In this Instructable I'll show you how i made a wood wallet / business card holder. hope you find some inspiration to make your own!
Be sure to watch the video above that goes side by side with this article and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for upcoming projects!

Step 1: Materials and Tools You Will Need!

Tools Used:

Table saw ( any kind of saw will work)
Drill press or a Handheld Drill
Belt Sander ( or anything that you can sand with)
Calipers
Rasp or File
Drill bits ,Forster bits
Tape measure
Pencil

Materials/Supplies:

Preferred Wood
Sand paper
CA Glue (Superglue)
Neodymium magnet
Carnauba or Bees wax
Some kind of fabric (for the pull)

Step 2: Marking the Out the Inner Dimensions

First you have to decide how many cards you want to put in your wallet. stack your cards and maybe some cash and measure the thickness. This measurement helps you choose the material thickness and width you will need. Choose your drill bit using the same dimension.

Draw a center line so you can ensure you drill the holes for the slot in the middle of your workpiece, Afterwards mark the ends of the wood to achieve the same thickness around all sides. Use the largest card or in my case a business card you want to put in your wallet to get the depth and the width of the hole.

Step 3: Making Space for Your Stuff

Grab the drill bit you have chosen in the previous step and head over to the drill press ( or just use a handheld drill). Make sure you clamp the wood perpendicular to your bit and make a series of holes, all at the same depth moving the wood from one side to the other.

Use a sharp chisel and a file to remove the waste and smoothen the hole. While you at it you can round over the edges and sand the inside strictly by hand sanding :) .

Step 4: Drilling a Thumb Hole for Easy Access

Next you will need two pieces of scrap wood, one which will fit inside of the hole to avoid the blowout from the Forster bit and the second one which is the same thickness as the wall thickness of your wallet. Glue the two pieces together with some CA Glue so that you can slide it in and it is flush with the wallet. Mark the center where you want your thumb to go making sure the point of the drill is on the meeting point from the scrap piece and your wallet to get a half hole.

Chose the Forster bit so that your thumb fits in the hole.( For me it was a 20mm)

Step 5: Making Holes for the Closing Strap

Below the thumb hole you will need to drill a second hole where the magnet goes where the strap closes to. Chose the size of the bit that gives a snug fit on your magnet ( in my case it was a 6mm) and try to no drill thru the side leaving the scrap piece of wood inside from the previous step.

Cut a small slot in the backside of the wallet in the same height where your magnet is placed with a "multi" tool or by drilling a bunch of tiny holes in a row.

This slot is where the strap is coming out of the wallet holding your cards in place. More of that in following steps.

Step 6: Shaping the Outside

You can chose to round over the corners and sides like i did on the belt sander. Use a washer or something round that matches the thickness of your wallet to get a smooth radius. draw around it and sand to the lines on each corner and side. Or you can do it the simple way by chamfering the edges by hand with some sandpaper. Either way, shape the wallet to your liking because its yours!!!!!

Step 7: Glueing on the Closing Mechanism

First put the magnet in the hole you drilled before with some CA Glue, and also the magnet on the strap which you will use. Make sure you get the polarity right!!!!

After the glue is dry pull the strap thru the slot on the backside making sure the polarity is still right leaving enough of the strap inside of the wallet so that it is reaching around touching the bottom and the front side, just below the thumb hole.

Make sure the strap reaches the magnet of the front when you have the wallet filled up. Now you can cut the strap to length. Glue it in just below the thumb hole with some CA glue. The good thing is when you are using CA that you can file it smooth after it hardens so you get a smooth transition from the wood to the strap and your Cards can easily slide in and out.

Step 8: Finish Your Wallet

Use a finish for your liking! For example i used some Bees wax & Mineral oil mixture because it smells good and you can still feel the wood grain and you can re apply it when it gets dull. But you can also use some Varnish if you like the plastic feel. :(

Please make sure you watched the build video to get a better understanding from the entire process, and it also helps me out to make more of these projects!

I hope you enjoyed this article and found some inspiration to make your own and if you want to see more great projects you can subscribe to my YouTube channel!