In article ,
"Leon" wrote:

"Tom Watson" wrote in message
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My son is going to Boy Scout Camp in mid June. They ask that each boy
have a footlocker.

(snippage)

So, I figured I'd just cobble up a footlocker.

I have some half inch cherry ply left over from a job and some nice
brass hardware left over from a different job. I figure I can make
this thing with no outlay.

My thought was that I would use finger joints in the corners, house
the bottom in a plough, lay the top in a rabbet, and that would make a
decent enclosure.

Then I figured I'd put a pinrail on the inside and sit a divided tray
on it.

Has anyone made one of these before? I'd hate to build something
stupid because I didn't ask enough questions about it.

Hey Tom,

Like Charlie mentioned you may want to think about weight. Wood would be
very cool unless it was heavy and had to be moved around by a young'en. We
always used a plastic container that resembled a large ice chest except with
out the insulation. A big plus is that they are water resistant, rain is not
a problem. Usually you can find these in the larger sporting goods stores.
Just a thought.

I'll second the "big plastic box" idea. Wally world and similar often
have something of that sort in the general region of automotive cruft
that they claim is a toolbox or some such. My mother, who retired from
being a missionary around a year ago, recommended one of them when I
visited her as they are sturdy, hold a lot, and don't weigh that
much--all concerns for international air travel. The fact that they're
pretty inexpensive is also a plus.

There's a reasonably detailed couple of articles on "Making one's own
steamer and wardrobe trunks" in the fourth of the (original) Popular
Mechanics Boy Mechanic series, such as Lee Valley has available as a
reprint (pages 328-329 and 331-333). It appears from google books that
it's also in the modern edition reorganized from the originals (pages
51-57). Their basic design uses 1/2" plywood or boards, butt jointed to
form a box, glued and nailed, and then sawn asunder to form a chest and
a top. The outside is covered in heavy fabric glued on (theatrical
"scenic linen"--probably canvas?), the opening reinforced with
essentially angle iron pieces, and 2" x 1/4" slats attached at the edges
and across the faces for reinforcement.

--
Andrew Erickson

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot
lose." -- Jim Elliot