This Reclaimed Wood Storage Chest was made using old bed wood, as I found it to be better than the stacks of pallet wood I have. I picked up these bed frame boards from a nearby dump area. I reclaimed about one queen-sized bed frame worth of wood.
How I made this Reclaimed Wood Storage Chest:
This project took me about 8 hours to complete it. The biggest challenge was getting the hinges and gas springs just right. I did some grinding on the hinges and shock and got a small cut on my thigh from a runaway grinder. I’m very lucky to avoid worse injury!
I prepped up the boards by rounding the ends just a bit. Next, I built a simple box frame for the chest and reinforced the sides. This provided a place to mount the gas springs later as well. I put two pieces of pallet boards vertically along the back of the chest for a secure place to mount the hinges. Finally, I cut the bed boards to length and installed them with screws after pre-drilling.
To finish the project, I built another box frame for the lid. I used a center support board and then clad it with the same bed frame wood. Finally, I installed the hinges, but now can’t decide on the final part: the color! Should I choose teak or rose-red shellack? Hmmm. Still thinking on that one. Any opinions?
Looks great! Live building with pallet wood!