Brian Elfert wrote:
I'm curious why you would use oak plywood for Boy Scout gear boxes? Would
not a good AC pine/fir plywood work just as well for less?

I am building some Boy Scout gear boxes too, but they will be baltic birch
to save on weight. I am using 3/8" and 1/2" BB plywood for mine. I
figured the lack of voids and extra plys in the BB plywood would
compensate for the reduced strength of thinner plywood.

Our troop used to have big patrol boxes made out of 3/4" plywood, but a
previous Scoutmaster burned them due to them being too darn heavy.

Brian Elfert

Brian,
You caught me. It's not 3/4 ply as I implied, it's 1/2. The ability
of teenage boys to destroy things is amazing. One of the design
parameters was that the box had to be plenty strong for the two
heaviest scouts to sit on - at the same time. One of them easily tops
250. I used the "good stuff" for the same reasons you mentioned. It's
flatter, stronger, machines better, holds screws for hinges better, and
doesn't require much sanding.

Our previous scoutmaster made some very well-designed patrol boxes that
aren't tooo heavy to hold cooking and eating utensils. These boxes I'm
working on will hold a camp stove, a lantern, a dining fly and a dutch
oven, each in its own compartment. Yes, they are heavy when loaded,
but I included enough handles so 4 boys can carry it like a coffin.
Or, two of the older ones can carry it. The handles are really just
handholds cut into the sides of the box so they don't protrude. All
the gear a patrol needs will be in two boxes instead of having them
scrambling around gathering gear when we are trying to set up camp in
the dark.

DonkeyHody
"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor
judgement."