If you like Sea of Thieves, or pirates in general, or have kids that are losing teeth, or just want a cool looking chest to hold all your booty, then this is a simple, small, and fun build to make your own Treasure Chest (inspired by the marauder's chest from the video game Sea of Thieves).

Here's how I put it together!

Step 1: Materials

The materials I used:

1/8" walnut strips
1/8" cherry strips
1/8" oak strips
Leather

Tools I used:

Band saw
Disc sander
Pocket knife
Super glue gel
Xacto knife
Sandpaper
Tape
Spray lacquer
Foam

Step 2: Making the Base

I started by printing out a reference picture of the chest, then I cut some of the walnut strips down to size. I cut the strips to the height and width I needed, then used a sander to create the 45 degree angles on each of the pieces to start assembling the box.

As I was assembling the base, I marked where, according to the reference picture, the worn/cutout sections were on chest, and used a pocket knife to carve out some of the weathered details.

Step 3: Adding the Accent Pieces

I cut the cherry pieces to the width I needed, then using the reference picture I cut the cherry pieces to length and added them on the outside of the base. I wrapped the cherry pieces around the outside to frame the bottom section of the chest. I sanded down some of the rough areas as I went along.

I started cutting out the skull and accent pieces, then glued them to the base.

To start placing the designs on the inside of the cherry, I sketched out the designs on a thin piece of oak. I then cut the pieces out and glued them to the base. Be careful during this process as it is very easy to break the small, thin pieces.

Step 4: Building the Lid

Using the walnut, I built the inside section of the lid, then wrapped cherry accent pieces around the walnut. I used some tape to help get the angles right on the top portion of the lid, then glued it all together.

Similar to the base, I added the accent details of cherry and oak to make up the designs on the lid to match the designs on the base.

Step 5: Carving the Small Details

To get the look of the nails in the chest, I cut out a bunch of small cubes and glued them to the chest. I then used an xacto knife to carve the cubes into small pyramids.

I also carved out the details of the hinges and locks, as well as the skull on the front of the chest.

Step 6: Putting the Base and Lid Together

To secure the lid to the base, I took a piece of leather and cut out 2 small rectangles to fit to the back of the chest, then glued the leather to the the base and the lid. This served as a great hinge for the lid.

I chose leather rather than a metal hinge because the small size of the chest would have made it hard to use a hinge.

Step 7: Finishing It Up

The last step was to spray a few coats of lacquer on the chest, which really brought out the contrasting colors of the different woods, and made the chest look pretty amazing.

I got a small piece of foam and cut it to size to fit inside the chest, and then it was done!