Author: Ruth_Vines, Contributing Editor

I showed my setup for painting plein air in a recent thread in the forums here at WC!, and was asked to share how I made my painting box. I hope that you too can make your own inexpensive painting box by following these instructions! I am crafty, but not with tools, so my husband helped a little bit. The idea for the construction was my own, and I did about 90% of the work myself. My finished box measures 16” x 14” x 6”, (40cm x 35.5cm x 15.25cm) the bottom is 4” (10cm) high, the lid is 2” (5cm) high. It will comfortably hold a canvas up to 14” (35.5cm) wide and 11” (28cm)high (horizontal orientation). Here are my steps:

1. Materials needed: 1 Birchwood panel board (1/8” -3mm thick) 24” - 61cm x 48” - 122cm (2x4 ft) - $13.00 1 handle (like for a screen door) - $3.00 2 small, 2-3” (5-7cm) long hinges - $2.50 1 clasp (like the ones on tool boxes) - $4.00 1 thin chain, about 12” - 30cm- $1.00 2 long bolts, about 10” -25cm long - $1.00 2 wing nuts/butterfly screws with washers - $1.00 2 general nuts with washers - $.50 1 scrap piece of hard wood, 45” -1m long, 1-2” (3-4cm) wide, 1/2” (12mm) thick - cut in three 13-15” (35cm) long pieces - $1.00 All my hardware was brass, for a nice consistent-looking finish. All materials are readily available at Lowes, or any other home improvement store. I am showing the average price above as far as I remember it. Most of the bolts and screws should be readily available in a well-stocked toolbox in your garage.

2. Cut the boards: Mark your board as shown in my diagram and cut on a table saw (this is where my husband helped, it’s better with 2 people). My mistake was that I had stored my panel upright for some weeks, and it warped. Even weighing it down for a couple of days before use, the curve never came out. My box still came out okay, but you can see the warp in one of the closeups. The third big panel can be the palette. I cut it down a little farther (about half of the resulting initial panel), so it won’t take up so much space. Cut a circular thumbhole in it. Sand it real well, then put about 3 nice coats of polyurathene on it, sanding after each one. It’s a perfect surface.

3. Make the box: This is my sketch of what the box will look like, as seen to the left. The bottom is 4” (10cm) high, the lid is 2” (5cm)high. I assembled the side pieces onto the bottom and glued them on. I clamped them down overnight and added some small nails. Make sure that the bottom and top are exactly the same size rectangle. They have to sit on top of each other. At this point I stained the outsides with a nice warm wood stain and finished it off with 2 coats of polyurathane, as you can see here to the right. Looks like a million bucks!

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