I NEED A LITTLE HELP

[barney lowery]

Hi guys/gals. With the holidays coming up soon and being in the same finacial situation that so many others are in, mywife and I have decided to not exchange any gifts and all that we can afford will go torwards our two children, they are two and three. Of course i would still like to give her something heart felt for all she has done through out the years being a stay at home mom. With our children starting pre school and coming home with art prodjects every day, that eventualy find their way in a corner, and may eventualy find its way to spring cleaning, I have been thinking of making a "memory chest" to keep these things. It would be the perfect Christmass gift to the both of us. I have been unlucky so far to find plans that will do, so if any of you would have a plan, a picture our a website link that could help me i would greatly appriciate it, sorry for the boring read, thank you in advance if you can help, and happy holidays!!!

[Jens Jensen]

I really dont use plans to speak of but this should be easy for you to figure out what size you want if you decide to use it

 

[Jay Boutwell]

Hello there Barney, i have a project that I did a while back that might be of interest to you.  It is made of Tennessee red cedar however the wood can be as simple as pine or even 3/4 plywood.  It is a simple box that is held together using butt joints, glue and long 3 inch screws.  It is one that can built pretty rapidly and made as fancy as you wish.  The lip is a flat shape hinged by a piano hinge.  It has a simple tray 1/2 tray  in the top that sets on cleats and will slide from one end to the other.  You could modify this to one that lifts out of the box. The pocket screws come into effect in the bottome construction .  The chest sits on top of 4 rubber tired casters that are hidded from view set to just clear the carpet .  The way it is build you can easily add handles to it as well as any type of lock.  the lid can stop can be the old fashioned type where it is held in the open position by a short piece of rope or even a small length of chain or use the commercial lid supports.  it is built in the shape of a hope chest and in fact that is why it was built out of cedar.  I built the one pictured for a customer to give his daughter as a wedding present and when he saw it he ordered two more.

if interested go to my page and go to my projects and click on the Tennessee red cedar box.  when it opens under the leading photo there is a musical video showing 80 some photos of it during its construction.  it starts with the letters of  http;// -------.  click on it and it will open.  i built this with out any plans however you will find it easy to build and will definately work for you.  if you watch the video you can play it full screen by clicking on the lower left ico of the open video and your key board "ESC"will get you back out of it.  If you have questions contact me.  Yo have my permission to copy it or any part of it.   I totally agree with Doug Harwood about loving your children and taking care of their memories not only for you and your wife but for them as well.  Someday soon their memories will also be their memories.  Too bad more parents don't feel like you do.         Hve a nice Thanksgiving and  Christmas season.

 

 

[mo khan]

Barney,

Try the link below. There's a Pirate chest- I'm sure the kids will love it. You will have to register on the website to have access to the plans.

http://www.popularwoodworking.com/projects/icandothat/page/2

[Greg K]

So not a boring read. I can't provide you with plans to make something of wood. Other than an ordinary idea of chest. However, I will suggest scanning every little scribble the kids bring home to your computer to review in the future, who knows you might come up with a display case. I just thought of something as I was writing this. Try to locate an old wooden window; you know the kind that were in the older homes. Get two! Take the glass out of them. Then choose one to either strip and paint or stain. Take family photos (wedding day, birth of child, pic of your first home together, child's first day of school) and sandwich them in between the two panes of glass. Then re-install them in the panes then glaze them for all time. Family, can be so rewarding...keep your sights and prayers on The Father above for the Thankfulness of what He gives us and already given us.

[Rosemarie Wood]

Beautifuil chest.

[barney lowery]

I just want to thank everone for there input. Jay and Jens thats some great work there and you guys have inspired some ideas. Hope to have some pictures to post soon. Greg, I never thought to scan them, great idea, you have given my wife a new job to do. I hope every one had a great Thanksgiving and i wish everyone the best through out the holidays!

[Mike rignola]

Here is a picture of a chest that I built for somebody that was keeping her keepsakes in for her childern