The instructions on making these boxes leave too much to the imagination of a novice and there are some techniques in this book that shouldn’t be tried by anybody from any skill level, such as upcutting small pieces.

Taunton’s Complete Illustrated Guide to Box Making (Complete Illustrated Guide)

This is more of a book about the theory about box making then a step-by-step guide. Expect to learn why things are done in a particular way and how some methods come together followed by some great photography. Whether you are a novice or expert… expect to take away a new understanding of the art of making great looking boxes.