Phil’s Campaign Box

Actually it was you that inspired me with your gadget station. I built two of these campaign boxes while following along. I know Greene and Greene came after campaign boxes were no longer used but what the hay, it seemed like a good idea at the time! The wood is some 4/4 oak that I picked up at a reasonable price and then hand planed it down to 5/8″. The lid panels were made up from re-sawn pieces and ended up about 1/8″. I don’t have a paneling bit for my router so I did the panels with my table saw. The corner joints are screwed and the plugs are walnut. I cut the plugs on the band saw and the holes with a chisel.
The bottom is birch plywood (but you can’t tell) for stability. All the hardware came from Lee Valley. The handles are recessed in (with about a 1/16 to spare). The finish is Tung oil with a wee bit of MinWax Rosewood Stain to bring out the grain. As these are “Campaign Boxes” I had plaques made with my sons’ names and recessed them into the top each box. The reason I made these boxes was my twenty something sons still carry their “important” documents around in shoe boxes from apartment to apartment! ! probably should have just bought them filing cabinets instead.