I'm currently building two Subtrunks and figured I'd post a journal and pictures of the progress as I build them...

For those wondering, I'm going off of the Osborne plans.

I've made two cardboard mock-ups of each trunk and scaled them each to the size of the performers. One trunk will be extra large and the other I'm building for me, so it will be a little smaller...

I'll try to update this post with photos as the build continues. I figure I'll have this completed by late next week. It's a simple project, so I'm not really in a big hurry to complete it as there isn't a set-date of completion.

Enjoy!

-Bryan
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Day One: All of the lumber is cut for the main structure of the trunks (front, back, sides, bottom, and lid). Tomorrow, I'm going to put a nice beveled edge on the planks and make the cross-sections. If I have enough time, I'll stain each board before assembling them.

Fresh Cut Planks
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Looks like you are using pine wood am I correct on that or not?

Doug Fir?

Bryan, are you spacing the planks on the lid to include an 1/8th inch gap between each, or just using the bevel to allow room for the "you know what" to work? I've got the Osbourne plans as well, and they're not so clear on this.

And yes- is that pine? Have you found it durable enough? I was planning on using poplar for my trunk- but pine's so much incredibly cheaper (a 10ft board is only two bucks more than a single foot of poplar.)

-Erik

Hey guys!

I am building it from thick 3/4 x 1 x 6 pine. I looked at the douglas but was a little nervous about the amount of knots in the lumber. With the "cross beams" in place, the lid will hold weight nicely! (if it is an issue, you can dado-cut a groove running fro the left to right side of the lid and reinforce it with steel trim)

This is the second set of trunks I've ever built; however, the first time I've made a trunk from Osborne's plans... They really aren't that clear!

I'm going to cross my fingers that the bevel will do the trick on the "money spot" (if you know what I mean...) otherwise, I'll default to the spacing!!!

I debated using the poplar but I really like the light weight of the pine and how well pine takes a nice stain... All in all is an inexpensive wood to work with!

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Day Two: I cut all the "cross beams" for both trunks then rounded all four sides of the planks for the main trunk construction and only the facing side's of the "cross beams" with a 1/4" Corner-Round router bit to clean up some of those sliver-prone edges. After stain, these rounded edges will also give a little more depth to the "seams" of the trunks...

Routing the edges on my router table
Still routing...
Two subtrunks ready for staining and assembly

Tomorrow, I plan to sand everything and fill any imperfections with wood fill. If I have enough time, I'll begin staining the planks. I figured I can stain them first so everything is ready for final assembly... and I won't have to fight with hard-to-stain areas after they are all pieced together...

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<b>A quick vote from my friends here at the Café'...</b>

I wear a royal blue suit in performance PICTURED HERE . Should I stain my trunk in a light or dark stain? I do plan to add some comedic sight-gags with this such as a "Space for Rent" sign or a Tic-Tac-Toe game and "Houdini Was Here" etched into the underside of the lid. Also... What about the curtain? Any color recommendations? I was thinking a royal purple with a red inside so I have the option to reverse it... My "color motif" for my show is blue, yellow, red, and black but a little contrast would be nice!

I look forward to hearing everyone's ideas!

-Bryan

Bryan, thanks for the answers; I'll wait to build mine till I find out how you solved the spacing problem I may go with pine now, myself- plus an exorbitant amount of wood glue.

As for staining, for what it's worth, my opinion is that this style of sub trunk is supposed to look like a packing crate- and my own research on packing crates (via google image search) shows that most people don't bother staining them. I would go with a clear sealant as opposed to a stain. Besides, I think the light color will work well with your costume. But what does your assistant wear? You need to take that into account as well...

-Erik

I'm with Erik on this one. This isn't a trunk -- it's a packing crate. As such, it really wants to look like a crate, not a finely finished piece of furniture. Unless you want to stain it to make it look aged (which is a trick in itself if it's going to look right), I vote for a clear (flat) finish just to protect the wood.

I think you guys are dead on with not staining these! The more I look at them, the more I realize how much better it would look natural. Not to mention the contrast wouldn't be too much with my suit color. I will probably hit it with a semi-gloss clear coat or Tung oil as a sealant.

The other performer I am building for is opting for a dark stain on his since he is wanting a rustic/Gothic or Viking looking trunk. He is using his as a gospel piece with Carman's song "The Champion" for those who are familiar with Christian music. Since his trunk will symbolize the crucifixion story, it must have a darker tone to it...

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Day Three: I didn't get as far as I had planned due to the length of time it took to cut the 45's in the "upright boards", measure, drill, and re-drill all of the holes. I was able to get all of the drilling completed and begin sanding. Since tomorrow is Labor Day, I will probably take the day off of building and enjoy spending some time at the lake!

On Tuesday, I plan to finish sanding and stain the one trunk before assembly, put the clear coat on mine and prep for building the lids...


Here are more pictures of today's progress (I feel like I'm only photographing stacks of wood; however, you will see a dramatic difference in yesterdays stack compared to today):

Marking the lumber for drilling
Another view of me marking the boards
Drilling the planks 1
Drilling the planks 2
Drilling the planks 3
Drilling the planks 4
Close-up view of the drilled planks
A "teaser" of the side of one of the trunks
Stacked and ready for the next day of work 1
Stacked and ready for the next day of work 2
Stacked and ready for the next day of work 3
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Any recommendations on the curtain material? I think I will go with the purple and red for the colors of the curtain...

Well, after a long day of sanding and staining, I'm finally home and excited to post pictures of the progress from today's work!
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Day Four: Today was pretty productive. I sanded all of the boards for my trunk and part of the trunk I am building for someone else. I stained my trunk with the "Natural" from Minwax and wasn't too excited about the outcome. I decided to mix a little amount of "Golden Oak" with the "Natural" and came out with a slightly darker tint than before. The outcome this time was beautiful. I stained all of the boards required to build my trunk and started on mounting both exterior handles and inner supports for making my trunk pack flat for transport.

Here are the many pictures from today:
Me assembling the "upright boards" to the trunk sides 1
Me assembling the "upright boards" to the trunk sides 2
Me assembling the "upright boards" to the trunk sides 3
Me assembling the "upright boards" to the trunk sides 4
Me assembling the "upright boards" to the trunk sides 5
Finished sides
Assembly from the inside
Assembly from the outside
A view of a partially assembled trunk
Complete assembly of the four sides
Me inside the almost complete trunk
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Tomorrow, I hope to complete my trunk (minus the lid) and have his trunk near completion as well. Thursday, I'm shooting to have the lids near completion as well...

P.S.- I'm still looking for ideas regarding the curtain...

The trunk is really looking now. Can't wait to see the completion. Great work, Bryan.

Thanks James!

It's been a fun project. I'll try to get video of it once its completed as well!

-Bryan

Looks great!

Hi Bryan,

You're doing a fantastic job. The stain looks good. Don't forget it will darken with time and use, so you may not want to go to dark to start, unless dark is the look you want. Here's a link to Doug Henning doing the Metamorphosis. You can easily see how dark, old and distressed his trunk looked.

Keep up the good work.

All the best,

John


ps. About the curtain, we use a silver metalic material with a smooth black lining. Sorry I'm not to versed in fabric names. The black lining does slide over the trunk nicely. Check http://incredibleillusion.com/media.htm our video near the end.

John ...dont see the link...but Bryan...awesome trunk so far...it is beautiful!....do have any idea how much its going to cost in the end?

In just materials alone, its under $200; however, the time spent building it means I'm not playing with my son or visiting with my wife, so it is pretty pricey!

OK Illusinist11, that`s a BIG DUH!!!!!!!

Sorry...here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuXdfuSkJus

John

Bryan,
I understand about the cost! I built mine for about $150 and but did it in about a week so the wife was not happy at all.

Bryan,

A quick suggestion from someone who used a Chalet trunk for nearly twenty years. I would recommend cutting down the length of the bolts that you used to assemble the sides so that they don't protrude so much. It would be pretty easy for you or an assistant to get scratched while in the trunk.

Michael

Yah, I was kind of wondering about that Michael... I'm thinking about using smaller bolts as well and puting the nuts towards the outside of the crate...

More pictures to come tonight!!!!

On my trunk I used T-nuts on the inside instead of hex nuts. Since they extend into the wood, you can use a shorter bolt, it's flush with the surface, and there's one less thing to misplace (two less things if you are using washers).