Building my daughter a toy box

Finished shot first

End of assembly day one. The side sub-panels are assembled and I had to clamp the styles in place to see how it would look.

Quick gif of how I cut the curve in the styles on my DIY router lift. Sorry it's so short.

Only had a short time in the shop on day two. Got the styles attached. Pocket holes and glue did the trick. I also managed to get the bottom cut, screwed, and glued in place.

All of the holes plugged with 3/8" dowel rod.

A couple of coats of paint. Notice the gaps where the bottom meets the side panels? Whoops!

I knew I didn't want a lego top on mine like the plans called for, I was deciding on what I wanted to do and my father in law said he has some knotty pine shelves in his garage that might work. He brought them over and most of them were warped. This one had a bow in it but after wiping with some mineral spirits I fell in love with the look against the painted base.

Testing finishes. I've never really finished anything before other than a few coats of this or that. I wanted this to look good. This is 3 coats of brushed on poly. I liked the gloss but didn't want to deal with trying to rub out a smooth finish on something this big. I decided to wipe it on.

Quick gif cutting the profile in the edge of the lid. This router lift was the greatest time investment I've ever made for my shop. It's accurate and was cheap! Stumpy Nubs' router lift if you want plans.

Router profile complete. Setting it on top to admire my work. I wanted a 1/4-3/8 overhang with a chamfer ending with the base's width. I was really worried about lining up the bottom of the chamfer with the corners of the box. It worked out pretty well. The accuracy of the router lift really helped.

Edit: Whoops! Out of order!

Remember those gaps? My father in law suggested I caulk all of the areas with gaps. It made a world of difference. Caulk and paint make a finish carpenter what he ain't.

Two coats of wipe on poly.

This is coat 4 or 5 of poly. I can see the trees and the sky and it's not even dry!

Trying to photograph the top once the last coat was dry. I was really happy with it for a first time finish.

All finished. I'm also added her name in painted 1/2" thick letters on the front but I didn't include those in the photos.

Another finished shot. She loves the book storage.

Safety latches. They're spring loaded and hold the lid in any position it's left at. No smashing fingers or necks on this!