Materials List:
2 - 1/4"x40"x4-1/2" 3 ply Front & Back panels.
2 - 1/4"x40"x7-1/2" 3 ply Top & Bottom panels.
4 - 1/4"x4-1/4"x7-1/2" 3 ply Side panels.
1 - 1/4"x7-1/4"x39-1/2" 3 ply Inner panel (first side).
1 - 1/4"x7-1/4"x8-1/2" 3 ply Inner lower panel (second side).
1 - 1/4" x7-1/4"x29-3/4" wafer board (second side).
4 - 1/2"x3-3/4" dowel rods to support the inner lower panel.
2 - 1x10 cut to 7-1/2"x4" to support the inner upper panel (1st & 2nd sides).
2 - 5/8"x1-3/4"x7-3/8" board to hold arrow clips.
2 - 1/4"x1-1/4" dowel rods to support the upper panel (first side).
2 - 1/4"x2-1/4" dowel rods to hold arrow clips off bottom (first side).
36 - Arrow Clips with screw fasteners.
2 - 2"x2" hinges.
1 - 30"x2" hinge.
2 - 4" handles that extend 3/4" from case.
Construction is quite simple. The sides, bottoms, front and back were glued together to form two boxes with outside dimensions of 4-1/2" high by 8" wide and 40" long. The divider for the first section is placed 8-5/8" from one end while the divider of the second section is glued 10-1/2" from one end. The halves are hinged together with the three hinges. The 1/2"x3-3/4" dowel rods were glued into the corners and flush with the bottom panel of the second section that measures 8-5/8"x7-1/2".
The arrow clip supports are constructed from the 5/8"x1-3/4"x7-3/8" boards by centering a row of nine clips (per side) spaced 3/4" center to center and fastened with screw fasteners that came with the clips on each side of the two clip holder boards. On the bottom side was drilled in the corner of each board a 1/4" hole 1/4" deep and glued to the 1/4"x2-1/4" dowel rods so that 2" of the dowel rod extends out of the board. A 1/4" hole 1/4" deep was drilled on the top side of each board and the 1/4"x1-1/4" dowel rods were glued with a 1" dowel rod protusion from the board.
1"x2-1/2" hasps were attached to the sides so that the two halves would hold together at the hasp connections.
The project was finished using min wax's golden oak stain and 5 coats of polyurethane finish.
Some problems encountered in constructing the Arrow Chest include the following:
1. When first constructed the 30 inch hinge was not long enough to keep the ends sufficiently closed and the extra hinges were added to assure closure.
2. To save costs, at first several old kitchen cabinet handles were used but it soon became obvious that they would not work since I could not get my hand under the handles sufficiently to carry the case. I could only carry the case with the tips of my fingers and that hurt. Other than carry the case under the arm which was not practical, a handle with proper clearance was found and attached to the case. This made carrying the case a lot easier.
3. Since there was no provision made to assure complete closure of the case by overlaping the edges of the case, it was soon discovered that the resultant gap was wide enough to allow the smaller equipment and supplies to fall out. Therefore inner panels were constructed tokeep stuff from falling out.
After time and changes in the climate, several areas of the case have started to bow and this makes the inner panels hard to insert into the case. Therefore sooner or later the case will need an overhaul or reconstructed. But for right now it serves its purpose.
