Multi-purpose box on wheels
Even though the box looks simple, the whole project was labour-intensive. I used reclaimed wood, inexpensive plywood, old dyes, and finishes that I had bought on sale. Every step had to be completed one by one, without rushing, each carried out from start to finish, no matter how long it took. In a small workshop like mine, even the simplest task takes time. Space is limited, and setting up often takes longer than actually using the tools or machines. Nonetheless, it was a long but enjoyable process, and the overall cost was kept to a minimum. Why is this box considered multi-purpose? I won’t keep anyone in suspense – it serves as a storage box, a small coffee table, and a sofa tray. It’s three in one, and in this case, the word multi-purpose is not misused.
I had two thick boards on hand and couldn’t find a good use for them after dismantling the table they came from. I planed them down slightly and ripped a batch of thin strips, leaving behind pieces the width of my push block for future use. I didn’t need more slats at the time, but the larger offcuts could still come in handy for other projects. I aimed for strips roughly 14 mm thick, knowing they would later be planed down to 12 mm (about 9/16″ to just under 1/2″).
Not too thick, but not too thin either – the goal was to build something relatively strong without being bulky. Working with material thinner than the standard 3/4 inch can be challenging, and I enjoy that. Once the slats were ready, I cut them to length using my mitre saw, setting up a simple stop block on the fence to streamline the process.
There were three groups of lengths: for the uprights (stiles), plus the longer and shorter rails. I already knew the internal dimensions of the box, so I simply calculated the required lengths for all the components. Next, it was time to join them into four frames. Given the material thickness, I used 6 mm dowels and a dowelling jig, with a provisional stop block clamped to its edge. Instead of aligning the workpieces with the jig edges – as I usually do – I shifted the drilling points slightly outward. I was focused on accommodating the future side rebates and completely overlooked the placement of the bottom. What was done was done.
Normally, I use the jig with its front facing the reference marks on the wood – that is, the front of the workpiece. I don’t flip it around, since it’s not a self-centring jig, and the glue-ups wouldn’t come out flush or flat. This time, however, I always placed my provisional stop block (the one with the quick-release clamp) at the corner with the pencil marks, regardless of whether the jig was facing forward or backward. That approach only worked because the drilling point happened to be centred – an uncommon situation. I suspect the slats were exactly 12 mm thick and the jig was set to 6 mm, which would explain the alignment. Otherwise, I would’ve had to move the stop block to the opposite end for every hole drilled from the other side – technically impossible, since there was nothing visual to align it with; it would’ve just floated somewhere inside the jig. In any case, the frames turned out flat, and the rails and stiles were perfectly flush.
With the dowelling done, I disassembled the jig and moved on to the glue-up. As always, I used smoking pipe cleaners to apply glue to the predrilled holes – they’re perfect for the job. While the glue was drying, I went to the shop and picked up two sheets of plywood: one for the sides and a thicker one for the bottom. I needed to know their exact thicknesses to set the router bit to the correct height. The bottom panel was deliberately made thicker, simply because it would have four castors screwed into it. That was the only reason for using thicker plywood – I didn’t want the screws to punch through.
Once the rebates were cut, I trimmed the thinner panels to size and rounded their corners to match the frames. Then I applied a coat of my homemade steel-and-vinegar dye. I treated both sides to fully mask the pinkish colour of the plywood and to help prevent the panels from cupping unevenly. Fortunately, they stayed flat, but the dye revealed a few contaminated spots that had been invisible until that point. The coverage wasn’t great in those areas, leaving behind small white patches. To hide them, I reached for a pencil that happened to match the dried dye perfectly. The dye itself looked like dissolved rust – because, technically, that’s what it was – but it began transforming quickly and turned into a grey tone. Once the panels were completely dry, I used a paper towel to gently “sand” off any remaining rust.
I glued all four sides together using two strap clamps, along with a few light clamps to hold the stiles in place. Having access to the stiles was the reason I assembled the frame first and added the panels later. It was simply less stressful and produced better results. After letting the glue dry for a couple of hours, I routed the rebate for the bottom. It cut through the dowels, but half of the outermost ones remained in place. Their placement was something I had overlooked, but once the bottom was glued in, it added the strength the box needed.
Since the bottom panel came from a different sheet of plywood, it revealed a different kind of surface contamination. It wasn’t just a few spots – this time, the entire panel didn’t take the dye well. But it was cheap plywood, after all, and it was just the bottom of the box, so it wasn’t a major issue. I let it dry and, in the meantime, applied wood filler to a few imperfections in the frame. After sanding, I rounded over the sides and the bottom, using a 3 mm bit. The top edge was left square, just as it was. At that point, the frame was ready to receive the sides and the bottom. These weren’t just decorative accents – they were structural and essential parts of the box.
The glue dried quickly, and the clamping force didn’t need to be extreme. A few spring clamps, quick-release clamps, C-clamps, and spreader clamps were all I needed to hold the glue-ups in place for less than 10 minutes. Once everything was assembled into a box, I had to decide on a finish. My main concern was the dyed plywood – would the colour smear over the wood? If I had cleaned up the dye residue properly with paper towels, it should be fine. I considered using a water-based varnish, as the brush application would help keep the dye in place, but ultimately, I took the risk and applied worktop oil. I chose this over Danish oil to preserve the original light colour of the spruce. I saturated the entire box with oil using a disposable brush, then wiped off the excess with a cloth and kitchen paper towels. I made sure the box was completely dry before continuing the oil application for the next two days, applying three coats in total as recommended. After the first coat, the wood grain really popped, revealing tiny knots that looked stunning. Of course, the dye didn’t discolour the frame, so the final result was just as I had hoped.
In the meantime, I started working on the lid. I used the same board, which had been cut into three pieces a few years ago. Resawing it all the way down on my table saw was outside my comfort zone, so I left a small tab to hold the two sides together. I then finished separating them with a hand saw. I ended up with two thicker boards and two thinner ones, but I still needed an additional piece to make the lid wide enough for the box. I quickly cut what I needed and glued the three pieces together. The glue set in about an hour, but when I checked the lid with my moisture meter, it clearly showed that it was still wet. So, I postponed the planing for another day – I didn’t want any gummy glue coming into contact with my planer blades.
The next morning, I installed the castors. No predrilling, just short PZ1 screws driven directly into the plywood bottom. From that moment on, I was confident that the bottom of my new box wouldn’t get scratched during movement. With that done, I could proceed with the lid. First, I planed it on both sides, then cut it to length and trimmed it to width. The lid was sized to match the box, plus an extra 1 mm on each side to allow for sanding.
I sanded all four edges to remove any saw marks, then rounded over the corners using the same 3 mm bit I had used for the box. The goal was to let the router bit bearing copy and cut the curve into the ledge. Even though the edge it was following was rounded, the copied edge remained sharp. It seems I didn’t fully understand how this was supposed to work. I cut the first step 6 mm deep, which was half the thickness of the box sides. This allowed the lid to rest securely on the box, providing a nice ledge for a finger grip. The height of both the first and second steps was determined by eye – I kept cutting until they looked proportionate to the box. Cutting the second step started off the same way, using the same bit, but quickly became a challenge. The screw holding the bearing was in the way and began rubbing against the top of the lid. I had to switch to a different bit. I clamped a straight board to the lid and used it as a guide for the new bit, deepening the step I had partially cut with the rebating bit. Before calling it a day, I filled all the nail holes with wood filler and let it harden overnight.
It was then a matter of sanding and applying three coats of worktop oil once again. When the wood grain popped, it looked amazing after being saturated with the oil. I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures to capture those beautiful colours and textures. The oil finish brought out the best in the wood, highlighting its natural beauty and ensuring the box would last for years to come. All the glue joints were tight, and the lid was perfectly flat. The proportions between the steps were perfectly sized, both visually and practically.
When the oil dried, the box was moved from the workshop to the living room. A few quick tests showed that it was just the right size for a small coffee table, both in terms of height and lid surface area. The design turned out to be well thought out. As mentioned at the beginning, the project was quite labour-intensive. It took many days to build, and on top of that, another week to apply the finish. That part, however, could’ve been shortened by half with a better-planned workflow. Having the box done as quickly as possible wasn’t my goal – going through each step in detail was. I also wanted to use up the scrap wood I had on the shelves, make use of old dyes and oils, and try dowel joinery for building the frames. The lift-off lid doubles as a tray, and the absence of hinges helped reduce the cost, which was the main reason for not using them. All in all, I’m very happy with the time spent in the shed and with the final result: a box that not only looks great, but also serves its purpose well.
