At a glance
Finished dimensions
Overall sizes
- Body
- 30 × 16 × 15 in high, plus the lid
- Inside
- (30 − 2t) × (16 − 2t) × (15 − t) in; 28-9/16 × 14-9/16 × 14-9/32 in for t = 23/32
Materials
| Item | Quantity | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Plywood sold as 3/4 in | One 4 × 8 ft sheet | Measure its actual thickness, t |
| Continuous (piano) hinge | One, about 30 in | With the screws its maker specifies |
| Lid support | One or two | Rated by its maker for the lid's weight and size, holding it open in any position |
| Chest handles | Two | Fitted with their makers' fasteners |
| Wood glue and 1-1/4 in screws | As needed | Corners and bottom |
Cut list
| Part | Qty | Dimensions | Material |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front and back | 2 | t × (15 − t) × 30 in | Plywood |
| End | 2 | t × (15 − t) × (16 − 2t) in | Plywood |
| Bottom | 1 | t × 16 × 30 in | Plywood |
| Lid | 1 | t × 16 × 30 in | Plywood |
| Skid | 2 | 3/4 × 1-1/2 × 16 in | 1×2 softwood |
Tools
- Circular saw with a straightedge, or table saw
- Drill/driver
- Clamps
- Square
The design
The front and back run the full 30 in; the two ends fit between them, so they are 16 − 2t long. All four walls stand on a full 30 × 16 in bottom and are 15 − t high, so the body is 15 in overall. The lid is the same 30 × 16 in footprint, hinged along the back with a continuous hinge. Two skids under the bottom lift it off a damp floor. Measure your plywood first: APA notes panels are labelled by their actual thickness, and plywood sold as 3/4 in is often 23/32 in, which makes the ends 14-9/16 in and the walls 14-9/32 in high.
The lid support
A plywood lid this size is heavy enough to hurt when it drops. The CPSC has warned about storage and toy chests whose lids fall on a child's head or neck when their supports fail, and about lids that latch shut. So this chest uses a commercially made lid support that its maker rates for the lid's weight and size and that holds the lid open in any position, fitted as its instructions say, and no self-latching catch. It is a tool chest, not a toy chest; keep it where children cannot climb into it.
Building it
Box, bottom, lid and hardware
Measure and cut
Measure the plywood's thickness t and cut the parts from the cut list, using a straightedge or fence so the edges are straight and the corners square.
Assemble the walls
Glue and screw the front and back to the ends' edges with 1-1/4 in screws, the ends between them. Check the box is square by measuring its diagonals.
Fix the bottom
Glue and screw the bottom to the walls' lower edges, flush all round, then screw the two skids across the bottom, 2 in in from each end.
Hang the lid
Fit the continuous hinge along the back edge of the lid and the back wall with the screws its maker specifies, so the lid sits flush when closed.
Fit the lid support
Fit the lid support as its maker's instructions say for this lid's size and weight, and check that it holds the lid open at every angle.
Fit the handles
Fit a chest handle to the centre of each end with its maker's fasteners, high enough that the chest lifts level.
How chests compare with rolling cabinets, wall panels and racks is in tool storage; which tools to keep in it in the tool kit guide. The chest belongs to the shop projects family.
Safety— Lids and loads
Never use the chest without its lid support, never fit a latch that can shut by itself, and lift a loaded chest with help: no load rating is claimed for the chest or its handles. Cut the plywood with it supported on both sides; see woodworking safety rules.
Before loading the chest
- t measured and the ends cut to 16 − 2t
- Diagonals equal; bottom flush
- Hinge fitted with its maker's screws
- Lid support rated for the lid and holding it at every angle
- No self-latching catch
- Handles fitted with their makers' fasteners
Sources
A BenchRoot design; every size is on the drawing or in the cut list, written in t where it depends on the plywood. It was drawn and checked but not built or tested for this page, and no load rating is claimed for the chest, its handles or its lid support; those are the hardware makers'. It is a tool chest, not a toy chest.
- 1.
CPSC Warns Consumers of the Deadly Dangers of Storage and Toy Chests (release 14-121). U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2014.
Used for: Lids that can fall on a child's head or neck when their supports fail, and lids that latch shut, as the hazards of storage and toy chests, with deaths reported involving children.
- 2.
Panel Thickness Tolerances and Labeling (Technical Topic TT-054). APA — The Engineered Wood Association, 2013.
Used for: Panels labelled by actual thickness rather than nominal alone, so plywood sold as 3/4 in may be thinner.
- 3.
Hand and Power Tools (OSHA 3080). Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2002.
Used for: Securing work with clamps so both hands are free for the tool, and following makers' instructions.
About this project
Written by BenchRoot Editorial. How BenchRoot sources, checks and corrects its pages is set out in the Editorial Policy. If something here is wrong or unclear, the contact page explains how to tell us.