I found these massive wood pallets and thought I would make a planter box..at least at first. As I progressed along making the box, with the design and carving I had done on it, I decided to make something for indoors as I knew over time the planter box would rot and my work on it would have been a waste of time....so I decided to make a blanket box.

Step 1: Pallets

Taking apart these pallets was quite an effort at first but i used a small crow bar which helped a lot. Some of the nails in these pallets were impossible for me to remove from between the planks and the massive bearers below, so those planks ended up being destroyed and unusable. I sanded the planks once I had removed all the nails. I removed the nails with a hammer.

Step 2: Design

I first designed the Celtic knotwork on my computer using CAD software. Once I got it all looking the way I wanted, I scaled the design to actual full life scale, then printed it off in sections of A4 paper that I taped together.

Step 3: Making the Panels

I didn't really know or have the equipment to plane the planks so they were straight, so I spent time lining up the boards the best I could to minimise gaps. Once I had done that, I used glue and nails to fix the planks one at a time to short pieces of plank to hold it all together.

Once the front panel was made, I traced the design I did onto the panel using carbon paper underneath the design. Make sure your wood isn't wet as the carbon paper doesn't seem to work well if it is.

Step 4: Put It All Together

I assembled all the sides with the carving on them. I used a carving knife and some different chisels to do the carvings. The chisels I used were a U Gouge, Skew and a Flat Chisel.

The box was glued and nailed together.

Step 5: Putting on the Bottom and Feet

I glued and nailed a whole bunch of planks to the bottom of the box. I used a circular saw I had just bought to tidy up the bits that were a bit off with dimensions.

Then I decided to make some feet. I went back to my CAD software to design them, then printed them off. I used a coping saw to cut out around the feet, and a hand drill for the holes, then some chisels again.

Step 6: Making the Lid

As I said at the start, I was going to make a simple planter box and it got to where it is now. So I knew for a blanket box i needed a lid. I didn't want to make just a flat lid so I went back to my CAD software and designed a thick lid.

I made each side separately before assembling with glue and clamps. I also cut thin pieces of wood that I made then carved a rope like effect into them and glued them on.

I then added a piano hinge on the lid.

I stained the lid, like I did the rest of the box already, and then finished off with a satin varnish. i did a couple of coats of that.

Step 7: Video Explanation

I have made a basic video explanation of how I made the box. As I didn't take many photos during the construction, I have to try and explain how I constructed the box.

You can purchase the Plans from Here http://thirdistudio.com.au/Celticknot-Blanket-Box...