# Toy chest



## xmas (Nov 24, 2013)

Un painted toy chest for my nephews birthday gift. (Yet another nephews bday is coming up next month & wants a bookshelf so parents agreed to paint this one). Built from plans his mom found online & utilizing pocket holes, which I didn't like using in what turned out to be very "overmilled" or just undersized wood from Home Depot. 
But hey, made the best of it & learned some more stuff in the process. #1 being start out with better wood


----------



## Masterjer (Nov 6, 2012)

Looks great. Make sure you post new pics after its painted. Do those hinges prevent the lid from slamming shut?


----------



## Wema826 (Jul 22, 2012)

I see you used the soft close hinges, How do they work? I will be building a chest for my sons birthday very soon and I am interested in those same hinges.


----------



## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Looking good......I've found that if you can get plywood from a hardwood supplier and not a big box store....the quality and finish is much better.


----------



## xmas (Nov 24, 2013)

Thanks Ryan, yeah i learned that even if your off work on Sunday & the hardwood dealer is closed it's still worth waiting until Monday to buy & get started. We've got a Petermans lumber out here that I've been very happy with so far, believe there's even one or two others I still need to check out, so no more wood from the big boxes. 

Wema & Masterjer, yes Rockler's torsion hinge keeps the lid from slamming shut & it basically works like a lap top, where it stays where you put it. There is a formula on Rockler's page for them here: http://www.rockler.com/lid-stay-torsion-hinge-lid-support-satin-nickel

While the hinges were about as much as all the lumber, it was totally worth it, especially for a kids project. A few notes on the torsion hinge: 1. make sure your wood is 3/4" thick on the back of the box (you'll see the "1x3" i got at home depot turned out to be just over a 1/2" thick & I had to use a shim to keep the hinge supported) 2. cut your lid to size before you buy the hinges the formula is (Lid Depth x Lid Weight in Pounds) / 2 = Suggested Inch-Pounds of Support. Then the calculator will tell you which rated hinges you need & how many.
Calculator here: http://go.rockler.com/wizard_torsion.cfm

All in all even if it required some jimmie-rigging as the project progressed it was a cool learning job & I wound up being happy w/ the box, as did my nephew and niece who both immediately climbed inside it. Plans for the project are here if anyone wants to do the same box or deviate to preference:
http://ana-white.com/2013/09/plans/simple-modern-toy-box-lid


----------

