When I asked Jared about what I should make for Benny, his answer always came up as some kind of storage.  My first storage solution was this toy box.  My next project for Benny was a place to store all his books.

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I made this box out of the last of the Brazilian Walnut.  Its natural color is beautiful, but it's heavy and hard to work with.  My biggest problem with this box was the pneumatic top supports.  Beside that fact that the installation directions sucked, and I installed them incorrectly at first, I broke about every other mounting screw I put in the wood even with predrilling the holes.  This wood is so hard it simply does not like holes being drilled in it.  I also broke some drill bits.  I polished the end of one of them and left it in there.

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Other than the pneumatic supports, this was a relatively easy build.  It's just a big box with a hinged top.  I had some issues with the hinge screws also, but it's the same story.  Very hard wood that isn't easy to drill and screw.

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I had some fun with the initials on the front of the box.  I used white oak for the letters.  I did a lot of hand saw cuts to get the letters to fit properly, but it was a process I had fun doing.