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Making a Norse Box

Patterned after the Voxtorp Church Chest

By THL William McNaughton
mcnutt -at- pobox.com

These plans are for a Norse-style box using a single board of dimensional lumber, available at your local home center. The reader is assumed to be a novice with only very limited exposure to hand tools. The Voxtorp Church Chest is a pine chest from Småland in Sweden, circa 1200 A.D.

The lid, front, and back are all made from 2 ft long, 11 ¼” wide panels, so cut three of these.
The bottom is made from one panel, 2ft long and 11 ¼” wide, cut down to the shape shown left.
The sides are made from 2 panels cut to 15 ¼” long and shaped as shown left.

 

Minimum Tools Needed:

  • Tape measure
  • No. 2 mechanical pencil
  • T-square or combination square
  • Combination Saw
  • ½” Wood Chisel
  • Claw Hammer
  • Small Phillips-head screwdriver for attaching hardware
  • Sturdy, flat work surface at least 4’ long and 2’ wide

Minimum Supplies Needed:

  • 1 – 12 ft long 1’ x 12” number 2 pine board
  • 34 - 1 & ½” finishing nails
  • 1 - 8 ½” x 11” sheet 100 grit sandpaper (if you insist)
  • 1 - 8 ½” x 11” sheet 220 grit sandpaper (if you insist)
  • 1 - small bottle of wood glue
  • 1 - pint water-based polyurethane finish
  • 1 - disposable paintbrush about 3” wide
  • 2 – ¾” hinges
  • 1 – ¾” hasp

Additional Useful Tools:

  • Brace and bit or auger (Or electric drill, if you insist.)
  • Marking knife or marking awl, instead of pencil
  • Mallet for chisel work, instead of claw hammer
  • Clamps
  • Utility or “matte” knife

Substitute Supplies for A More Expensive, But More Medieval Look:

  • For the finishing nails, substitute 34 1 & ½” wrought head nails, ordered from http://www.leevalley.com/hardware catalog number 91Z40.03
  • For the sandpaper, substitute cabinet scrapers from http://shop.woodcraft.com catalog number 15T01
  • For the hinges, substitute Equal Strap Hinges from http://www.leevalley.com/hardware, catalog numbers 01H20.63 or 01H20.52

Hints and Tips:

  • I’m going out on a limb telling you to buy cabinet scrapers. Working with cabinet scrapers isn’t complicated, but it’s not intuitive. Before investing in them, find someone to show you how they work.
  • When cutting the mortise (slot), you may choose to use your brace-and-bit or auger to “hog out” the main part of the mortise before cleaning up with the chisel. This will save you time, but may cause tear out on the underside of the board. To avoid tear out, lay out the cut on both sides and carefully make sure that your slots are in the exact same place on both sides. Then work the slot in from both sides of the board.
  • Finish all of the wood with two coats of finish before attaching your hardware.
  • Make sure the feet where your box will be sitting on the ground is thoroughly coated with finish to prevent deterioration.
  • If you order hand-forged hinges, be aware that you might have to drill them or bend them to adapt them to the box design

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E-mail: mcnutt -at- pobox.com