Wood Post Office Box Bank No Number by Doug Gethmann

Unique handcrafted piggy banks made from various types of wood and vintage upcycled post office boxes. Each bank is one of a kind with its own distinct lock combination and wood grain.

Handmade by Doug Gethmann of Gladbrook, Iowa.

This bank was made with walnut and ash and has mitered joints.

Measures approximately 5.25" wide x 6.5" tall x 5.25" deep.

I started making Post Office Banks many years ago as gifts for friends and family.  I’ve done wood working all of my adult life and I have always saved the wood with knots, burl, cross grain and anything with unusual color, character or grain.  I use Ash, Black Walnut, Locust, Elm, Red Oak, Pin Oak, Cherry, Maple, Spalted Maple, White Pine, Cedar, and other domestic and foreign woods.  What makes my banks unique is that I use many different combinations of these woods and corner joints.  Mitered joints, spline joints, doweled joints and dove tail joints combined with a wide choice of wood varieties give the buyer multiple choices.

I buy the Post Office Box Doors from companies that salvage Post Offices when they close. The combination for each door is both on the tag attached to each bank and also on the bottom inside of the bank. 

A typical combination for a bank would be H-AB-J. To open a bank with this combination, turn the knob clockwise several times, then stop at H.  Then turn the knob counter clockwise back past the letter H and on to AB.  (AB is half way between A and B).  Next turn the knob clockwise to the letter J.  This will allow you to turn the flat knob and open the bank.

Find more of Doug's work here.