Boxes
Boxes generator
The Boxes generator makes classic laser-cut pieces that slot together: finger-jointed boxes with a closed, open, lift-off, sliding, pin-hinged or inset lid, trays with half-lap dividers (with a lid they make tea and card boxes), drawer boxes with up to four drawers, hexagon boxes, divider inserts for boxes you already have, money boxes, stacking trays, book boxes with a living-hinge spine, desk signs, three-layer photo frames, phone and tablet stands, key holders and bird houses.
Boxes can use tab-and-slot joints instead of fingers on the bottom and top, and lids can carry engraved text, a motif and a border.
A cut-out pattern (lattice, floral rosettes, Moroccan quatrefoils, honeycomb, circles, stars or woven leaves) can go through the walls and the lid; the lid's text then sits in a framed label in the middle of it.
Finger joints are worked out per edge: each edge gets an odd number of equal fingers, and every finger belongs to exactly one panel, so the panels always mate. Enter inside sizes for things you have measured, or outside sizes to fit a space.
The kerf setting tightens every finger, tab and slot by the same amount; cut a small box from scrap first, then adjust the kerf until the joints press together by hand.
Design
What to make: a finger-jointed box, a tray with dividers, a drawer box, a hexagon box, a divider insert, a money box, stacking trays, a book box, a desk sign, a photo frame, a phone stand, a key holder or a bird house.
Joints
How the panels lock together at the corners.
Box
Size of the box and the kind of lid.
Tray
An open box split into compartments by half-lap dividers.
Drawer box
A finger-jointed cabinet, open at the front, with drawers stacked inside.
Hexagon box
Six walls with tabs through a hexagonal bottom, with or without a lift-off lid.
Divider insert
A grid of half-lap dividers that drops into a box or drawer you already have.
Money box
A closed box with a coin slot in the top and a plug in the bottom to empty it.
Stacking trays
Open trays of the same size; a ring under each one keeps the stack in line.
Book box
A box shaped like a book: one cover piece bends round a living-hinge spine and opens like a book, with walls inside for the pages.
Cut-out pattern
A decorative pattern cut right through the walls and the lid, such as a lattice, floral rosettes or Moroccan quatrefoils. Holes stay clear of the joints, and of a framed label round the lid's text.
Engraving
Text, a motif (built in, your own picture or your own text) and a border, engraved or scored on the lid (the cabinet top of a drawer box, the front of a money box).
Sign
An engraved sign that stands in a slotted base.
Photo frame
A three-layer frame: a front with a window, a middle layer the photo slides into, and a back.
Phone stand
Two side profiles joined by a ledge, a brace and a back rest, all with tabs.
Key holder
A wall board with hooks pushed through it and a name engraved above.
Bird house
A finger-jointed nest box with a pitched roof, entrance, vents and drain holes.
Presets
- Small box: 120 × 80 × 60 mm inside, closed, glued.
- Pencil cup: Open box, 75 mm square and 100 mm tall.
- Keepsake box: Lift-off lid with a lip that drops inside the walls.
- Drawer organiser: 3 × 2 compartments with half-lap dividers.
- Tea box: 4 × 2 compartments for tea bags.
- Screw tray: Shallow 4 × 3 tray for small parts.
- Desk sign: Engraved sign standing in a slotted base.
- Name plate: Long, low sign for a desk or counter.
- Office sign: Engraved border following the rounded outline.
- Photo frame 10 × 15: Three layers on a stand; the photo slides in from the top.
- Square wall frame: 130 mm square photo with a keyhole to hang it.
- Phone stand: Leans the phone back 65°; fits a phone in a case.
- Tablet stand: Wider and taller, for a tablet or cookbook.
- Key holder: Wall board with four hooks.
- Bird house: Nest box with a 32 mm entrance, vents and drain holes.
- Pencil box: Long box with a sliding lid and a finger notch.
- Wine box: Gift box for one bottle, sliding lid, engraved.
- Jewellery box: Pin-hinged lid with an engraved heart.
- Keepsake box with knob: Inset lid that sits flush, with a knob.
- Tab-and-slot box: Walls stand on an overhanging bottom and top.
- Card game box: Two compartments for decks, sliding lid.
- Tea chest: 3 × 2 compartments under a pin-hinged lid.
- Jewellery tray with lid: 4 × 3 small compartments, lift-off lid.
- Desk drawers: Cabinet with two drawers and finger holes.
- Four-drawer chest: Four drawers with knobs.
- Hexagon box: Six walls on a hexagonal bottom, lift-off lid.
- Hexagon pot cover: Open hexagon for a small plant pot.
- Drawer insert: 3 × 2 grid that drops into a drawer.
- Small parts insert: 5 × 4 grid for screws and beads.
- Money box: Coin slot on top, plug underneath.
- Holiday fund: Wide slot for folded notes.
- Stacking trays: Three trays and a lid that stack in line.
- Paper trays: Two A5 trays without a lid.
- Saffron chest: Sliding lid for saffron, spices or a gourmet gift.
- Cutlery caddy: Three open bays for knives, forks and spoons.
- Wedding card box: Wide slot for cards, rings engraved on the front.
- Hexagon trinket box: Lift-off hexagon with a diamond on the lid.
- Book box: A book that opens: living-hinge spine, floral cover, framed title.
- Secret book: Plain book box for the shelf, title on the cover.
- Pierced jewellery box: Lift-off lid and walls in floral fretwork.
- Lattice storage box: Diamond lattice walls, closed lid with a title.
- Moroccan tea box: Quatrefoil fretwork, six compartments, lift-off lid.
- Honeycomb lantern box: Open box with honeycomb walls for an LED tealight.
- Coaster box: Open holder for six 100 mm coasters, finger notch.
- Photo box: Holds 10 × 15 cm prints; lift-off lid with a heart of flowers.
- Trinket drawer: One small drawer with a knob, for rings and keys.
- Star lantern: Open lantern for an LED tealight, a star of dots on every wall.
- Engraved lattice chest: Pin-hinged chest with lattice engraved, not cut, on the walls and lid.
- Moon window box: Honeycomb in a round window on the front and lid.
Material, layers and sheet
Set your material's thickness and kerf first: the kerf is applied once to every outline and hole. Engraving is filled on its own layer, which the SVG puts first so it runs before the cuts.
Options
Design
- DesignBox, Tray, Drawer box, Hexagon box, Divider insert, Money box, Stacking trays, Book box, Desk sign, Photo frame, Phone stand, Key holder, Bird house
- The kind of piece; each one has its own sizes below and its own presets.
Joints
- Joint styleFingers, Tab and slot
- Fingers joins every edge with interlocking fingers; Tab and slot stands the walls on a bottom that overhangs them, with tabs through slots, and keeps fingers at the corners.
- Finger width3 to 40 mm · step 0.5 mm
- Target width of each finger; it is adjusted so every edge gets an odd number of equal fingers.
- Outside sizeson or off
- Turn on to enter the outside size; otherwise the sizes are inside, so things you measured will fit.
- FitLooser, Loose, Standard, Snug, Tighter
- How tightly the joints go together, on top of the kerf. Standard suits most plywood; go looser if the parts need force, tighter if they fall apart. Each step is 0.05 mm on every edge.
Box
- Width20 to 1000 mm · step 1 mm
- Size from left to right.
- Depth20 to 1000 mm · step 1 mm
- Size from front to back.
- Height15 to 1000 mm · step 1 mm
- Height inside, from the bottom to the underside of the lid (the outside height with Outside sizes).
- LidClosed, Open, Lift-off, Sliding, Pin hinge, Inset with knob
- Closed adds a jointed top and Open leaves it off. Lift-off drops a lip inside the walls, Sliding runs in a groove built on the walls, Pin hinge turns on two pins, and Inset sits flush inside the walls with a knob.
- Lid clearance0 to 2 mm · step 0.05 mm
- Gap between the lid and the walls, each side, so the lid moves easily.
- Pin diameter1.5 to 8 mm · step 0.1 mm
- Diameter of the hinge pins: a dowel, a nail, or 1.75 mm or 3 mm printer filament.
- Finger notchon or off
- Cuts a half-round notch for a finger: in the front wall of an open or hinged box, or in the front of a sliding lid.
Tray
- Width40 to 1000 mm · step 1 mm
- Size from left to right.
- Depth40 to 1000 mm · step 1 mm
- Size from front to back.
- Height15 to 400 mm · step 1 mm
- Height of the walls.
- Columns1 to 12 · step 1
- Compartments from left to right.
- Rows1 to 12 · step 1
- Compartments from front to back.
- Divider height (%)30 to 100 · step 1
- Height of the dividers as a share of the inside height; lower dividers make things easier to pick out.
- LidNone, Lift-off, Sliding, Pin hinge, Inset with knob
- A lid turns the tray into a tea, card or jewellery box; the dividers stay below the lid and its fittings.
Drawer box
- Width60 to 600 mm · step 1 mm
- Size of the cabinet from left to right.
- Depth50 to 600 mm · step 1 mm
- Size of the cabinet from front to back.
- Height30 to 600 mm · step 1 mm
- Height of the cabinet; it is shared by the drawers.
- Drawers1 to 4 · step 1
- Drawers stacked in the cabinet, each the same height.
- PullFinger hole, Notch, Knob
- How to open a drawer: a finger hole in the front, a half-round notch at the top, or a round knob.
- Drawer clearance0.1 to 3 mm · step 0.1 mm
- Gap around each drawer so it slides; raise it for plywood that is not flat.
Hexagon box
- Width40 to 500 mm · step 1 mm
- Size across the flat sides, inside the walls.
- Height15 to 400 mm · step 1 mm
- Height inside, from the bottom to the top of the walls.
- LidLift-off, Open
- Lift-off adds a hexagonal lid with a lip that drops inside the walls.
- Lid clearance0 to 2 mm · step 0.05 mm
- Gap between the lip and the walls, each side.
Divider insert
- Inside width30 to 1000 mm · step 1 mm
- Inside width of the box the insert goes into.
- Inside depth30 to 1000 mm · step 1 mm
- Inside depth of the box the insert goes into.
- Divider height10 to 400 mm · step 1 mm
- Height of the dividers; keep it below the lid.
- Columns1 to 12 · step 1
- Compartments from left to right.
- Rows1 to 12 · step 1
- Compartments from front to back.
- Clearance0 to 3 mm · step 0.1 mm
- Gap left at each wall so the grid drops in.
Money box
- Width50 to 400 mm · step 1 mm
- Size from left to right.
- Depth50 to 400 mm · step 1 mm
- Size from front to back.
- Height50 to 400 mm · step 1 mm
- Height inside.
- Coin slot15 to 90 mm · step 1 mm
- Length of the slot; 32 mm takes every euro, pound and dollar coin, 70 mm folded notes.
- Plug20 to 120 mm · step 1 mm
- Diameter of the plug in the bottom; make it wide enough for a hand or at least for the coins.
Stacking trays
- Width50 to 600 mm · step 1 mm
- Size from left to right.
- Depth50 to 600 mm · step 1 mm
- Size from front to back.
- Tray height15 to 200 mm · step 1 mm
- Height inside each tray.
- Trays1 to 5 · step 1
- Number of trays in the stack.
- Lidon or off
- Adds a lid with a ring, which closes the top tray.
- Ring clearance0 to 2 mm · step 0.05 mm
- Gap between each ring and the walls of the tray below.
Book box
- Width60 to 600 mm · step 1 mm
- Outside width of the closed book, from the rounded spine to the fore edge.
- Height60 to 600 mm · step 1 mm
- Outside height of the book, head to tail.
- Thickness15 to 200 mm · step 1 mm
- Thickness of the closed book; the spine is a half circle this wide.
- Cover overhang0 to 15 mm · step 0.5 mm
- How far the covers reach past the walls inside, as on a real book.
Cut-out pattern
- PatternNone, Diamond lattice, Floral rosettes, Moroccan quatrefoil, Honeycomb, Circles, Stars, Woven leaves
- The shape of the holes; None leaves the panels plain.
- Put it onWalls and lid, Walls, Lid, Front, Front and lid
- The walls, the lid (the front cover of a book box), both, or only the front wall.
- ShapeWhole face, Circle, Heart, Star, Hexagon, Diamond
- Fill the whole face, or only a shape in its middle: a circle, heart, star, hexagon or diamond.
- Shape size (%)20 to 100 · step 1
- The shape's size as a share of the face (inside the joints).
- MarkCut out, Engrave, Score
- Cut the pattern through, engrave it, or score its outlines. Engraved and scored patterns keep the box closed and strong.
- Pattern size6 to 80 mm · step 0.5 mm
- How far the pattern repeats; larger shapes cut faster.
- Bar width1 to 15 mm · step 0.25 mm
- The narrowest wood left between holes; keep it at least the material thickness for plywood.
Engraving
- Texttext
- Words engraved on the lid; each line is centred.
- Fontany Letters font
- Typeface of the text (the same fonts as Letters).
- Text height4 to 80 mm · step 0.5 mm
- Cap height of the text.
- MotifNone, Your picture, Your text, Heart, Two hearts, Star, Stars, Sparkle, Balloon, Balloons, Crown, Wedding rings, Crescent, Crescent and star, Lantern, Mosque, Graduation cap, Baby feet, Pram, Paw, Christmas tree, Snowflake, Laurel wreath, Flame, Trophy cup, Gift, Cake, Cupcake, Flower, Butterfly, Music note, Bell, Key, House, Sun, Cloud, Infinity, Leaf, Diamond
- A picture above the text: a built-in motif, your own picture or your own text.
- Motif picturea JPEG, PNG or WebP picture, or an SVG
- A drawing, logo or photo (JPEG, PNG or WebP) or an SVG file; it is traced here, in your browser, into outlines that are engraved, scored or cut like the other motifs.
- Picture level (%)0 to 100 · step 1
- Which parts of the picture make the motif: a low level keeps only the darkest parts, a high one takes in lighter tones too.
- Use the light partson or off
- Makes the motif from the picture's light parts, for a light drawing on a dark background.
- Motif texttext
- Words or initials used as the motif; press Enter for a new line.
- Motif fontany Letters font
- The typeface of the motif text (the same fonts as Letters).
- Motif size8 to 200 mm · step 1 mm
- Larger side of the motif.
- Border inset0 to 40 mm · step 0.5 mm
- Engraves a line this far in from the edge; 0 leaves it off.
- MarkEngrave, Score
- Engrave fills the text, motif and border; Score traces their outlines with a thin line (quick on a diode laser).
Sign
- Texttext
- The words engraved on the sign; each line is centred.
- Fontany Letters font
- Typeface of the text (the same fonts as Letters).
- Text height4 to 150 mm · step 0.5 mm
- Cap height of the text.
- Width60 to 600 mm · step 1 mm
- Width of the sign.
- Height30 to 300 mm · step 1 mm
- Height of the sign above the base.
- Corner radius0 to 40 mm · step 0.5 mm
- Rounds the sign's corners.
- Border inset0 to 40 mm · step 0.5 mm
- Engraves a border line this far in from the edge, following the outline; 0 leaves it off.
- Border width0.3 to 10 mm · step 0.1 mm
- Width of the engraved border line.
- Base depth30 to 150 mm · step 1 mm
- Front-to-back size of the base; deeper bases keep tall signs steady.
Photo frame
- Photo width30 to 600 mm · step 1 mm
- Width of the print; 10 × 15 cm photos are 100 × 150 mm.
- Photo height30 to 600 mm · step 1 mm
- Height of the print.
- Border8 to 100 mm · step 1 mm
- Width of the frame around the photo.
- Overlap0 to 20 mm · step 0.5 mm
- How far the front covers the edge of the photo, which holds it in place.
- Corner radius0 to 40 mm · step 0.5 mm
- Rounds the frame's outside corners.
- MountStand, Hang
- Stand puts the frame in a slotted base; Hang adds a keyhole on the back for a nail.
Phone stand
- Width40 to 300 mm · step 1 mm
- Width between the two sides.
- Lean (°)45 to 80 · step 1
- Angle of the back rest from the desk; 60 to 70 degrees suits reading and video calls.
- Slot6 to 30 mm · step 0.5 mm
- Room for the phone's thickness, including its case.
- Lip height4 to 30 mm · step 0.5 mm
- Height of the lip in front of the phone; keep it low enough to clear a charging cable.
- Height60 to 250 mm · step 1 mm
- Height of the stand; taller stands support bigger phones and tablets.
Key holder
- Texttext
- The words engraved above the hooks; leave empty for none.
- Fontany Letters font
- Typeface of the text (the same fonts as Letters).
- Text height4 to 60 mm · step 0.5 mm
- Cap height of the text.
- Hooks1 to 12 · step 1
- Number of hooks, spaced evenly across the board.
- Hook reach15 to 80 mm · step 1 mm
- How far the hooks stand out from the wall.
- Width60 to 600 mm · step 1 mm
- Width of the board.
- Height50 to 300 mm · step 1 mm
- Height of the board.
- Corner radius0 to 40 mm · step 0.5 mm
- Rounds the board's corners.
Bird house
- Width80 to 400 mm · step 1 mm
- Size from left to right.
- Depth80 to 400 mm · step 1 mm
- Size from front to back.
- Wall height80 to 500 mm · step 1 mm
- Height of the walls up to the eaves.
- Roof pitch (°)20 to 60 · step 1
- Slope of the roof; steeper roofs shed rain faster.
- Entrance20 to 80 mm · step 1 mm
- Diameter of the entrance; 25 to 28 mm suits blue tits, 32 mm great tits and sparrows.
- Perch holeon or off
- Adds a hole for an 8 mm dowel below the entrance; nest-box guides advise against perches, since they help predators.
- Roof overhang0 to 60 mm · step 1 mm
- How far the roof reaches past the walls at the front, back and sides.