camp boxs

[old ugly]

ill show you mine if you show us yours.
I am not an expert but I like making boxs for my stuff. I like to try to make them look like they might have been 200 years ago. I cheat with new materials by attempting to make them look old.
thanks
ou
tom

 

[Black Hand]

 

[Black Hand]

http://materialculture18t.wixsite.com/18thcmcrc/furniture
https://www.scribd.com/document/264433575/Storage-Boxes-Chests

 

[old ugly]

this is my kitchen box when its just me.

 

[BillinOregon]

Great thread gentlemen. Tom, did you steam bend the pieces for your arch top chest? Those things require serious coopering skills to get right.

 

[old ugly]

I don’t steam the wood. I use Cheap pine. Safer the fewer knots it has.
I Started doing it by trial and error.
I build the box , easier if the box ends are made from 3/4”.
Decide on the contour.
Once the ends are shaped I make a center support.
I rip all the top boards, on edge, thin and out of pine, easy to shape and it bends easy enough for low dome.
Then go from one side to the other Fitting and shaping each board.
I glue and nail the ends of each board wit little square nails.
Once it’s all together sand it as round as you dare.
Here are a few more but these are stay home boxs

 

[Black Hand]

I don’t steam the wood. I use Cheap pine. Safer the fewer knots it has.
I Started doing it by trial and error.
I build the box , easier if the box ends are made from 3/4”.
Decide on the contour.
Once the ends are shaped I make a center support.
I rip all the top boards, on edge, thin and out of pine, easy to shape and it bends easy enough for low dome.
Then go from one side to the other Fitting and shaping each board.
I glue and nail the ends of each board wit little square nails.
Once it’s all together sand it as round as you dare.
Here are a few more but these are stay home boxs

Your boxes are nice, however are constructed more like late 19th to early-20th century steamer trunks. The boxes seen in the 18th-early 19th century are built more like flat-topped/sided blanket chests and examples can be seen in the 2 links I provided above.
Also see http://www.livinghistoryshop.com/category/18th-century-furniture/

 

[old ugly]

Your boxes are nice, however are constructed more like late 19th to early-20th century steamer trunks.

cool
that's a easy change the next one will be no dome, longer and less arch. easier to build.
the intent was to cover the camp box in leather. just waiting for someone to throw out ther old couch. i'll do that to the next one.
thanks
ou

 

[eugenenine]

I don’t steam the wood. I use Cheap pine. Safer the fewer knots it has.
I Started doing it by trial and error.
I build the box , easier if the box ends are made from 3/4”.
Decide on the contour.
Once the ends are shaped I make a center support.
I rip all the top boards, on edge, thin and out of pine, easy to shape and it bends easy enough for low dome.
Then go from one side to the other Fitting and shaping each board.
I glue and nail the ends of each board wit little square nails.
Once it’s all together sand it as round as you dare.
Here are a few more but these are stay home boxs

Are there standard sizes/plans for these? I'm thinking pallet wood would work well since its rough and used to give it the aged look.

 

[Black Hand]

I'm thinking pallet wood would work well since its rough and used to give it the aged look.

No respectable craftsman of the period would use rough wood to make a box. Maybe for a packing crate, but not for an item that was considered furniture. Do yourself a favor and emulate the period craftsman...

 

[old ugly]

Are there standard sizes/plans for these? I'm thinking pallet wood would work well since its rough and used to give it the aged look.

No they are about 11 1/2” high x 13” long x 12” wide. Aprox.
I was working on what I thought looked good.
I like pallet wood too, but experiences I’ve had using it has not been very successful.
It is good that you can find thinner pieces with pallet wood and it’s usually free.
I try to make boxes as lite as possible for camp.
I use pine I find it easy to work with and price is ok. 1x 8 I can rip on edge and get 2 planks just under 3/8”

 

[old ugly]

No respectable craftsman of the period would use rough wood to make a box. Maybe for a packing crate, but not for an item that was considered furniture. Do yourself a favor and emulate the period craftsman...

That is true, but not all people are craftsmen and they build stuff out of nessesity with what they have and the basic skill they have.
I would think that would apply as much then as it does now.
If I was a settler with some old boards and needed a box I’d be using those old boards

 

[Black Hand]

That is true, but not all people are craftsmen and they build stuff out of nessesity with what they have and the basic skill they have.
I would think that would apply as much then as it does now.
If I was a settler with some old boards and needed a box I’d be using those old boards

Yes - and the person would plane the wood smooth and make a proper piece of furniture. This modern obsession of leaving things rough and pretending it makes things look period or historical is WRONG...

But then again, you're not making just any old box are you...? Do it right the first time.

 

[Coot]

Are there standard sizes/plans for these? I'm thinking pallet wood would work well since its rough and used to give it the aged look.

Since a typical chair seat is about 16 & 1/2" off the floor, that might be a good height for a 'sit on' box. You could also make one the size to hold a small cooler. If made with cleats on the bottom, the box/contents will not get as damp.

 

[smo]

Great examples of useful campwares by all....

 

[jackley]

Your boxes are nice, however are constructed more like late 19th to early-20th century steamer trunks. The boxes seen in the 18th-early 19th century are built more like flat-topped/sided blanket chests and examples can be seen in the 2 links I provided above.
Also see http://www.livinghistoryshop.com/category/18th-century-furniture/

In Neueman and Kravic book Collectors Illustrated Enclclopedia of the Am. Rev. Pg. 181 shows dome topped trunks. Also Book of Buckskinning 7 show numerous dome topped trunks. pages 203-209.
And your example, Washington's trunk is domed. All from 18th. century. The construction is different then Uglys but there were many domed and hex topped trunks.

Jerry

 

[Black Hand]

In Neueman and Kravic book Collectors Illustrated Enclclopedia of the Am. Rev. Pg. 181 shows dome topped trunks. Also Book of Buckskinning 7 show numerous dome topped trunks. pages 203-209.
And your example, Washington's trunk is domed. All from 18th. century. The construction is different then Uglys but there were many domed and hex topped trunks.

Jerry

No argument there were dome-top trunks (that said, neither of the 2 references you give carry much weight). I said the construction most resembled late 19th & early 20th century steamer trunks and that most period trunks & document boxes were flat-topped.

 

[Rifleman1776]

That is true, but not all people are craftsmen and they build stuff out of nessesity with what they have and the basic skill they have.
I would think that would apply as much then as it does now.
If I was a settler with some old boards and needed a box I’d be using those old boards

That is spot on correct. Many old tables, chairs, etc. are built with a variety of woods. Not every home had sophisticated tools (planes, etc.) and things were left rough or only superficially scraped.

 

[Black Hand]

A few more boxes in my collection. I made all but the yellow/black box in the 1st image and the leather-covered with tacks. The last is a blanket chest at the foot of the bed.

 

[jackley]

I'll admit that those two books have some miss information. But on the subject of boxes I think there spot on. Along with what I've seen in the examples at the fur trade museum. Here are some of my smaller boxes. The ones used for carrying tents, awning stakes and such are out in the barn.
These two are originals.

This one I carry my personal things in, bone tooth brush, tooth powder, mirror,and such. I made all the rest. Using dowels and hide glue except for the last one the shooting box.

This one for pen,ink journal.

This for kitchen items, tableware, spice grinder, marrow spoon, meat fork,spatula and such.

This one I did not make I won it at a shoot. Its a shooting box.

Jerry