# Giant Lego Toy Box



## bigben (Jul 21, 2012)

*Giant Lego Toy Box (lots of pics)*

Hi Everyone, 

I'm new here, and a fairly new to woodworking but I thought I share a recent project I made for my son's 1st birthday. I'm a lego nut and hopefully he will be too:

It's made of 3/4 birch cabinet plywood, 1/2 bead ply for the bottom, and 6" PVC caps for the....nubbins (for lack of a better word).

first assembly:


















closed box:









cap layout









top cut off and name engraved:









grooves cut to attach PVC caps:









glue up:









caps on, reattaching the lid, holes drilled for rope handle:









no slam hinges attached (no pinched fingers, these things work awesome!):









loyal fans:









plastic primer for caps:









final details:









finished toy box:









lid holds itself wherever you leave it, all the way up or an inch from closed, as child safe as a giant top can get...









perfect fit - happy birthday buddy! (hope you like legos....):


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## cgarritsen (May 18, 2012)

He will love it, and very nice work


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## haugerm (Nov 19, 2009)

That is great work. How did you top off those pipes so cleanly? And that's a cute kid you got there.
--Matt


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

Very Cool! :thumbsup:


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## bigben (Jul 21, 2012)

haugerm said:


> That is great work. How did you top off those pipes so cleanly? And that's a cute kid you got there.
> --Matt


Thanks! for the nubs I just used 6" PVC pipe caps - I did sand the a bit to smooth out some of the molding seams etc.


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## Boomhower (Jul 11, 2012)

Wow...that turned out great! I like the facial expresion when you were painting...its all in how ya hold yer tongue!


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Okay, now that right there, is cool. Nicely done. I can see why your fans are so loyal. :thumbsup:


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## burkhome (Sep 5, 2010)

Sweet!!!


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## Carvel Loafer (Dec 31, 2011)

That is just too nice!! I think when your son gets older he will be asking for more pieces of this mega lego. Real nice.


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## Icutone2 (Nov 4, 2011)

*Big Lego Box*

Great job that should last for many years. Thanks for showing it.:thumbsup:
Lee


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## bigben (Jul 21, 2012)

Boomhower said:


> Wow...that turned out great! I like the facial expresion when you were painting...its all in how ya hold yer tongue!


Everyone in my family calls it the "Tongue of Accuracy". It shows up every time I concentrate on something and I've been doing it since I was a baby... hah!


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## Boomhower (Jul 11, 2012)

bigben said:


> Everyone in my family calls it the "Tongue of Accuracy". It shows up every time I concentrate on something and I've been doing it since I was a baby... hah!


Lol...Ive got the same problem. My wife says it looks like I'm about to bite my tongue off! Again, very nice work:thumbsup:


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Man, that is really, really cool. Great job all the way around. And thank you for showing us.


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## ftk (May 9, 2012)

This is awesome. I think I will steal your idea!


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## burkhome (Sep 5, 2010)

The tongue of accuracy strikes again...Very nice, very creative piece.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

Very nice. I too use the tongue of concentration. Had a martial arts instructor threaten to kick me in the chin if he saw that sticking out one more time in the dojo ;-0


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## Shop Dad (May 3, 2011)

Fantastic! Well done BB. I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that he'll be a big Lego fan because it will mean spending special time with Dad. :thumbsup:


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## Stevedore (Dec 28, 2011)

Outstanding project, and great pic of your "fans"!


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## Polak (Dec 31, 2010)

Showed this to my wife. I've been instructed to build one in orange for our # 2 son's 1st birthday. Which was in May, it's just been too hot to work in the shop. Which means I'll be building another one for our #1 son (3yo) cause lord knows one can't have something the other doesn't!

Great work, from one Lego head to another!!!!


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## cocheseuga (Dec 15, 2010)

That, is damn awesome.


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## ACP (Jan 24, 2009)

Very ingenius design and perfectly executed. Interesting setup for the saftey hinges too. I like the center mount to help keep the little fingers out of them when they close. Or more importantly any siblings that are close by as it is closing. Well done!


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## bigben (Jul 21, 2012)

ACP said:


> Very ingenius design and perfectly executed. Interesting setup for the saftey hinges too. I like the center mount to help keep the little fingers out of them when they close. Or more importantly any siblings that are close by as it is closing. Well done!


Thanks, that was the whole idea with putting those in the middle. Keeping little fingers out! Those hinges are amazing, they work perfectly for this application, and they weren't that expensive either...


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## Stick (Aug 23, 2007)

Really cool! Great idea for the Lego. Awesome job.


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## Roundup85 (Mar 18, 2012)

That is awesome. Would you be willing to share your dimensions with us or plans? What width are the notches? Assuming all can be cut from a single 4' X 8' sheet of birch plywood? 
This is really cute and I would like to build one for my grandson who will turn 1 in October.

Thanks and Great Job


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## bigben (Jul 21, 2012)

Roundup85 said:


> That is awesome. Would you be willing to share your dimensions with us or plans? What width are the notches? Assuming all can be cut from a single 4' X 8' sheet of birch plywood?
> This is really cute and I would like to build one for my grandson who will turn 1 in October.
> 
> Thanks and Great Job


Sorry for the delay, every time I remember to go check my measurements the little bugger has been sleeping!

Anyway, it was my own design. The box is 40" Wide x 20" H x 20" D not including the caps. The notches are on the front and sides, but not the back. They are 1 1/2" wide on a 3" center from the top. I used a 3/8" round over router bit on the notches, and a 1/2" round over on the rest of the edges. The top is cut on the same 3" center as the notches. The notches are optional, but they serve a dual purpose: less area for little fingers to get slammed, and a nice opening to grip and open the lid.

I used 6" PVC pipe caps, I tried 4" and they were too small, didn't look right. To lay them out, divide the box into 8 - 10"by10" squares (2 rows of 4 squares) and center each cap in those squares. I used a dremel to route out channels in the lid so the caps wouldn't shift when I glued them on. I used an all purpose construction adhesive to glue the caps on, and finished the edges with some paintable silicon. 

I primed the plastic parts and finished the box with an interior latex paint.

It was a fun and easy project, I encourage anyone to contact me (or just ask in this thread) if they want any more info on the build.


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## Roundup85 (Mar 18, 2012)

bigben said:


> Sorry for the delay, every time I remember to go check my measurements the little bugger has been sleeping!
> 
> Anyway, it was my own design. The box is 40" Wide x 20" H x 20" D not including the caps. The notches are on the front and sides, but not the back. They are 1 1/2" wide on a 3" center from the top. I used a 3/8" round over router bit on the notches, and a 1/2" round over on the rest of the edges. The top is cut on the same 3" center as the notches. The notches are optional, but they serve a dual purpose: less area for little fingers to get slammed, and a nice opening to grip and open the lid.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the dimensions. I really appreciate it. Is on my project list far this fall before his birthday on Oct. 22nd. I'll post pics when I get done with mine.


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

What a great idea! Your project turned out great.

Wondering if you might build some stackable trays for the interior as his Lego collection grows so the little guy can keep things organized.


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## bigben (Jul 21, 2012)

jharris2 said:


> What a great idea! Your project turned out great.
> 
> Wondering if you might build some stackable trays for the interior as his Lego collection grows so the little guy can keep things organized.


I like that idea. Right now it's full of all things baby toys, with a small box of duplo legos. Once he gets big enough for real legos, I hope that box will slowly fill up with only legos - 

I had a (regular) box about this size full of legos when I was a kid, I used to dump the whole thing on the floor and spend HOURS playing with those things. I'm a civil engineer now, and I think part of that's because I loved building things so much as a kid.


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## jharris2 (Jul 9, 2012)

That's funny.

I started with wooden building blocks then Lincoln Logs and moved on to an Erector Set.

Now I'm in residential remodeling.

I might be in decline. I'm back to wooden building blocks (woodworking)!

Eek!


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

Wow that looks very cool, were did you buy the no slam hinge?

Got wood? Turn it.....


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## bigben (Jul 21, 2012)

RusDemka said:


> Wow that looks very cool, were did you buy the no slam hinge?
> 
> Got wood? Turn it.....


These are the ones I used:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=410&Max=999

Note that they are weight rated, the product description tells you how to calculate the moment at the hinge point. If I remember correctly the lid weighs about 20 lbs (for my build) so I needed 2 dampers. They work great. There are a couple options out there but these were the most cost effective.


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## MagGeorge (Jul 5, 2012)

Sleek and neat! Both with your work of art and the tongue of concentration


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## steamfab (Jun 22, 2012)

Ahh ... lucky Sam! Sweet toy!


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## Fishinbo (Jul 23, 2012)

FishinboI like how it can immediately catch someone’s attention upon walking into the living room.


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## Cesar5five (Aug 21, 2012)

Very nice!!


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## Jophus14 (Aug 21, 2012)

This is a really great toy box. Thank you for explaining your process as well.


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## didna (Feb 22, 2013)

He will love it! You are a sweet dad. It is like the lego storage containers I bought! Just wow. Awesome work!


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