How to Build a Toy Box
Most households with children have a problem with toy proliferation. Kids collect toys so quickly, that your house is likely to have action figures, dolls and toy vehicles laying everywhere. Learning how to build a toy box lets you store toys every night, while building a storage item that is sized to your living space.
Steps for Building Toy Boxes
We’ve outlined the steps for building toy boxes in the following passages. Be sure to pay attention to the measurements and sizes before you begin cutting.
Collect Toy Box Materials
How to Build a Toy Box
Buy the wood supplies to build a toy box with. You want un-warped wood that is free of knots, which make nailing difficult, if not impossible.
Buy two 1×10 boards at four feet in length, one 1×8 board at six feet in length and one piece of 3/4th inch particle board or plywood. Also, you’ll need ten 2 & 1/2 inch double-wide corner braces, six 4-inch strap hinges and screws to fit each.
Other building supplies you’ll need are a square, a screwdriver, a saw, a jigsaw, a drill and bit set, a sander, sandpaper, wood glue and polyurethane.
Cut Lumber to Proper Size
Cut your wood supplies into the proper lengths for toy box construction. Cut each of the 4-foot 1×10 pieces of board into a 34 inch long piece and a 13 & 1/2 inch piece. This should give you 2 34-inch 1x10s and 2 13.5-inch 1x10s.
Cut lid pieces from your 6-foot length of 1×8. Cutting this piece should produce two 34 inch long lid pieces.
The particle board or plywood is going to act as the bottom of your toybox. Cut this into one 32 & 1/2 inch by 13 & 1/2 inch piece.
Sand the Wood Materials
How to Build a Toy Box
Now that you’ve cut your wood, sand the edges of the freshly-cut pieces to make them smooth. This is also the stage where you cut handles into the side pieces, by cutting a circle pattern in the side pieces. Cut these together, so both side are exactly equal in size.
Building the Toy Box
Place your bottom plywood piece on a level surface. Place the two side pieces onto the bottom of the toy box. Screw in corner braces for the back and front of the toy box, then add a corner brace at the top of these pieces.
Add the end pieces onto the toy box construction by attaching them to the corner brackets.
Building the Toy Box Lid
Next, place your 2 34-inch long lid pieces on the toybox. Make sure both are flush on the container. When these are flush, add your 3 flush hinges to both pieces spaced properly, then attach these hinges to the back of the toy box.
Adding Stain or Finish to the Toy Box
Add finish to the toy box. If comfortable doing so, disassemble the container and apply finish thoroughly, which should preserve the box better. Paint the hinges, if you want the box entirely the same color. Place finish on the inside of the toy box, too.
Toy Box Decoration
Consider adding decoration to the toil box. If you paint, add a coat of primer first. Two coats of paint is going to look better than one.
Also, consider adding your child’s name to the toy box. If you have multiple children, build a toy box for each, then stencil their names to their respective boxes. This gives them each a sense of possession and responsibility.
Add polyurethane when your finished with all staining, painting or other decoration.
Glue for Added Stability
Apply wood glue to your toy box, to give added stability. This way, your toy box isn’t rickety and unstable.
Building a Toy Box
Mastering how to build a toy box lets you add an inexpensive and practical component to your kids’ bedrooms. Once you perfect building your own toy boxes, you can even build them as gifts for the family and neighbors. If you never reach that point of carpentry skill, you can still have a practical toy container for your children’s toys.