This Shou Sugi Ban Box is my entry into lemongrass picker's challenge on YouTube.

The rules where simple - make anything as long as it has a drawer, only lap joints glue and nails.

So i came up with a little box with a drawer, made from pallet wood and burnt on the top, bottom, handle and inside.

Its probably not the "correct" way to Shou Sugi Ban but i love how its turned out .

Check out the challenge & lemon grass picker's channel , its great if you enjoy all things Japanese woodwork -

https://www.youtube.com/user/Lemongrasspicker

I hope you enjoy!

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Step 1: Bottom & Top

All the material for the box came from a single pallet slat.

I started by cutting the pieces for the top and bottom, then planed them down to a nicer thickness.

Step 2: Lap Joint & Sides

The lap joints where pretty simple to cut using a saw and chisel, and then i cut some sides down to a size that i liked

Step 3: Shou Sugi Ban AKA Burning & Finishing

Now the fun bit.

I clamped the top and bottom pieces (after a quick sand) in my vice and went on to burning them.

I wanted a deep burn and a sort of alligator skin look so i held the flame in place until the wood started crackling.

Next i just let it cool and put a coat of clear gloss finish on, no water no brushing just straight to the finish.

I finished the sides at the same time.

I ended up putting 3 coats of finish on sanding very lightly at 500 grit in between.

Step 4: Main Glue Up

Once everything was dry i moved onto the glue up, this was super simple, just put the sides in the lap joints , add some super glue and keep them square while they dried.

I came back and nailed the sides in once the glue had dried to give it more strength and a nice contrast on the top.

The back piece was just some thing plywood inside a groove, nothing interesting.

Step 5: 2nd Box / Drawer

To make the drawer, i basically made another box from the remaining pallet wood.

I planed them down quite thin and made sure they would fit inside the main box once assembled.

Step 6: Handle & More Burning

To make the handle i just an angle on a small scrap of wood and repeated the burning to match the top.

I then attached it to the front piece using some 2mm steel rod.

Step 7: Drawer Glue Up

To glue up the drawer was simple as it can get, just used but joints and more super glue.

I left the front until last, placing the drawer inside the box and then gluing the front piece in place.

At this point i decided to lightly burn the inside of the drawer and im really happy i did.

Step 8: Done

Thats it.

I love how this has turned out, although not perfect, the look of the burnt wood is amazing.

Please note if you attempt this, thin wood will probably bow once you burn it!

Once again go check out the challenge and lemongrass picker's YouTube channel -