Next projects

My next two woodworking projects are about to start, if only it would stop raining! This is the problem with not having a workshop.. as I keep telling Anne!

I took the plunge and ordered the prepared timber for the blanket box. It's not a particularly complex construction, just a series of rails and uprights with plywood panels. I'll post some pictures if it looks okay when it's underway.

The other project is an old fashioned carpenter's tool box. I'm going to make this from the timber you can buy at a DIY store. I went to Wickes because historically it has usually had the better timber of the DIY market and because they do 9mm plywood, not something you will find everywhere.

Traditionally you would make the toolbox from a board wide enough for the whole box and then separate the lid from the body with a saw after gluing it all up and skinning the box with the ply. But unless you go to a timber merchant that will prepare timber to size, you won't find anything wide enough to do the job. You could edge join narrower pieces and then follow the traditional path, but I'm going to make a main box and a lid section separately. Obviously this will need to be quite precise and may not be as good a fit as the saw separating method, but with care I should get a reasonable result.

I'll let you know how I get on.