Intro to Box Building
This skill-focused course will teach essential shop techniques, procedures, and joinery methods while guiding you through the creation of an elegant hardwood box with a sliding lid. You’ll learn how to prepare materials to be truly flat and square, a foundational skill for any woodworking project. From there, you’ll build upon those skills to set up, cut, and join perfect box mitered corners. Add strength and elegance to your miters by incorporating contrasting splines, which can be paired with matching inlays for a refined finish.
Advance your table saw skills by learning how to set up and cut dados and rabbets—critical techniques for creating the lid and bottom of your box. Perfectly shape each piece using a router, router table, and various hand tools. Finish your project with a traditional oil, urethane, and wax finish to ensure it lasts a lifetime. By the end of the course, you’ll leave with a solid understanding of how to use the table saw, miter saw, planer, and jointer, as well as how these tools can be applied to future woodworking projects.
Skills taught: Shop safety, planing, jointing, bookmatching / grain match, splines, cutting, shaping, shop jigs. multipiece glue-ups. This project is suitable for all skill levels. Home ReSource will provide all training and materials needed.
Session 1: Miter saw, table saw, planer, and jointer training; design and material selection
Session 2: Prepare material, and learn different methods to cut the splined miter; cut dado for lid
Session 3: Glue box, cut and sand the lid and the bottom
Session 4: Cut and glue splines, sand, and apply the first coat of finish. Note: Subsequent coats can be applied at home or during our open woodshop hours.
Dates: Wednesday, January 14, Thursday, January 15, Wednesday, January 21, Thursday, January 22, 2026 (4 sessions)
Time: 5 pm – 8 pm
Location: Home ReSource, 1515 Wyoming St
Instructor: J Reilly
Cost: $195
Register for the class through the Lifelong Learning Center REGISTER NOW!
Cost: $195. A $5 discount is available if you register more than 7 days before the class.
See if you qualify for a Discounted Fee by filling out this form. If you qualify, do not register through the link above – we’ll contact you after you submit the form for next steps.