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Lorilei's Toy Box

Gotta do it

A while back I asked for any plans some might have for a toy box and did get replies but I think this model is the one....nice job! Now I just gotta get it done before the grandkid is big enough to make his own.
 
Ken, Take a look at Tommy Mac's blanket chest in Fine Woodworking #217. It's a good start for a toy box.

I sorta modeled mine after that - but obviously made a lot of changes, like the raised (not carved) panels, and the changed dimensions, and the cedar bottom, and the one-board top with breadboard ends, and...well, you get the picture.:D

Be aware, that if you want to build that one, as is, the router bit Tommy Mac used, while a Whiteside bit, is proprietary to Woodcraft. Whiteside wouldn't even sell it direct, they said go to Woodcraft and order it. So, I passed on that opportunity and used a scratch stock to make my own decorative effects.
 
Jim that is way too good for a toybox. Like Vaughn said i can see that getting annexed by someone after its left your place.:)

The wood story is amazing. :thumb::thumb:Just thinking aloud have you thought of perhaps including a small note to the effect telling the story and attaching it say folded up to the bottom where i presume you will put your own mark.

Would be good for someone down the line to read. Sometimes the story gets lost.

Thanks for sharing the pics and story.:):thumb:
 
Too good for toy box

Rob/Jim - I'm not sure my kind of toy box exists. The ones I've seen on this thread are true showpieces but I don't know if that would hold up until my grand kid doesn't need the toy box anymore. I'd like to make it sturdy enough so it could be used as a blanket chest later on. I guess I could try to maintain reasonable care for the piece during the toybox stage. Then again maybe I should just do it right the first time and make one of each...toy box and then blanket chest.
 
Ken Schweim said:
...I don't know if that would hold up until my grand kid doesn't need the toy box anymore. I'd like to make it sturdy enough so it could be used as a blanket chest later on...
Click to expand...

Ken,
My father-in-law made a simple six board toy chest for my wife, back when she was about 7 or 8 years old.

After we were married (45 years ago) I lined that chest with cedar, and put a couple faux drawer fronts on it for decoration. It's still in use in our bedroom - I use it as a clothes rack every night :D:D - and is still as sturdy as the day it was built.
 
Jim, Rob is spot on with his suggestion of including a note. Please, write the story under the bottom in permanent marker. It is a beautiful piece without the story, but the story of the lid makes it priceless to even people outside of your family. I have a wall unit my Uncle made in my parent's bedroom when they bought their house in '61. He didn't build anything else because he thought my dad would just sell the house and his hard work would be for naught. When their house burnt, it was taken out to be "desmoked" and the carpenter's couldn't figure out how to put it back in/together. I asked and dad gave the pieces to me, our bedroom wall was the same length and it now is built in my bedroom. I have put all the information on the inside of the one sliding door. To think Uncle Andy felt his work wasn't appreciated yet it was taken to my family's home!
Antique's Roadshow calls it "prominence". (sp?).

Great job, great save, a piece that will outlive all of us and it should! :thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
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