The packing box is complete!  I’m really happy with the way it came out.  Have a look at some pictures of it below.  It’s going to be used as a toy chest, so figured I’d throw some pictures of it in use too!

This project was following Thomas, from Lost Art Press’ “The Joiner and Cabinet Maker,” as he makes his first project.  I went through pretty much the exact steps that he does during the construction (I don’t have a birdcage awl and I glued my panel, but other than that it was identical) process, using only a handful of basic hand tools:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

This was an interesting project for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, it’s obviously a simple project, so it was actually a challenge to slow down and focus.  Once I realized that I wasn’t in a hurry to have a completed project, I was able to focus on the construction and all the little details that I would have missed or glossed over otherwise.  I’ve never taken the time to use a marking gauge to lay out my nails or screws before, but I did on this box, and the result is great.

Secondly, I don’t think that I’ve ever followed someones construction directions quite so closely before.  If I was just given the plan for this box I probably would have constructed it differently and would have been happy about trying to figure out how to do something for myself.  However, following Thomas’ directions forced me to do things a little differently, so as much as these are basic things, it just pushed me out of my comfort level just a little bit.

I love the old school look of this box.  It looks like it should be used for TNT, or something from ACME (appropriate to use it as a toy box!).  I really want to make a couple more of these to use them as storage in the shop.  Maybe with a few Dharma Initiative logos on the side (for all the Lost fans)!