Building boxes to store Quadrilla blocks and tracks

Frank Pellow

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(part 1 of 2)

For those of you who may not know it, Quadrilla is a marble run construction kit and game that is designed and distributed by a Swiss company called Hape. The components are all made of wood and are of good quality.

I have recently purchased blocks and tracks for three children; that is Isla (my granddaughter) who is turning 7 soon, Leah (my granddaughter) who just turned 6, and Melanie (my honourary niece) who just turned 5.

Here are a couple of examples of marble runs that I constructed last week in order to test things out.

Quadrilla run 1 -small.JPG Quadrilla run 2 -small.JPG

I said “test” but I must admit that I also “played” with the structures. Hape claims that Quadrilla can be enjoyed by anyone between the ages of 4 and 99 and I certainly agree. There are lots more runs and other information to be found at http://quadrilla.com/ (and you will get to practice your German :) ).

I mixed and matched blocks and tracks from various sets for the gifts so the boxes that I bought the Quadrilla in were no longer suitable for storage. The obvious solution to a woodworker (hey I’m one of those :D ) is to make some custom boxes with compartments and to allow for expansion. So that’s what I did. Here is a finished box with the cover off showing the blocks, tracks, marbles, etc, in their compartments:

Quadrilla Box -3 -small.JPG

The box sides are made of 12mm Baltic birch joined at the corners via a joint made with a small drawer lock bit (Lee Valley catalogue #16J76.72)

joint with small drawer lock bit -4.JPG

It’s the first time I used such a joint and I found the single router bit used on both sides of the corner but with a different orientation worked easily and perfectly. The glue up was among the easiest that I have ever done.

joint with small drawer lock bit -1 -small.JPG joint with small drawer lock bit -2 -small.JPG joint with small drawer lock bit -3.JPG

When gluing and clamping the corners of one side, the dry-fitted piece for the other side locked in place to keep everything straight.
 
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(part 2 of 2)

The top, the bottom, and the dividers are all made of 6mm Baltic Birch. Here is picture of the box with two of the dividers removed:

Quadrilla Box -4 -small.JPG

The dividers are held in place using drawer divider support brackets (Lee Valley catalogue #00S11.20). They are dead easy to install and don’t cost much.

installing drawer divider bracket -small.JPG

The box bottom is simply nailed and glued into place. The box top slides in a routed groove as shown in the picture below:

Quadrilla Box -2 -small.JPG

The letters are walnut, again purchased from Lee Valley (catalogue #41K08A, etc.).

The box parts were finished using Helmsman Spar Urethane -three coats on the exterior surfaces and one coat then lightly sanded with 220 grit paper on the interior surfaces.

And, finally the case can be carried using a 7 inch leather handle (Lee Valley catalogue #01A29.01).

Quadrilla Box -1 -small.JPG

I made three identical boxes to hold Quadrilla, and one slightly smaller box for my granddaughter Brooke’s (almost 5) collection of wooden building logs. I can see that I will be building many similar boxes in the future for different sets of toys.
 
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Looks good Frank :thumb:

Nifty brackets for the drawer dividers
 
That is really cool! Where'd you find the plans, Frank? I've never heard of the game, but it looks like something kids would really like. Of course, I'm only interested b/c I have 10 grandchildren. :)
 
Billy, I am wondering if you might be confused. I did not make the blocks or tracks (although I am thinking of making some add-on pieces).

All that I made was the boxes and they were quite straightforward and required no plans.
 
My kids have have those things for a few years now. They still get played with a lot which is a testament to their quality & playability. They really are a lot of fun, even for us "big kids".

Nice job on the case, Frank. I really like the leather handle. One of my projects for next year is "toy organization" so I'm definitely going to bookmark this thread.
 
Looks good Frank :thumb:

Nifty brackets for the drawer dividers
Thanks Steve. Yes those brackets were a great discovery. I bought 100 of them in early December and have already used about half of that supply.

My kids have have those things for a few years now. They still get played with a lot which is a testament to their quality & playability. They really are a lot of fun, even for us "big kids".

Nice job on the case, Frank. I really like the leather handle. One of my projects for next year is "toy organization" so I'm definitely going to bookmark this thread.
Thanks Rob. I find that, when kids have good storage facilities for their toys, that putting away their toys becomes an enjoyable part of play (well it does for most kids).
 
Nice job on the boxes, hey those toys (whatever you called em) look like fun. I wonder if I shoud get a set and if you wanta make me your honorary nephew????then I could get a box. Hey never hurts to ask a question.:thumb:
 
Nice job on the boxes, hey those toys (whatever you called em) look like fun. I wonder if I shoud get a set and if you wanta make me your honorary nephew????then I could get a box. Hey never hurts to ask a question.:thumb:
Jim, they are fun and everyone should get a set. :) But, the honourary nephew thing will take a lot of persuasion on your part. :D
 
Thursday was Isla's seventh birthday and I gave her the Quadrilla. She (and her brother Ethan) both really liked it. Isla even appreciated the box (and readily with no prompting put the blocks away into it once they had finished playing :D ). Here are a couple of pictures:
 

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Thursday was Isla's seventh birthday and I gave her the Quadrilla. She (and her brother Ethan) both really liked it. Isla even appreciated the box (and readily with no prompting put the blocks away into it once they had finished playing :D ). Here are a couple of pictures:


Nice hat:rofl: Grandpa will do anything to satisfy the kidos. So will I when I get some;)
 
I made a new type of “block” for the Quadrilla building sets

When we were playing with the Quadrilla set that I gave to Isla on her birthday, one annoying thing was that, at the end of the run, the marbles spilled out onto the floor. This weekend, I solved that problem by making some marble catcher “corral-blocks” that sit at the base of the appropriate towers and capture the marbles as they pour out. Here are a couple of pictures:

Quadrilla corral base -1 -small.JPG Quadrilla corral base -2 -small.JPG

I made seven of these, two for each kit that I recently gave as a gift, and one for the small set I have kept for myself to do some prototyping of extensions.

For anyone who might be interested in making such a corral, the dimensions are 12 centimetres by 12 centimetres by 5 centimetres and the thickness of the bottom is 12 milimetres (the same as the base blocks supplied in Quadrilla kits). The hole is 3 centimetres in diameter (again the same as the base blocks supplied in Quadrilla kits). It is made of 12mm and 6mm Baltic Birch then finished a coat of water-based dye mixed with Varathane Diamond Wood Finish followed by two clear coats of the Varathane.
 
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