DIY furniture: paneled chest

Recommendation points

• 1. Design and necessary details
• 2. Assembling the legs
• 3. Assembling the box
• 4. Finishing and painting the box
• 5. Cover and fittings

With the help of a simple paneled chest, you can organize the storage of the things you need or children’s toys. You can make such a piece of furniture with your own hands, for which you need a simple set of tools and materials, and we will provide you with detailed step-by-step instructions with photographs.

We suggest you make yourself an inexpensive but roomy paneled chest that will perfectly fit into any interior, because you can paint and decorate it based on your taste and preferences.

Required tools:

1. Circular hand saw or jigsaw or hacksaw for wood.
2. Drill, drills.
3. Grinder.
4. Screwdriver, hammer.
5. Clamps.
6. Brush.

Materials:

1. Plywood 18 mm – 1500×1500 mm – 1 sheet.
2. Planed board 20х125х200 mm – 1 piece.
3. Planed board 15x65x200 mm – 3 pieces.
4. Sliced ​​block 50×50 mm – 21 cm.
5. PVA glue or carpentry.
6. Confirmation or self-tapping screws.
7. Sandpaper – P80, P120, P180.
8. Primer for wood, paint or varnish.

1. Design and necessary details

We propose to focus on functionality, and to make a chest, on the lid of which you can sit. The inner space should be large, so it is better not to raise the bottom of the chest from the floor higher than 5 cm. The height of the lid should be chosen so that children can sit on the chest without any problems. We suggest limiting this to a typical height of 45 cm for benches and chairs..

18 mm plywood can be used as the main material for the box. The first step is cutting out the elements. Cut the plywood sheet to obtain the following details:

• 369×847 mm – 4 pieces;
• 369х334 mm – 2 pieces.

Sand the edges of the plywood with P120 and P180 sandpaper.

Please note that all calculations are very simple and convenient to build in relation to the length of the “short” parts and the thickness of the plywood. If you change plywood to thicker or thinner, or replace it with MDF sheet, then it is advisable to measure and recalculate everything so that there are no inconsistencies during further assembly..

2. Assembling the legs

For the legs, choose a 20 mm planed board. Each leg is a gluing of three elements – two forming a corner and a wooden cube as a base.

For each of the corners, you will need two boards 50 and 70 mm wide. All you need for the legs:

• 437×50 mm – 4 pieces;
• 437×70 mm – 4 pieces;
• 4 cubes 50x50x50 mm from a bar.

Glue the pieces of 50 mm and 70 mm pieces so that you get a 70×70 mm corner.

Glue the base cubes inside the corner from one of the edges.

After gluing, sand the legs with P80, P120 and P180 sandpaper, and chamfer the supporting edge of each leg.

3. Assembling the box

To assemble, apply glue to the edges of the plywood, and then connect the parts, and temporarily connect them with a mounting gun or clamps, keeping right angles.

Having fastened 4 walls of the future chest, transfer the resulting frame to a flat surface to make sure its correct geometry. Then drill with countersink holes. Fasten the parts to the confirmat or self-tapping screws. Also fix the bottom to the box.

Now it is the turn of the supports. Attach the legs to the box, make sure the sizes match, then glue them.

4. Finishing and painting the box

Now it’s the turn of finishing. Use a bar with a section of 15×65 mm for this. Thanks to such dimensions, the front of the chest will visually acquire additional depth. Use glue or a nail gun to attach the boards to plywood.

Then prime the surface of the chest, at the same time filling the holes and grooves from the nails with primer, and open it with two coats of paint or varnish.

5. Cover and fittings

Use the remaining piece of plywood to make the lid for the chest. You can glue the finished molding around its perimeter, or make it yourself, for example, by gluing an oak strip 20 mm wide instead of the molding along the edge of the lid. After the glue has dried, finish off the edges of the lid with a router and a 45-degree countersink.

Then use a planer or grinder to process the surface of the cover so that the molding is flush with the plywood, and additionally sand the wood.

Paint the lid with two coats of stain and three coats of varnish. Paint the inner surface of the chest with any topcoat.

Fasten the lid to the chest with piano loops. If you decide to use regular hinges, do not forget to make a sample, both on the box and on the lid, to ensure that they fit snugly together and the fittings work correctly..