Scrap Wood Kids Toolbox

Make a great little toolbox out of scrap wood for your kids to put their toy tools in and join you in your hobby. Items I used are below but you can use whatever scrap wood you might have.

Pallet wood
Scrap piece of plywood
Old broom handle
Pocket hole jig (not 100% needed)
Saw (I used my table saw)
Drill with Forstner bit
Glue
Something to finish it with (I used beeswax)

I cut my base out of a small scrap of plywood I had to roughly 9.5cm (3 3/4”) x 25cm (9 3/4”) but to get this measurement I just measured the longest toy tool my kids had and the rough width I thought I needed and cut my wood to match. There will be a rebate/rabbet cut into your two side pieces so be sure to add a little extra to your base to make sure it fits.

I drilled a couple of pocket holes in the end but that’s because I had a new jig and wanted to try it. You could cut rebates/rabbets like I did on the sides which would make for a neater finished project.

I used scrap pallet wood for my sides. I cut them to 25cm (9 3/4”) long x 8cm (3 1/4”) wide and then using my table saw I cut a rebate/rabbet across one of the long edges on each which will house the base.

I took some more pallet wood and cut two pieces at 18.5cm (7 1/4”) x 10.5cm (4 1/4”) for each end. I then marked roughly 5cm (2”) from the top on the sides of each piece and drew a line to create my angle. I then cut this angle to create the angled top of each end piece.

Next, mark a point on each end piece that matches so that you can drill a shallow hole with your forstner bit which will house the broom handle.

I waited until I could dry assemble the box before cutting the broom handle. You can now get everything dry assembled and measure your handle length (including the space inside your holes).

Once you’ve got this measurement, cut your broom handle to fit.

Now you just need to assemble your tool box with wood glue (and pocket holes if you used them). Clamp it overnight to dry.

I found it useful to give all the pieces a quick sand before glueing up as it’s much easier than once it’s all assembled. Don’t forget to get your kids to help with the sanding! It’s their toolbox after all.

Your tool box is built! All you need to do now is finish it with your choice of finish. I just rubbed some beeswax on it which dries really quickly and my box could then argue over who got to play with it!