Par wrote:
I want to make a more or less traditional wannigan (a wooden chest for
cooking gear and food, used on canoe trips). The design goals a

* Sturdy (if I have to coddle it I won's use it)
* Not too heavy.
* Should feel "nice" rather than "nasty" (e.g. plastic crate)
* Flexible contents (it should still be usable if I change
stove, pots, etc).
* Anything breakable and critical should be fields repairable
with knife, axe, swiss army knife and a few wood screws.

Some thoughts on design choices a

1. Since it will be abused (water on the bottom of the canoe, rain,
rough handling, etc) overdoing the "fancy" bit is useless.

2. Plywood (birch? luan?), pine boards, or what? I'm leaning towards the
pine boards, using grove and tennon stock, but is not quite sure. I was
planning on using tar/BLO/turpentine as a treatment (it will have all
winter to cure...). Will 10 mm be thick enough?

3. Just screew the boards to corner pieces, or glue as well? Glue the
tounges/grooves? The glue would be stronger, but unglued might leave
some room to swell when wet... Remember, it will go from bone dry
(stored indoors all winter) to rather wet (week long rains). It will
also be carried in various ways when full of stuff (say 15-20 kg as an
absolute maximum, usually more like 5-10 kg), so any side/bottom must be
able to take that load.

4. The lid will have a short lip on the outside ("quarter round", 10-15
mm) to keep rain/splash out of the box, and there will be short
"sacrifical" runner type "legs" on the bottom of the box (say 20-30 mm
high, screwed from the inside; no metal against the canoe bottom if I
can avoid it, and if they need replacement the binding part of the screw
will go into fresh wood).

5. Brass or stainless hardware?

6. No hinges or catches on the lid, just a couple of good straps is more
flexible.

7. I'll make flexible internal dividers by slotting in plywood sheets
(double as cutting boards, etc) between pairs of quarter round stock.

8. Carry handles on the short ends, attachment points for a thumpline
on the long sides.

Advice? Suggestions?

/Par


If I have my facts straight, fir would be lighter than pine and more
resistant to rot/water damage.

Jess.S