First you start with a block of wood that is slightly larger than the desired dimensions of the box. In this case I re-sawed different thicknesses of different wood species and glued them all together to form my block. If you do this you must clamp the pieces together and let the glue cure for 24 hours before doing anything else.

Now that the glue has cured you can cut the outside of the box to whatever shape you like! Something to consider when planning your design is the width of your band saw blade. If you have a 1/8” blade you can make very tight curved cuts and will be able to tackle almost any curve imaginable but if you only have a ¼” one than you should do some tests and see what kinds of curves it can handle.

I made my box for my girlfriend, who happens to love Batman, so I printed a PDF template of his symbol that I adjusted in Photoshop. I then took the printed picture of Batman and used spray 77 spray adhesive to adhere the paper to my glued up block of wood. After that I took the block to the band saw and carefully cut out the shape.

Step 1: Batman Bandsaw Box Step 2

Once you have the outside of your box cut out you then must determine which side you want to be the back of the box. Once you decide scribe a line the desired thickness of the back wall of your box. Anywhere from ¼” to ¾” is good. Next use the band saw and cut along the line you scribed in order to cut the back of your box off. If you glued up your block from different pieces of wood like I did than it might be a good idea to make your cut along where two pieces meet so it will hide your cut line. Now with the back of your box cut off label the side that you made the cut on and put it to the side for now, but remember where you put it because you will need it later.

Step 2: Bandsaw Box Step 3

Now comes the time to make the drawer. This is probably the hardest part of the whole process and depending on the shape of your drawer it is not that hard. Grab the remaining block of wood that you just cut the back off of. With the front of the box facing up draw the shape you wish your drawer to be on the face of the box.

Some things to consider are again blade width and shape. The shape should be something achievable within your own skill level. As you will see the cut has to be made in only one pass and because we will be using the piece we are cutting out of the center as the drawer itself there is not much room for any error. I tried to do something a bit above my own level and it turned out ok but there are some slight flaws.

Once you have drawn your drawer out you now can decide where to make your entry cut. I recommend either making it with the grain or in a corner so it will be less noticeable. Do what ever works best in you situation. Generally one is enough but I made two do to the drawers complex shape. Now cut the drawer out following your line carefully.

Now with the drawer chunk cut out front the rest of the body you can glue the part of the drawer frame where you made the entry cut back together. Spread some glue into the kerf, clamp it and let it cure over night.

Step 3: Batman Bandsaw Box Step 4

While you are waiting for that to dry you can work on the actual drawer itself. Take the drawer block that you have just cut out and scribe a line along the front and back wall of your drawer. These lines are representing the thickness of your drawer walls. You can make them as thick or as thin as you like. Again, if your box was made from multiple pieces of wood than you can saw along the glue line like I did. Once you have decided this, cut the front and back off of your draw with the band saw. Make sure you label, which is which, and side that you cut on. This will help later with assembly. After this, take what’s left of the drawer that you cut the front and back off of, and draw on it what you want the inside of the drawer to like. When you have got a design you like, take it to the band saw and cut it out. Remember that the out side part is the part you will be keeping. You don’t need the center part to complete the box, but you might want to save it and make the drawer pull out of it. Once you have done this, retrieve the front and back faces of the drawer and glue them back on to the piece you just cut, lining them up to how they fit and the labels you wrote on them. Clamp them, and let them cure over night. At this point the drawer part is mostly done and can put it aside for now. It should look like a drawer with walls and a hollowed out center.

Step 4: Batman Bandsaw Box Step 5

Lets turn our attention back to the box part. After letting the glued kerf cut dry over night you can unclamp it and glue on the back of the box that I told you to put aside. Line it up according to fit and the labels you wrote on it. Clamp it and let it sit overnight. After all of your parts dry, carefully chisel of any excess glue that squeezed out over night. Sand down all of the pieces starting with 80 grit, and working your way up to 220 grit.

Step 5: Batman Bandsaw Box Step 6

At this point the box is nearly complete! Now it just needs a drawer pull. I decided to make mine but you can buy them. Given my theme I decided to make the Bat signal for mine. To do it I shrunk down the batman logo, printed it out and applied it to a piece of wood. Then using a scroll saw I carefully cut out the inside bat shape. Once completed, I glued a darker contrasting wood to the back of the one I just cut (in order to give it that bat signal effect). I clamped them and let them cure over night.

Step 6: Batman Bandsaw Box Step 7

The next day I cut out the oval part and sanded and filed the entire thing down to 220 grit. Once sanded, I glued and clamped it to the face of my drawer. I let the glue sit over night.