Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire wood working guys, I need help!!

Everything after the comma demonstrates an acute case of opti-rectimosis. IOW pull your head out of your ass. If you've not built a few proper boxes, sturdy enough to be worth the cost of materials and labor, then you don't start with a curved one.

If I were you, I'd tell the little woman, she'd best be concerned with her own "curves", not some box. Silly schit that females dream up needs to be nipped in the bud, not encouraged.

"...Silly schit that females dream up needs to be nipped in the bud, not encouraged."

Nail on the head !!!

Go to walmart and pick up a large plastic storage container with lid for 30 bucks. That will not only work, it will work better. And its a whole lot smarter than starting a project for which you don't have the time, tools, expertise, or inclination. Remember, nothing is as cheap or as easy as you might think.

There is a couple of things that women ought to be doing; thinking up projects for menfolk ain't one of 'em.

FYI my wife has freaking great curves, even after a baby (she only gained 10 lbs during pregnancy) I have built a few boxes but nothing too finished I have a wooden chain saw box i made, a oak panel box for my mom's crap, and I even built our bedroom set but the idea of building a curved lid and cutting the bevels is what has me hung up, if I could build it out of steel my problem would be solved. The other problem is price, I looked at oak the other day and they wanted $89.00 for a 4x8x1/2, I think it's gonna be made out of pine, and he can be a West Coast Pirate

Very true. I bought a replacement lid support for our grandkids wood toy box at Lowe's.
Below is a link to where you can order on-line some weight rated lid supports for toy boxes, cedar chests, etc.

http://www.hardwaresource.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=526

What size slats do you want over what radius? I'll draw it up in cad and tell you the angle of the dangle.

cant imagine someone is to happily married if they get pissy and tell their wife no every time they come up with an off the wall idea.....granted i spend a fair time actually explaining to the wife just what her new idea is going to involve but bout 1/4 of the time she is still gung ho about it so i just shrug my shoulders, say ill do my best and go buy a couple new tools to try and get the job done myself and if it doesnt work we go with the more practical way of hiring someone that knows what theya re doing or buying something else....either way i still get some new tools out of the deal .....

My wife's latest requires a new backhoe.....

I got married and started work at woodcraft. I was surprised at how many tools I "needed" to do all these projects.

If you like your wallet stay away from tools made by "Festool". You'll have a coronary when you see the price tags, but when you use them it'll all make sense.

I have now
SawStop 3hp1ph 56" table saw
Powermatic 5hp1ph 15" helical carbide planer
Jet 3hp1ph 8" helical carbide jointer
Powermatuc PM2800 drill Press
Jet 12/20 lathe
Various Festool sanders and drills
And garage shelving full of everything from Mesquite to exhibition grade curly Purpleheart on the off chance I "need" to make something.

Remember, a circle/curve is nothing but a whole bunch of straight lines.

lol very very short ones?

Depends on the size of the circle. Think of the earth..

go buy a old wine type barrel,20/30 gallon size "burn" some skull and bones on it ...a little work with hinges etc......a couple beers latter...u are done........

Sounds like you looked at Lowes for Oak. S4S FAS lumber is going to cost you a fortune. Meaning surfaced 4 sides and first/second grade, as the more times it goes through a saw before it goes though your saw, the more expenive it gets.

I get red oak for about $0.87 a board foot. It is 15/16'ths to 1" and rough on all 4 sides but cut oversize. One pass on each side on my planer finishes it to 3/4, one pass on the jointer and then rip to final width and its done.

Most people will cut every piece of their project about 1/4-1/2' oversize and allow it to acclimate where its going to be for 2-3 days, then they finish trim and assemble.

I like the oak barrel idea, make a nice open box out of pine, lay the barrel on its side in the box so it won't roll, and cut it in half lengthwise. Lid supports are a great idea, drill and make some rope handles for the lid, get a map torch and scorch it, beat it with a tire chain, carve his name in it and call it good.

Just make it bigger than you think. We hauled away(to good will)a truck load of old toys to get ready for Chistmas.

I have 3 kids at home and counting presents from all the family and friends,they opened 167 presents on Christmas.

Savage -I too like the barrel Idea, but I don't know where to find one, and didn't look at Lowes, I was planing on going up there this weekend I just looked at our local lumbar yard and they would have to special order it, unless its OSB they don't stock it.

How much do those barrels cost, seems like that would save me a bunch of time and math.

For years I have gotten the help of folks with more skill, or better tools than I had at the time.
I wonder if flute, and bead, as used in canoes might work for the lid? That calls for a shaper, or router, and table, but that's woodworking for you.

If you can find a curved barrel or similar to work with that would be great, but when you take off those circumferential bands, you may get some unexpected results, i.e. it may fall apart if the individual slats weren't joined as securely as you wanted them to be.

The process of making a curved item like a barrel or similar is known as coopering - numerous narrow slats, mitered and fixed together.

I did a few smaller coopered projects, back in the day, curved topped jewelry boxes, and for those applications a good adhesive worked well, I also did some curved front cabinet doors that took a little more reinforcing. But that lid your planning on building is going to get some abuse, and should be strong.

If you are good with metals, I'd consider making a slotted super structure (as light as possible), and putting the wood slats into it - but the prior post about hinges being reinforced to prevent accidental closing would be spot on.

If I was closer, I'd help. But alas - you are way over there.

I was thinking to keep the lid from closing to hard I have an extra set of old Ford lever arm shocks, but they might be too much so I was also think of using a set of strong arms like on the back window of an SUV.
With keeping barrel slats together I figured before I cut I would glue them all together and then drill and put a screw at each slat through the band using the other side of the band on the inside, but to find a barrel for cheap may be a problem.

You can rip all the slats you need from a 2x4 or 2x6 with the guide found in most 7 1/4 circular saws.I haven't tried it but you might tie them together as in some blinds or just adapt a set of blinds for the top.