Paul Jackman displays a multi-panel pallet wood boot box with secret compartment


Paul Jackman's shoe box is more than meets the eye, with a hidden compartment that houses some fantastic surprises.

The main frame of the box is constructed from 3/4" plywood and then the outside of the box is covered in a large variety of pallet wood and a few pieces of walnut scrap. The left side of the box holds a sliding puzzle mechanism that locks the lid in place until you slide it to the perfect position. The sliding pieces also hide a small hole just big enough for the aglet on my boot laces, this is used to release a hidden latch on the inside of the box to reveal a secret drawer in the bottom that houses what else, but a bluetooth speaker and pallet wood shot glass!

You can find more great projects and techniques from Paul Jackman at his website.

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Paul Jackman: The grain is continuous on the sides and the front, perfect grain continuity over the entire piece, but the lip is too thick or something. The scale of it is just not quite right. Back to the drawing.

I've gone through about five different iterations of that clip mechanism and I had it working once until I broke it and the rest of these have broken. Moving on to a different material. Oak has a very high modulus of elasticity, but I think the amount of room I'm playing with here is just too little.