Making a storage box to size

To end the series of posts related to cardboard boxes, I'll share how I made the boxes to fit on the shelving unit. Just as the unit had to have specific measurements to fit the space that was available, the boxes also had to have the right measurements to fit on the shelves and make good use of the space.

I was lucky enough to be able to get two cardboard boxes that had the right measurements, for those the only thing I had to do was to reinforce them so that they would be resistant and not run the risk of falling apart when they were full, I also lined them so they would be nicely finished.

For the two central shelves I had to make the boxes to size, for that I took two large cardboard boxes, which I took apart and used to make new boxes with the measurements I needed and which I then lined.

The first step was to take measurements of the space where I was going to place the boxes, they were 38 cm wide, 28 cm deep and 29 cm high. As I'm going to use the boxes as drawers, these have to go in loosely so I reduced the height and width by 1 cm, getting boxes with 37 cm wide, 28 cm deep and 28 cm high.

To find the minimum size of the cardboard box that I would need, I added the width to the depth and multiplied by two and added 3 cm for the fold, thus obtaining the perimeter of my box, then I went to get a box with a perimeter greater than what needed and whose height was equal to or greater than 28 cm.

Box perimeter = (37 + 28) x 2 + 3 = 133 cm

I started by opening the box, ungluing the joint so I had a long strip of cardboard, I folded it in half and aligned the two sides, marked the height from the fold at the bottom and cut off the excess cardboard.

I opened the box again and marked the various sides (width, depth, width, depth) adding the 3 cm that correspond to the fold to close the box and cut out the excess cardboard.

After marking the sides, I scored the cardboard using the back of a pair of scissors in each of the marks and folded the card, I also made some cuts in the fold areas that corresponded to the bottom to be able to assemble the box along the new folds.

To reinforce the box I papered the areas where the old folds were, using strips of paper and white glue diluted with a little water. I checked that the sides had the right measurements and as everything was fine I glued the joint with white glue, let it dry putting some weights on top to ensure it was well glued.

After drying, I mounted the box, as the bottom flaps overlapped, I marked and cut the excess, applied glue to the flaps to make the bottom, put some weights on top and let it dry. To reinforce, I papered the corners and areas of the old folds.

As these boxes are big I decided to reinforce them by applying another layer of cardboard on the inside that I glued with white glue, the decision to reinforce or not depends on the use that will be given to the boxes and the thickness of the cardboard.

The box is done, it needs to be finished, so I covered the inside with sticky paper and the outside with wallpaper using the method I explained earlier and which is here.

For those who want to put this idea into practice 

For large boxes, prefer a cardboard with some thickness, if you can't find them, you can add layers of cardboard to the box to reinforce it.  

When gluing the additional layers, make sure that the corrugation of the cardboard faces the same side as the corrugation of the box.  

Let the glue dry well before moving on to the next step.