How to Build a Toy Chest

By: Chrystle Fiedler

Shopping List

Supplies You Will Need

1. 4-by-4-foot piece of ½-inch birch plywood

2. 120-grit sandpaper

3. Stainable wood glue

4. Rag

5. 4d finish nails

6. Stainable wood putty

7. Four 2-inch casters

8. Satin-finish latex paint in red, white, and silver

9. Painter’s tape

10. 30-inch continuous hinge

11. Two toy box spring lid supports (one left and one right)

Close
Tools List
Tools You Will Need
- Tape measure
- Combination square
- Straightedge
- Adjustable clamps
- Safety glasses
- Jigsaw
- Random-orbit sander
- 36-inch bar clamp
- Hammer and nailset
- Drill/driver fitted with ⅜-inch bit
- Putty knife
- Small paint rollers and brush
- Screwdriver
Close

Photo: Wendell T. Webber

Introduction
Overview
Steps:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10

1. Lay out the parts

Using a tape measure and straightedge, lay out the chest’s nine individual pieces on a half sheet of ½-inch birch veneer plywood: front, back, two sides, bottom, two roof sections, and two gable ends, using the measurements in the illustration.

Clamp the plywood to a worktable. Using a jigsaw, cut the front, back, two sides, and the bottom pieces.

To make the roof pieces, set the saw blade at a 26-degree angle. Cut along one long edge of each roof piece at that angle; when mated together, these cuts will form the angle of the peak. Cut all the other edges with the blade set straight at 0 degrees.

On each side piece, mark out a 3-by-3-inch square for the handle. Drill ⅜-inch holes inside the four corners of each square to fit a jigsaw blade. Using a jigsaw, cut out both squares. Also cut a ⅛-by-½-inch notch on the top back corners.

Cut each gable out of a 4-by-18-inch piece of plywood. Clip ½ inch off the back corner to match the notch in the side pieces.