The Parcel Box

Christmas in my neighbourhood, like many, brings the porch pirates. They drive the streets and grab parcels they see sitting unattended on the doorstep. I wanted my Christmas presents to be opened by my kids, not strangers. I decided to make a box for the deliveries to be placed, so they would at least not be visible from the street - removing temptation. There are parcel boxes that have complicated locking mechanisms, but they are larger and much more complex to build. Removing the visibility of the parcel was sufficient for me.

I started really simple, with a pencil sketch and measurements.

I wanted the box to be made of cedar, so it would be weather resistant, and not require painting. I also wanted the items in the items in there to be protected from the elements in case they were there for hours. I bought tongue-and-groove boards, also known as shiplap. The boards would sit snug and prevent water from getting in.

I trimmed the boards to size on the miter saw and stuck them together in a dry fit.

after the boards were cut, I needed to remove the tongue and groove. the top and bottom of the sides needed to be flat and smooth, so I used my newly purchased jointer to remove both the tongue and groove and leave a really smooth edge. I could have used my table saw to remove them, but the edge wouldn't be clean, it would need sanding and then wouldn't be perfectly square. The jointer does that easily. 

Once the boards were glued together, I needed to square up the sides to they were perfectly straight.

I ran the sides of the box across the table saw to give a straight, square edge.

When the boards were glued together under pressure, a slight bow formed. This isn't a problem as the curve will be straightened when the sides are attached together.

The gluing of the sides will involve a simple butt joint. I had intended on covering the exposed ends of the boards. A fancy joint wouldn't be needed. To make a strong butt joint, I wanted the ends of the boards sealed, so a good layer of glue was put on the end, allowing the glue to be sucked-up by the wood. I let it get sucked into the wood, then applied more before forming the box, and securing the parts with screws. Because the screws were so near the edge of the board, I pre-drilled and counter-sunk the holes, allowing the screw to be flush with the board, without splitting.

Next step was to attach the bottom. Glue and screws were used. The glued edge helped in ensuring the weather resistance.

I used a flush-trim bit on my route to unsure the sides of the box were flush, so the additional corner boards would sit flat to the edge (when gluing the box sides, some parts were not perfectly flush).

The next step was to cut the boards for the bottom wrap-around edge. It would give the box strength, and protect the corners from boots and shovels on the porch.

The boards would need to be longer than the box, but the thickness of 1 board on each side, and a 45° angle cut on the end. The jointer was also used to remove the tongue-and-groove so the wood could just be used as a simple cedar board (which is all I had on hand).

The boards were secured with glue and screws (from the inside). This kept the exterior clean and attractive. No visible screws.

Similar process was followed for the vertical corners, but with a 45° angle cut along the long edge. The alignment of my table saw is imperfect, so the angle was not perfect. There was a gap in the boards after they were secured so the gap was filled with a glue/saw-dust mixture. This not only secured the boards, but also filled the gap.

Additional glue/sawdust was used as filler to make a clean corner. The corner was then rounded over with a round-over Router bit.

The next task was to add an extended edge around the lid. I used thicker cedar, and created a dado along the edge of the board. I tested the process on a scrap piece first, to ensure the overhang was the correct size.

The corners were cut at 45°, and then glued with a ton of clamps. Every clamp I have! No screws on this part.

Then a board was added to the back of the lid to finish the edges. This not only gave an attractive finish, but also added strength to the lid.

The structure of the box was complete. All the sharp corners were rounded over, and sanded smooth.

I then took some extra boards and added angles to them to form feet. Black hinges and a handle were then added to finish the job.

I also added a sign to the box to help delivery people know to use the box. I also add instructions to my Amazon orders to place parcels in the box. It helps! Not all packages end up in there, but most do.