DIY PHOTO FRAME CARDBOX

Made out of Oak & Oak Plywood

The dimensions of my frames were 15-1/8“h x 12-1/8“w x 6/8”d, and they held an 11”x14” picture. My completed
card box ended up 17“h x 13-5/8”w x 13-5/8”d (does not include base). Here is a picture of the finished box. The pop
can is there to provide a point of reference. All dimensions are based on the frame dimensions listed above. Your
dimensions may vary depending on the dimensions of your frame. If you have any questions, email me at
westie2448@yahoo.com.

We cut 1”x1” (which is really 6/8” x 6/8”) oak to the length of the frames. We then screwed the frames to the 1x1.
We pre-drilled the holes for the screws. We also drilled into the frame with a bit bigger than the screw head, so the
screws are countersunk. The dimensions for the box are 13-5/8” x 13-5/8”.
For the top, bottom, and base we used oak veneered plywood that was ¾” thick. We cut the plywood to 12-5/8” x 12-
5/8”. To hide the edge of the plywood, we used quarter round trim that was ¾” (thick) x ½” (width). We cut the trim
to the proper dimensions using a miter saw (to get the 45° cuts). We then nailed the trim to the plywood using a nail
gun.

To put the slit in the top, we used a table saw. Mark

the dimensions of the slit on the top. Set the guide
on the table saw so that the blade will cut where you
want the width of the slit to start. Lower the blade
to below the table. Put the top on the table saw,
Width of slit
turn it on, and raise the blade until it comes through
the top. Then run the saw back and forth until you
get the right length of the slit. Move the table saw
guide one blades width, then follow the same steps
above. Repeat the movement of guide and sawing
Length of slit until you reach the width you want.

The base can be any dimension you

want, but we cut ours so that the
diagonal dimension is 13”. This
includes the trim. So when you spin
the box, no part the base sticks out.
The dimension of the plywood for the
base is 8-1/8” x 8-1/8”. See next
page on how we got these
dimensions. We then cut the trim
and nailed it to the plywood. The
base is attached to the bottom by a
lazy susan gasket (shown below).
We had to drill holes in the base to
attach the gasket to the bottom.

I covered the
bottom with felt.
To figure out the dimensions of the base:
Assembly:
I stained and protected all the pieces before putting it together.
We nailed the box to the bottom through the frame. We attached the top to the box with hinges.

Nailed Here
(all the way around)