Project advice (toy box)

[wgeils]

Hello all,

I am starting to make a toy box and had a question about it's design. I am adding a lid to this box and am wondering if 1/2" MDF will be strong enough? Or would something else better stand up to the wear and tear a child's toy box would see? My plan is to frame the MDF with 1" x 3" boards leaving a 1/4" raise around the lid to break up the flat lid.

The boxes opening is going to be ~16" X 32".

The rest of the design will be 3/4" MDF.

Any advice on this would be great.

Thanks

Wayne

[rmac]

I'd think about plywood instead for the whole thing. MDF would suck for a project like that in so many ways that it's hard to know where to begin.

-- Russ

[Keggers]

I agree with Russ. I'd make it from plywood. At some point kids will climb on top of the lid to play and plywood is much stronger.

[wgeils]

So would a 1/2" piece of plywood be strong enough for the lid?

[thewoodwhisperer]

I think it might be "strong enough", but I think 3/4" would be better. I'm only thinking about what I used to do to my toy box as a kid. For some reason I spent more time standing on it and jumping onto my bed than I did getting toys out of it.

[Beechwood Chip]

I've said this before concerning a blanket chest. If you are building for generations, you need to build tough. I predict that in two or three generations, the following will happen:

1) an adult will stand on the chest to change a light bulb

2) a college student will load it full of books, and possibly drag it down a flight of stairs

3) it will be moved several times, often by teenagers who aren't careful with family heirlooms

4) it will be overfilled and then the lid will be forced shut, possible by applying a large weight

I'm with Marc - 3/4" plywood, heavy duty hinges, and sturdy construction.

[wgeils]

Thanks everybody,

I am going to use 3/4" MDF on the sides (I have already bought & cut it) and then add a lid made out of 3/4" plywood with a 1x3 frame offset by 1/4" to give me the reveal that I want.

I plan on using Pocket holes & glue to join the whole thing together.

As to a family heirloom I doubt the thing is going to survive lat long no matter how it is built.

Wayne

[Beechwood Chip]

I am going to use 3/4" MDF on the sides (I have already bought & cut it) and then add a lid made out of 3/4" plywood with a 1x3 frame offset by 1/4" to give me the reveal that I want.

That's going to be a very heavy lid. Make sure that you put hinges or some other stop on it so it won't crush little fingers when it falls shut.

[wgeils]

no doubt, I have bought a set of "safe closing" hinges from Rockler

[Keggers]

Thanks everybody,

I am going to use 3/4" MDF on the sides (I have already bought & cut it) and then add a lid made out of 3/4" plywood with a 1x3 frame offset by 1/4" to give me the reveal that I want.

I plan on using Pocket holes & glue to join the whole thing together.

As to a family heirloom I doubt the thing is going to survive lat long no matter how it is built.

Wayne

I think you'll find that MDF doesn't hold screws very well.

[Beechwood Chip]

I assume the pocket screws are for the 1x3 frame, which I hope is hardwood. The MDF is only for the panels?

[wgeils]

I was going to use pocket holes throughout

here is a link to the plan https://www.kregtool.com/images/icons/toy_box.pdf

[Beechwood Chip]

It looks like you are building an MDF box using pocket screws, and then glue a decorative pine frame to each side of the box.

I guess their goal was to create a plan that didn't require any tools other than a circular saw, a drill, and the Kreg pocket hole system. That's why the panels aren't floating in the frames - that would require dadoes, grooves, or rabets, which would require a router or a table saw (for a Normite).

I'm all for projects that don't require a lot of expensive tools or tricky joints to deal with wood movement. My first project was a set of shelves to hold CDs; I used MDF, a circular saw, and a router, and it came out great!

Let's see... the wooden frames will be glued to each other with long grain joints and lots of glue surface, so that should be plenty strong. The MDF won't move, so you won't need floating panels. The wooden frames will protect the MDF to a great extent.

I think it'll be fine, but it's almost as if they said, "Let's make a toy box and use as much MDF and as many pocket screws as we possibly can!" I think it'll be much heavier than it needs to be with all that extra MDF. But, it is a plan that can be done with a few tools and not much experience.

So, here's what I wish someone had told me when I started my first project:

• woodworking is dusty, and MDF is really really dusty. make sure you wear a respirator or have a lot of ventilation, and have some plan for collecting and cleaning up the dust. Better do it out doors or someplace you can blow out or hose down.
  
• buy extra wood and MDF for guides, scrap wood, and test pieces. Expect to spend most of your time setting up the cut, clamping guide pieces, making test cuts, measuring, etc, and very little actually making the cut. The wood working shows just show the final cut, not all the prep.
  
• In addition to what the plan says you need, you should have a shop vac and a work table that you can clamp stuff to. Or at least a couple saw horses and a piece of plywood or MDF to make a work surface.
  

[wgeils]

great ideas

I'll let you all know how the lid works out

thanks

[wgeils]

One more question.

After all the bad press MDF has gotten here, could I swap-out Plywood for MDF in this design?

Wayne

[Beechwood Chip]

I would. Plywood is stronger, holds screws better, and resists moisture better. MDF is less likely to warp. The wood frames will prevent warping, so I'd go with plywood.

MDF might be a little easier to work, because it is completely uniform and won't splinter, etc. But it makes lots of dust!

[wgeils]

Here they are completed out of 3/4 ply not MDF

[Beechwood Chip]

Very nice! I bet you are happy with the way they turned out!