Thread: Ply boxes

Yes, all the above has been weighing heavily on my mind.

I'm going for this kind of lego design because the display needs to be mobile, and will be set up in different sized/shaped areas. I would also like to be able to restack it to rejuvenate the look of the display and attract attention. It's important that I can both put books inside the boxes and lay them on top, as this will give me heaps of display space.

Regarding stacking them, my current design is to cut a hole in the top using a holesaw and attach the piece to the bottom of the box: this would enable me to display the boxes on top of each other either straight or spun around at an angle. There would be a number of base level boxes that would have feet of some kind on them so that the stack isn't resting on the piece cut from the holesaw. The hole in the top wouldn't matter because it will be covered with books.

Luckily I won't need all 100 boxes at once: I can do 10 or so at a time and gradually add them to my current display.

After considering all the replies above I am now thinking hardwood edges on 12mm ply but with no clever joinery - just butt joints with a couple of hardwood dowels + glue. This would enable me to treat the ply boards first, prior to cutting.

I took a look at things like melamine mdf but the costs were just too high compared to ply. I suppose I could nail/glue hardwood edges to white melamine particleboard - this would at least save me the hassle of finishing. I'd prefer a darker finish but may not have the luxury of choice.

Ideally I would be able to find premade boxes of roughly these dimensions, at a reasonable price. I have found a couple of local box producers and will be getting quotes for sure. Any leads in this direction would be much appreciated.

Cheers!

Matt

Hi Matt
My Ikea book shelves are only 27cm deep
do you really need your boxes to be any deeper?

I took a look at things like melamine mdf but the costs were just too high compared to ply.

that really surprises me.
after allowing for the cost of AC interior ply and the time and costs involved in finishing the ply, I would have expected melamine or laminated MDF to be way cheaper.

brightly coloured laminate (red, green, yellow, blue, etc) applied to the front edges would enhance the lego® effect you're after.

After considering all the replies above I am now thinking hardwood edges on 12mm ply but with no clever joinery - just butt joints with a couple of hardwood dowels + glue. This would enable me to treat the ply boards first, prior to cutting.

this is not as simple as it looks.
you can sucessfully attach thin hardwood edging to particle board or ply using nothing more than glue and masking tape -- but the edging has to be wider than the board so you can plane or rout it flush with the ply.

The more I think about this the more I'm inclined to using laminate or melamine board, simple glued rebate joints, counter sunk screws to attach the boxes to each other and bright laminate front edges.
if you bought the board pre-cut you could build a box with not much more than a laminate trimmer, a few jigs and use large rubber bands as clamps.

MCH ... you have received much good info, but I triggered on one point you made, which was transporting. If all the boxes are the same size they will be very cumbersome to transport. If it were me, I would consider making ... say ... groups of 4 so that 3 of the boxes would all fit into one another. These would still be very attractive for display purposes but would take much less space for transport and storage.
Anyway ... something to consider

Thanks Ian, ideally I want the boxes to be around 400 deep because many of my books are wider than 270mm and I can't have them sticking out of the box during transport - I'll be stacking the boxes on top of each other.

To be honest I don't know the price of AC ply - I went to a manufacturer with the idea of using melamine mdf or particleboard to begin with and they told me that ply would be stronger and more cost-effective, but they were probably not talking about AC. As per my OP I was also considering a lower grade of ply like BC and painting it. If time is money then raw ply is definitely not the cheapest option!

My only concern with melamine particleboard or mdf is that the edges would be easily damaged when transporting, even with protective strips glued onto them. Solutions? I've seen this kind of thing edged with hardwood, which would be cool, or perhaps there are some hardwearing edging products out there designed specifically for melamine boards? 16mm L-shaped aluminium as per my original design, attached by screws to the particleboard?

@ Collett, I have created this design specifically for ease of transport. The boxes I have designed are stackable - it's simply a matter of tipping them upright (the books stay inside) and stacking them 3 or four high on a hand trolley and taking them away - very easy. I don't understand why the boxes would be harder to transport if they were all the same size?

Thanks for all the advice!

Originally Posted by mch

@ Collett, I have created this design specifically for ease of transport. The boxes I have designed are stackable - it's simply a matter of tipping them upright (the books stay inside) and stacking them 3 or four high on a hand trolley and taking them away - very easy. I don't understand why the boxes would be harder to transport if they were all the same size?

I'm not sure Collett had realised you were transporting the boxes with books still inside - otherwise the idea of having a "Russian Doll" kind of arrangement where they would stack inside each other would make a lot of sense - on your hand trolley, you could stack three or four sets of three or four boxes - meaning 6 or 7 trips for 100 boxes instead of 25...

Got bored on the weekend and thought I'd finish off my drawing for fun!

Is this the kind of display you had in mind MCH?

Originally Posted by beeroll

I'm not sure Collett had realised you were transporting the boxes with books still inside - otherwise the idea of having a "Russian Doll" kind of arrangement where they would stack inside each other would make a lot of sense - on your hand trolley, you could stack three or four sets of three or four boxes - meaning 6 or 7 trips for 100 boxes instead of 25...

Oh ok, gotcha. Yes, if I was removing the books the Russian doll arrangement would work nicely. Sorry if I didn;t make that clear from the start.

Originally Posted by Tankstand

Got bored on the weekend and thought I'd finish off my drawing for fun!

Is this the kind of display you had in mind MCH?

Wow, thanks! That looks great.

It's quite close to what I had in mind, the difference being that the boxes would be stacked squarely on top of each other instead of like brickwork - this would mean the flat display area on top of the stack would be at least 400 x 400, and it would enable me to do a number of different floorplans and display styles. I wouldn't have a middle row on the bottom layer like you have shown there, because it limits shelf-space - each section would be no wider than two boxes (800mm approx). Also, the boxes would be open at one end and books would be displayed spine-out inside, much like with a normal bookshelf. With a central pinion (hardwood probably) on the bottom of each box that fits snugly into a hole in the top of each box I would also be able to rotate the boxes at different angles to each other.

Thanks for your help.

MCH

can you go away and view and cost the material options for your boxes -- the different grades of ply, melamine board, veneer board, laminate board, MDF, etc -- then think about which option will cost the most in terms of time to finish (for an initial estimate after overheads "time" is worth about $1 per minute) and which option is likely to survive the longest if you're moving the boxes arround every few days or every weekend.
My expectation is that if you use Al angle to join the sides, the faces of the boxes will rapidly scratch.

also, I think that cutting the hole for 100 boxes with a router (use a spiral bit) and a guide will give a neater and cheaper hole than a hole saw -- Of course you will then need to cut the infill circles from additional material.

also, how stable will a row of boxes 4 high and 8 long be ?

Thanks Ian,

When I get the time (around 2025) I'll be heading out to the board distributors in my area to do some costings. There's a place near me called Allboards and they seem to have a good reputation, and they do computerised cutting. Any idea what a distributor might charge me to do the cutting?

For the display the boxes won't usually be stacked more than 3 high (1200mm) Remember, there will be books laid flat on top of the boxes and people need to be able to see these books. Assuming the floor is level I can't see any problems, as books are quite heavy and it would take a lot to knock a full box over. For transport I will be stacking them a maximum of 3 high as well - either on a hand trolley, or on pallets lifted with a pallet jack.

Cheers!

Matt

There are some fascinating approaches here, but they seem a bit too complicated to me. As long as you intend to have a company cut the sheets for you, could you not have the panels accurately mitred to 45 degrees on 3 edges, and the backs on all 4 edges? Then each box can be assembled in a simple jig with the joints just glued, and panel pinned as well if you want. No extra components, screws, drilling, dies or extrusions. You would have to arris the edges (take off the sharp bit) to minimise chipping, but a couple of minutes with a sanding block is all it would take. I used alloy extrusions to trim off some 4wd drawers recently and found it to be quite difficult to get an accurate flush finish and avoid scratches. I think a timber edge on the boxes would also be less likely to damage other boxes. This method should work equally well with ply or MDF - I think I would use 9mm ply though. Let us know how you go!