Easy Tool & Toy Chest

Nails, glue and a nice long day in the shop are all it takes to make this country chest.

This rustic hinged-lid box is a design traditionally used as a basic tool chest, but I thought a scaled-down version would make a great chest for stashing toys (with the addition of a safety hinge) or extra grocery bags in the kitchen. It is adapted from a chest shown in John A. and Joyce C. Nelson’s “The Big Book of Weekend Woodworking” (Lark Books).

Cutlist and Diagrams

A Trip to the Home Center

A trip to the home center is the beginning of  every “I Can Do That” project, and there I assessed every #2 pine 1×12 in stock. Because I’d decided to paint the chest, I wasn’t concerned with the grain as much as getting the straightest, flattest boards. While two 8′-long boards would have been enough to construct the chest, I purchased an extra, just in case. I also…