Camera Display Box With Integrated Charger and Reader

I designed and made this box when I was fed up with constantly misplacing camera lenses and clothes, leaving batteries in chargers and SD cards in card readers when grabbing my camera for a photography trip.

This box, stores and displays my camera, lenses and accessories, it houses a battery charger and SD card reader, and can all be securely closed up and carried.

TinkerCAD Link;

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/9uVGa1IieSA

Tools;

Ruler, Tri Square, Pencil, Wood saw, Drill, Craft knife, Chisel, Sandpaper, Scissors.

Plywood; 5x 4mm A4 (210mmx300mm) sheets

Felt 500mmx1000mm

Hinges

Wax

Wood Glue

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Optional;

Box corners

Latch

Side latches ( hinges were used in this design)

Card reader
Camera battery charger

Tea for staining

First things first, this box is made specifically for a Panasonic Lumix GX800, which is small as cameras go, so for your own camera you may need to adjust the measurements to fit. The shelf height that it fits is 70mm and depth is 90mm for the biggest and 25mm for the narrowest shelf.
The total box size closed is 260mm x 200m x 100mm and open it is 270mm tall.

I have created a TinkerCAD file which is to the correct scale for reference, pictured above. This also can be used as a tool for best laying out each piece to cut. The next step talks about joints, The TinkerCAD uses lap joints but the project itself uses dovetails. Either is fine, but if using dovetail or mitre joints, make the side length 200mm instead of 185mm., and the drawer base from 240mm x 90mm instead of the listed230mm x 80mm.

This project used 4x A4 size sheets of 4mm Plywood. for the main frame, the plywood was doubled up for strength, that is for both top, sides and the drawer sides.

When you mark up the sides use a ruler and square and make sure to account for the thickness of your sawblade on each cut.

Once all the separate pieces are cut to length we can look at connecting them together.

Glue the two parts of the left sider, right side and drawer sides together. You want to cover both surfaces evenly with glue and then clamp them as the glue dries for the best adhesion.

The TinkerCad design used a simple lap joint, when one piece of wood sit on top of another at a 90 degree angle. This is a quick, simple and relatively strong joint, especially when bolstered by nails or dowels.
However in making the box itself, Dovetail joints were used for the main frame corners , as well as the drawer construction. These are really strong and reliable joints but take more skill and time.

You can use a dovetail jig, a protractor or simply a piece of wood cut at approximately and 80 degree angle, as was used in this projected. Align this with the flat of the boards to mark the angle of the dovetails.

Cut the dovetails first and then mark and cut the top and bottom using the sides of wood.

TIP; Cut both sides at once by tightly taping them together with masking tape.
TIP; It is better to cut these slightly to small and then file or chisel down to get a perfectly snug fit.

Connect the top and bottom to the sides. We will now be cutting the slant through the centre of the box, so decide if you want to clamp and glue these pieces before of after the cut.
Once you have an open square, you can carefully cut slots on the inside of each side for the lower and middle shelf, going just 4mm in is enough to then snugly slide the shelves into place. Except for the thin upper shelf, the other shelves wont be glued so they can be slid in and out if needed.

Once you can these slots cut, draw a line on each side the just above the lower slot , to the centre of the top piece, this will dictate the angle of the slanted sides. Continue to cut these sides and horizontally along the top where they both attach. Now you can line up the back and the upper front to the respective parts. If you hadn't already, clamp and glue the front, top, sides, back and bottom in place firmly.

Thin cuts of ply can be glued to the outer edge of each shelf, giving them a lip, to help stop items from sliding off.

Connect the sides to the front and back and then the bottom the draw.
Using the dovetail technique, add dove tails to the ends of the sides and the bottom of the fron, back and sides. This gives optimal strength for pulling/pushing the draw and the bottom supporting the contents.
Such small dovetails can be fiddly so a knife can be used for more precise and incremental cuts.
The front lower can be then attached to the front of the drawer.

TIP; Make sure each connecting piece is coated evenly in glue and they are clamped firmly for as long as your glue takes to dry. 24 hours is a good rule of thumb.

In this design and SD card fits in the side of the box, and the batteries on the inside, the wires are hidden at the back of the bottom shelf, going through the drawer and through a hole in the back of the box, where they can be plugged into a computer etc.

Place the reader and charger on the shelf, marking when the cable will have to connect on the shelf, and where the SD card will line up.
Use a drill to cut the corners of the holes and then use a knife or coping saw to cut them to shape to fit the cables and card in.

For the cables to come out the back through the drawer, you will then need to cut a slot at the back of the lower shelf, and the back piece of the drawer, You can then measure and cut out a hole big enough to fit the USB slots for each cable.
When in place, you can check the fit for all the items, testing putting a card and batteries in.
I covered the card reader with a small piece of plywood, and drilled a hole where the light is to know if it is connected.

TIP, file or sand the edges of the cuts in the plywood as harsh edges can catch and pull of a nasty slither of the plywood

For the top half to fold out and sit level, the hinges may need to be counter-sunk.

Carefully position the hinges in place, draw round them and then use a knife to trace that line. Use a sharper chisel to the remove the thickness of wood in those rectangles. Once sunk, mark and drill pilot holes for each screw.
As you can see here, the provided screws were longer than the thickness of teh wood, meaning the sharper ends would have protruded it to the box. To fix this. Screws were roughly drilling into a piece of scrap wood, and a hack saw was used to cut them to length. be careful as the cut tops can fly off and get very hot when cutting, hence the use of glove in to secure them.

This techniques was also used on the sides where loose hinges are used as hooks for use with a camera strap, meaning the whole box can be carried using the strap.

A thin shelf is used to store an array of SD and Micro SD Cards. This project used even thinner ply wood for this part, but the 4mm ply works perfectly too.
Firstly build the shelf for this to sit and slide on, a support can be added, which also while help the charger stay in place when in transit.
The cards were arrange and slightly larger squares were measured to fit each card in, with just enough to remove them once in the slots. With the thinner ply, two separate parts were used for the casing and bottom of the holder, with a single piece of ply, the same counter sinking technique can be used as with the hinges.

Before a finish is applied, use sandpaper to save down the surfaces and edges of the box

To darken the colour of the light plywood, a jug of strong tea was made and left to cool. This was then applied generously to every piece of the box using a cloth, a drier cloth used to wipe any excess off. This was then left to dry overnight.

To finish the outside of the box, a natural wax was used. This makes the wood more resistant to wear and moisture. This can also be added to the drawers, as it gives a smoother surface for the drawers to glide on.
Other finishes such as stains or varnish can be used. A wax should be brushed on to a dry surface and excess wiped off. Leave for a few hours or ideally overnight to let the wax soak into the wood. Always check the instructions to the specific finish you are using.

Two colours of felt were used here to finish the inside of the box. This is isn't necessary but gives a nice effect, and helps prevent damage to your expensive gear! Sharp scissors usually give a better edge that a knife here when cutting felt. Measure against your box first and then cover each area with glue before carefully placing each piece on in place.

A small ornate latch was added to keep the lip securely shut when necessary. Online sites other a plethora of such items for relatively cheap. They can also be salvaged from old or broken furniture.

Carefully align then drill into place, super glue can be used to strengthen this bond. On the lid, the screws were drilled in and then a hack saw was used to chop off the protruding ends which were then filed smooth.

Metal corners can also be added as decoration and to help protect the wood beneath them. The design only has then on top as adding them to the bottom would interfere with the bottom draw.

Now the final step - To fill your box with your camera gear!

This design is for a camera and mini tripod on the bottom shelf, the batteries on second, lenses on the third and filters and lens caps of the thin top shelf. The draw can fit miscellaneous tools, clothes and a thin camera strap.

I hope this comes in handy for someone out there!
I look forward to seeing what you might make, how it looks and how it fits to your specific camera needs!