Cubby box

Perhaps you have seen type trays with many small compartments hung on a wall in someones home. People often place some interesting object in each of the many cubbyholes. I have seen these type trays for sale at flea markets for $15 to $20. The trays originally were used to hold type letters used in printing. You can make a similar tray from cardboard to display small objects such as an interesting rock, a valued penknife, an unusual small container or any other thing you wish.

This project requires patience. It will likely take several hours of your time. But it may take a week to complete because you may need to wait many times as glue dries. If you are using white glue it is best to tilt the tray so the glue settles in the joints you are gluing at the time. When that glue is dry tilt the tray so other joints can be glued.

I used two pizza boxes for cardboard. Cut the lid from one of the boxes. Use which ever half of the box that seems most suitable as the main part of the cubby box. To improve the tray's appearance, you may want to use another piece of cardboard  to cover the inside bottom of the box . That way a stain can be covered or an attractive logo(name or picture) of the pizza shop can be made visible. You can cut the flanges(narrow edge pieces) off one of the halves so that you have a flat piece, cut it to size so that it fits inside the other box half, apply glue and use weights on top to hold it together until the glue dries.

Scissors are safest for cutting the cardboard but a very sharp utility or hobby knife tends to bend/crease the cardboard less. If you use any type of knife be sure to follow this rule. Never push the knife toward any part of your body. The knife can suddenly move easier than you expect. You don't have time to ease up on pushing and the knife moves fast and much farther than you want it to. That can happen so quickly that you don't stop pushing until after you have given yourself a bad cut. If you are under 12 years old get an older person to do the cutting for you.

Cut 6 or 7 strips of cardboard long enough and wide enough to use as shelves inside the cubby box. Then cut shorter pieces that will hold the shelves in place. Try to get all the short pieces the same length so the shelves will be straight. Tie a piece of string to a thick rubber band. Run the string around the box and tie it to the rubber band again so the rubber band is stretched and so holds the string tight. That pushes in the edges of the box enough so the short cardboard pieces can be squeezed between the shelves and so held in place until they can be glued. If the last short piece in each column isn't the right length, just cut that last piece shorter or cut a new one that is longer. The string also acts as a guide so all the short pieces can be in a nice looking straight line. Use a rubber band and string for each column of short pieces. Space the columns 2 to 3 inches apart. The box will look okay if the columns are all somewhat different distances apart. That way the larger cubbyholes will hold the larger objects.

Glue all the places where there are joints: where shelves or short pieces touch each other, where they touch the bottom of the box and where they touch the flanges of the box. Finally take a piece of string about 6 inches long and fold it into a U shape. Glue the straight parts of the U to the back(behind surface) of the box so the bottom of the U is up. That makes a loop that can later be put over of nail  to hang the cubby box on the wall. Glue one loop near the left edge and another loop near the right edge. Having two loops keeps the box hanging straight.