Selesnya Deck Box

This a short, forgot to take pictures during the build, instructable. I wanted to make a cool box for my MTG cards. It could be used for other things as well. Please comment if you have any suggestions. Hope you enjoy. Most the pictures are on the last step.

Step 1: The Build

For this project I used the following items in my build:

1. Cedar wood paneling
2. Brass sheet
3. Small glass beads
4. Green ribbon
5. Black paint
6. Glossy spray sealant
7. Brass wire
8. 2 wood screws
9. Several dozen brass nails
10. Wood glue

Tools I used in this project were:

1. Hydro-chloric acid
2. Hydrogen peroxide
3. Plastic tub
4. Drill
5. Scroll saw
6. Tin snips
7. Hammer
8. Clamps
9. Disk saw
10. Laser printer
11. Nail polish
12. Mineral spirits

For any project like this, the most important step is design. You should have assembled the project in your head several times before the first cut. Be certain about all the measurements of each piece. Measure all of your materials. How wide or thick are they? How much gap will be required for the glue? Try gluing to scrap pieces together, and then measure the width. If you have your measurements off even a little, the box won’t come together.

The next step I did was etch the brass for my decorative elements. I won’t go into much detail on how I did my etching, because I followed another guide to do it myself. I will tell you the best method I found. I used the transparency setting on the laser printer, and printed onto a label sheet with the stickers removed (think wax paper). I then used an Iron to transfer the resist (it only took about 30 secs). I then used black nail polish to touch up mask, before I let it sit for 3 hours in a 50/50 mix of acid and Hydrogen Peroxide. Another tip is to set you etch in the solution raised off the bottom, but upside down. This will allow the etched brass to fall out of the way to speed up the process and get a cleaner etch. I used black spray paint on the etch, and then sanded through to the raised brass. Finally, I sealed the whole thing.

The next step was cutting the wood. I used my skill saw to do the rough cuts, and then cleaned them up on the scroll saw. Cut with the cedar side up so you don’t tear up the cedar veneer. For thin areas, cut the wood with it resting on a scrap piece. Take your time on this step, and don’t rush it. If like me you are going to be leaving raw unpainted wood on the outside, then any mistake will be easily seen.

To assemble the whole thing, I used both glue and nails. This allowed me to not have to clamp many joins while the glue dried. The nails would hold the wood together. I used very small nails to keep the wood from splitting. I also used 2 screws on the top sides to hold the whole thing together better because of the stress caused by the hinged portion. I made the bottom hinge very simple. It is just 2 nails that are jutting from the wood. I then made pockets for the nails by drilling out holes in the middle layer on the sides. The top is a brass hinge, with brass wire as the pin. All the brass elements are just nailed on.

Step 2: The Finished Selesnya Deck Box

Hope you enjoy.

Comments

[doombunnyofdoom]

Hi, my name is Daniel. I was wondering if anyone any advice on finding profitable cards and like collections, bulk lots and what have you. Or wants to sell some or all their mtg collections ill take bulk cards even. I normally just put tons of time into it killing myself and never sleep haha. Been buying, selling, and trading almost 2 years and know much more than I used to when I just played the game. But being honest and not screwing over people and giving fair compensation and with how its been for everyone lately I need to make more to grow my business, and I feel there is so much more I could know to do this better and efficiently. Either way I'm looking to buy or trade mtg cards or unbuilt fundamentals model kits Even bulk, the more the better. Can do a lot. Still selling a bunch too. I'm just doing this to support my family and my disabled mother cuz I broke my spine a few years back when I was 18 and can't really work. But I'd be grateful for any advice or business from anyone I got a ton of great stuff and give good deals.

[jomape1]

What thickness wood did you happen to use in this?

[brandonelms]

I used 1/4 inch plywood. It measured .2 inches.

[brandonelms]

I am selling the deck box to finance more projects. If interested, it is on EBay at http://eBay.us/LUTnQW

[AnaRuby]

What was the measurements of that box?

[tmessner]

That is amazing can you make any other mtg things

[brandonelms]

I have not. To be honest I got more into making the deck box than I did MTG. I have been busy with family right now but hope to post some new builds soon.

[boss geek]

looks amazing how do you get the idea

[brandonelms]

I had seen other card boxes, but my deck needed lots of tokens and counters, so I wanted the box to include that. Just planned what I needed & built the box around that.

[angrysandwich]

This is gorgeous, absolutely fantastic! :3 I want to build this for my boyfriend's birthday. Could you please post the exact measurements? I'm kind of having a hard time translating your instructions (my english level is really basic >.<)

Thanks! :)

[ddog100]

Hey! I love the look of it and plan on making something similar, could you post the measurements?

[brandonelms]

ddog100 thank you. The measurements I used were dependent on the materials I used and what I wanted to put inside. I knew that I wanted my deck in card protectors as well as my sideboard. In addition I use a green white deck so counters and a 20 sided die were going to go in a fold down pocket. I say all this to let you know that my measurements wouldn’t help unless you want to store the exact same things. I think it might help you more to let you know how I got my measurements.

First you need to measure your wood thickness (WT), the thickness of your deck in their sleeves (DT), the thickness of your sideboard (ST), the height of your card sleeves (SH), the width of your card sleeves (SW) and the diameter (DD) of the largest item going into your pocket.

With those sub-measurements the box dimensions would be:

Length: 2(WT)+(DT)+1/4 inch slack+(WT)+(ST)+1/8 inch slack+(WT) +1/8 inch slack+(DD)+2(WT)

Width: 3(WT)+(SW)+1/8 inch slack+3(WT)

Height: 2(WT)+(SH)+1/8 inch slack +2(WT)

You should be able to see how the parts go together from the pictures I posted so the only measurement that is a little challenging is the pivot point. I have added a photo of a drawing I did of the pivot point. Where you put the pivot point will determine the bottom lip of the pocket.

Sorry I trashed my worksheet where I did all my original calculations. Did that help or do you want me to just send you boxes measurements?

[jessyratfink]

Absolutely gorgeous! Wish I would have had one of these when I was still playing. :D

Then again, I still have an angel/water deck around somewhere that needs a fancy home!

[brandonelms]

Thank you for the kind comment. To be honest I don't play that often either, but I did enjoy making the box.

[craftclarity]

Maaaan this thing is cool, would love to see how you made it....!

[brandonelms]

Sorry Craftclarity. I meant to take pictures along the way, but forgot until
most the way through. If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to
answer them.

[Wolfbane221]

Pretty cool! I built a couple deck boxes for my magic cards. I was actually getting ready to make a new one to hold 6 srandard decks