Scavenger Chic

Easy DIY Customized Storage Box, Chess Pieces

• By Joan
• April 2, 2025
• No Comments

DIY Customized Storage Box, Chess Pieces

My eldest grandson turned 7 this week. Happy Birthday Felix!  I have no idea where the time goes but one of his many hobbies is playing chess.  I have never learned how to play myself but I’m all for encouraging him to be the next Grandmaster.  Too soon?  

I’m repeating the chess pieces and board  made from a reclaimed door  earlier this year but what this set needed was a storage box for when you want to put the set away…so it doesn’t have to be sitting out all the time.

Like my last chess set, this board is made from a hollow core door cut to 2 ft x 2 ft and framed with sanded plaster lath strips.  Paint in a color scheme of your choice.

You can find my other handpainted  game boards,  Parcheesi and Backgammon set here, both made from reclaimed doors.

Scour your wood pile for wood pieces large enough to create 4 sides and a base for your storage box.  This is 1 inch thick solid wood recovered from a pile of trash.

Lay out your chess pieces to determine how large a storage box you’ll want to make.   Of course you’ll need double the height to accommodate both colors.

  For the base , I laid my pieces directly on my board then added another 1/4″ to all sides to give a little wiggle room.

Cut the base of your box and sand.

The two long sides should be the exact length of the base you cut.  The height will be 3/4″ to 1″ taller than the base + the two layers of chess pieces.

The wood I was using already had this nice rounded edge.  The rounded edge is not necessary for this project.  You’ll just want to sand any cuts you make.

Cut your two ends the same height as you cut the long sides.  The length will be how wide your box is plus the width of the sides you already cut.

Don’t nail anything just yet.

Find a piece of scrap wood about 1/4 thick which is going to be used for the top. 

The way I’m creating this project you will definitely need a tabletop saw.  Adjust the blade so that it goes no deeper than 1/3 to half way thru your board.

If you do not have access to a tabletop saw all is not lost, just use a hinged lid.

Adjust the fence of the saw to be about 1/2″ from the top and feed the 2 long sides thru the saw and one of the ends.

You’ll notice that the channel I just cut is not quite as wide as the 1/4″ plywood top.  It needs to be fed thru again.

Readjust the fence so that the new saw cut will be right next to the initial pass.

If the 1/4″ wood top fits within the channel you’re done.  If it doesn’t, readjust and make another pass.

Sand all your pieces well.

Hopefully you have a nail gun because it makes this next stage so easy.  

Nail the 2 long sides of your storage box to the outside of the base.

Nail the other end with the channel to the base and to the sides you just attached.

If you accidentally put a channel in both ends that’s fine but we’re going to cut that end down so it sits just below the groove you cut with the tabletop saw.

Nail on the shorter end and cut the plywood top that fits inside the channeled groove. Sand the top so it slides easily.

If desired, fill any holes and sand before finishing with paint or varnish of your choosing.

 

I painted  a checkerboard design on top to match the chess board and finished with clear and antique wax on the top.

The sides are painted with 2 coats of Varathane, dark walnut,  a stain and polyurethane  in one step.

The little finger pull is half of a grommet or eyelet.

 

 

 

This homemade box can be custom built to hold just about anything you can imagine.  The eyelet top sits flat so it can be stacked.

Enjoy creating.  Until next time, stay inspired.