Day Five: Today was alright... Again, I wasn't able to complete as much as I would have liked to; however, I finished staining the remaining lumber to complete mt trunk and started staining some of the second trunk I finished one side of the second trunk and am pretty impressed with the outcome of it. As requested by the guy I'm building it for, I stained it a "Classic Chestnut" and am going with a completely different look than my trunk. Both "sides" will be framed in instead of the two upright boards. I'm also putting a rope handle on his trunk. It's amazing how different the two trunks will look... Guess that's not too bad of a thing since he will be performing it within my "performance area"... You know... within my marketed radius that I will book shows.

Anyway, here are the few pictures I took tonight:
A HUGE contrast between the color of the two trunks
One of the sides to trunk #2 complete!

Tomorrow, I hope to have both trunks complete up to the point of having to make the lids and that special little thing you all know about

NOTE: When staining be sure to have proper ventilation! Trust me the headache took about four hours to get rid of... That's why I cut my day short... Although the shop door was open, there wasn't any moving air to keep the shop ventilated and it made this magician really high!

Bryan, the trunks are now coming to shape now. Those two colors look great too.

Thanks for the tip on ventilation too.

Bryan, Great job! Any idea how much time you have into the project? Also, I use Polyshades from Minwax for most of my staining jobs. There is no smell so you don't have to worry about being light headed afterwards.

Bryan, looking good!

On ventilation- I've got some high airflow fans that I can plug in when painting/staining to keep a good airflow going from the back of the garage right out the door. (For really stinky work, such as paint removal, I take it outside entirely, and try not to breathe.) A word on airflow, staining, and sawdust, too- just walking can kick up minute sawdust particles from the floor that will settle on your project, potentially adhearing to a still-tacky finish. The problem is even worse when you've got the recommended airflow. It's pretty important to keep your workshop clear of sawdust. This is a good excuse to buy a dust collection system/air filter system for your shop (new toys!), or else stain and paint in a different room.

My illusion building's taking a back seat right now to repainting my kitchen cabinets. I'm so sick of painting that I don't even want to paint my magic props. Hurrah for spray sealants!

-Erik

Excellent tips Erik!

Banester- I've put about three to five hours in on these trunks over the course of five days so far. Most of the time has been wrapped up in sanding and staining.

I'm not sure how much I'll get done today as the wife just called and mentioned wanting to go see a movie tonight...

-Bryan

So as some of you following this build may notice, I've taken a brief break to clean up the shop a bit. I've been working in a cramped space and needing to regroup things so I can get to them easier.

As far as the trunks, I had to go back and make a correction on something I completely overlooked. My side pieces were 3/4" too long on each side so the bottom and top of the trunk would lack 1-1/2" of coverage as the front and back panels are 3/4" think. (follow that?)

I removed the inner frame that assists in the bolting-together of the trunk and cut that extra length from each side. Now everything is a perfect fit!

Tomorrow, I begin assembly on the lids of both trunks. I will post pictures of Trunk #2 tomorrow night as I have made a lot of progress on it!

I'm really stuck on the hardware with the lid. Without going into great detail, I would like to go about the release and locking of the T*** a little different then Osborne's plans indicate... I would also like my T*** to fold from both sides for an easier switch. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated... Drawings and pictures would really help me a lot at this point... But please do not post them in this open forum...

Until tomorrow...

-Bryan

Looking forward to see the completed trunks, Bryan. They already look good so far.

After several days of taking a break from building (in other words, I got stuck watching my son who was home from daycare with the stomach flu... No fun!) I was able to make quite a bit of progress on my Subtrunk. I still have a lot of catching up to do on the second one but that will be a snap now that I've been able to fine-tune some of the troubleshooting I've had to do on mine.

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Day Six: I purchased some poplar, T-nuts, and shorter bolts (I still need to get a shorter one because they still stick out a bit.) and was able to get my box assembled back to where I had it before my measurement error. I like the inner framework much better now! I routed the edges of the poplar for a nice 1/4" rounded edge.

I assembled the lid and am working on the most important part of the illusion. I cut my metal strips to size, drilled/ counter-sank the screw holes, and set the screws for a smooth operation. I've included a non-revealing picture of the metal in the lid construction... (You'd have to understand how it works to understand what you are looking at in the photo!) this is all I can show you on the curren......e lid... Oh-yah! I started mounting some of the hardware on the trunk as well!

I have a show later on today and Sunday is already booked up with the wife, so I'll be back in the shop on Monday to hopefully finish it! I have to go back and re-stain some of the interior and exterior areas of the "sides" and clean up some areas that have been scuffed up from moving the trunk around my shop.

Now- what you are all waiting for... More pictures!

A close-up view of the interior frame It's obvious I needd to do a little sanding and re-staining!
The inner frame
Look! A trunk without a lid... almost finished!!!
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For those of you interested, I am compiling all of the photos (even a bunch not pictured) and will put together a small booklet that explains step-by-step how to build the Subtrunk. I've started to assemble some really clear CAD drawings I've drawn, that are carpenter-friendly so you can have a basic woodworker construct this if you wish! I hope this will help those who are confused by the plans Osborne has come up with. I hope to put it in PDF format so I can easily send the file to those who are interested in building their own Subtrunk! Since it is quite a bit of work putting it all together, I will tack a small fee on it but I know you will definitely get a lot out of the information! PM me if you are interested...

-Bryan

Excellent work, Bryan! I like the metal reinforcements (as shown in the first picture)- a much easier solution than dowels. Looks like now you can answer my earlier question- bevel alone or gaps? (Just PM me, please, if you'd prefer not to say in an open forum. Thanks!)

Break a leg at the show!

-Erik

Hey Erik,

Actually if you place your hinges in a specific way, things will open in a downward position- if this makes sense?

Bryan, I gotcha- depth of mortise. I see exactly how it'll work.

I may take you up on that .pdf- always nice to see how people do it.

-Erik

I have to chime in and say that I have really enjoyed this thread and thanks for sharing Bryan...

I am currently attacking my very first piece of woodwork and am starting to appreciate not only the frustration it can bring (because I am learning everything along the way) but the satisfaction it can bring...

Who know's, maybe I'll have a stab at a sub trunk one day!

Bri

Day Seven: I worked for a short time today on catching the second trunk up to where I am with the first. I completed the "inner frame work" on the side pieces. These are what the front, back, and bottom pieces bolt to to form the trunk. I went with a bigger T-nut and bolt since this trunk is more beefy than mine.

Here is a picture of the second trunk in "box-form":
Subtrunk #2


I am almost finished with my trunk and am waiting on the metal plates I had CNC cut. They should be here sometime this week... I sanded some uneven edges and prepped the lid for staining.

Here are pictures of the almost completed trunk:
Sitting on my Subtrunk
Thought this was a cool shot
The lid off of the trunk
Posing with my trunk
Profile shot
One box next to another...My "Magic" Scion!


-Bryan

P.S.- Regarding the "Subtrunk Plans", I will soon have a PDF file or a spiral-bound booklet to choose from with detailed plans, photos. and step-by-step instruction on building your own Subtrunk... PM me if you are interested in a copy... Prices are still being determined...

Very nice work!

Good looking piece of work there, Bryan.

It looks terrific! You have reason to feel proud.

Bryan, are you going to sell them?

The one I plan to keep and the other I am building for a friend...

Bryan, those are very good looking Sub-trunks. Finally they are completed and congrats for a job very well done.

I liked the improvements for the lid. That was the hardest part for the one I built a few years ago, with the dowling for the lid. Good improvement. I'm interested to see what you did for your sliding parts as to what I did. Looking forward to your pdf.