Desktop Organiser

Posted 2 January 2020

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When you make a box from scraps and it becomes an heirloom-quality piece from your own hands, something magical takes place. When you break it down into bite-sized bytes in digital mastery too, something uniquely beautiful takes place in tandem. If you follow Paul on this one, you will be starting a tradition parallel to apprenticing, because the methods and techniques have been handed from master to apprentice for millennia and now, perhaps, it’s your turn!

Good luck.

94 Comments

    1. I have recently acquired what I think is mahogany from an old roller blackboard that came out of one of the fire stations at work and was looking for just the right project to use it on and this looks good for it.

    3. Dear Paul,
      schools and universities are closed in Bavaria now. I am now my daughter`s ( 9 years old) pedagogue. She wants to be a youtuber by trade. She asked me which tubes I would record to youtube. I anwered: on woodworking but better than Paul Sellers`. She replied: Nobody on earth can do that!
      Stay healthy, the commuity needs you!
      Kind regards
      Alexandra and Claus
      from WĂźrzburg, Germany

          2. Hi,

            Episode 3 goes out on Friday (31st January) and they are released every other week on a Friday so episode 4 will be released on 14th February.

            Kind Regards,
            Izzy

      2. I hopefully add this to some of my other works I built some years back since then I have had an heart attack, an surgery with 5 grafts, later a stroke all this within 10 years and now I would like to get back to some nice small woodworking l just become interested in Japanese tools and have acquirers a nice saw a block plane a Japonese square AndI all ready have a pillar drill a desktop saw a jigsaw and other tools from dad I have 5 Stanley planes which I will have to get them out and look them over all cleaned and sharpened when last out then in tool box before everything went crazy I had 1/4 ton of mahogany planks all in my loft.
        I think I could start off with the desktop organizer.
        Brilliant video’a
        Thank you.
        Mick

      1. Hi guys, thank you for the amazing work you always do, and for providing the cutting list to go along with the videos.

        I’ve just prepared my stock, but the measurement for the end pieces seems off. Are you sure it’s 127×127, or should or be 127×89?

        Thanks in advance.

        Tim

    1. Great project. I used the techniques I learned from your videos to make several of boxes with nearly this exact design over the last few years. Looking forward to seeing if your construction differs from mine – especially with the floor of the upper compartment

  9. Good Day Paul
    I am a late bloomer in the area of wood working craftsmanship. I love the smell of wood in my work shop and by following you I have managed to create some nice pieces. It is a great feeling to look at the finished product and know that it was a rough piece of timber only days before. I look forward to following along while creating this box. Wishing you the best for the coming new year.

  11. What… getting a new project before the last one is complete? Your team has been busy! But now I need a few extra day off so I can work on two at the same time!

    Most of the projects I’ve made have been gifts. Each time I see one or decide to build, I already have the person in mind who will be the recipient. Then when I am building the project, I think about that person either in memory or in plan. So, something special goes into the project while I am building.

    Looking forward to this project!

  18. This looks like a great project and I can’t wait to see it evolve. As soon as we get a materials list I will head to my local wood supplier where they always have bins of shorts, seconds and milling errors that I find to be a great source of wood for small projects. This looks like something that would lend itself to using bits of different woods which is something I love doing.

  23. Happy birthday wishes Paul. I’ve been waiting with anticipation for this one since it’s announcement as it came within a week of my niece mentioning that she would love to have a place to keep her growing collection of jewelry and I think this just might be what she needs.

    I also happen to share a birthday with you, so it’s a nice birthday surprise waking up to the first installment of a project that has been awaited with some anticipation. I really hope I can find an excuse to use the spokeshave I added to my bday wishlist during this project!

    All the very best for 2020 to you and your team!!

  24. I have walnut and pine in stock, the project looks really good.
    Mr. Sellers, I think you’re really great. Since I have seen your work I have gotten some hand tools, including recently a basic planer.
    Translated with Google, I can hardly speak English

  27. I really like this design. It sparks my imagination. I see it being particularly nice to size it appropriately to hold things that are different but that go together. Writing paper in the top and envelopes and stamps in the drawer. A brace and bits. Carving gouges and a mallet/sharpening accoutrement.

    1. Hi,

      Paul says: I certainly don’t have a preference, and think it’s just a matter of opinion. Always remember that dark tends to dominate so you should consider this an element in good design.

      Kind Regards,
      Izzy

  37. Paul and team

    Thanks so much for another great project. After watching episode 2 and seeing the method Paul uses to attach the bottom with glue only I wondered if Paul has ever had problems with this given the cross-grain gluing of sides to bottom? Is the area too small to worry about that perhaps?

    Thanks

  38. How do you install the divider that makes for the bottom of the lift-lid compartment, and which separates it from the drawer–especially since it seems the divider is added after the carcass is built. Thanks.

    Beautiful–and, for the one developing his skill set–manageable project!

  43. I very much enjoy whenever Paul puts out another video. Planning to make a couple of these (after I finish all my other projects)🙃 my question for Paul is this. This is Meranti wood that you’re working with, but in the videos I can’t distinguish it from sapele. Could Paul please expound a bit on the differences some time?
    Thanks.

    2. Horton Brass is supposed to make decent hinges and they are selling a few on ebay. I ordered some but have not gotten them yet. They are the PB-405 box and clock hinges. They sell on ebay for $12.57 with free shipping. On their website they are more like $15 with shipping extra, I believe. They are 1 inch tall and made for 1/2 inch boards. They are 3/32 inches thick, which is not bad for modestly priced hinges.

    1. Hi,

      Paul says:
      No, you don’t need to glue it. You may find it handy not too because if something got stuck in the drawer you could always remove that panel.

      Kind Regards,
      Izzy

  47. It looks like most of the box sits on a piece of solid wood. What is the rule of thumb for this sort of construction with regard to wood movement — how wide can the solid-wood bottom be before its expansion and contraction could cause problems? Or am I thinking about this incorrectly? Thanks!

    1. Hi,

      Paul says: No. It’s a good question. I usually opt for around 6”. It is shrinkage that results in splitting so drying the wood to around 6-8% is a good option if you want to go wider. There are no guarantees though.

      Izzy

  48. This is such a great project. I really enjoyed the videos and actually tried making one of my own. This was my first attempt at one of Paul’s designs and I really enjoyed the process.

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