Sports Gear Storage Box

This sports gear storage box is not only easy to make, but very affordable!  It is large enough to accommodate a lot of equipment – keeping the garage clutter free!

 

My son is into baseball.  That means lots of balls, bats, gloves…and a lot of other gear was all over our garage.  We organized the space, but realized we needed something to contain this stuff – but he needed to be able to get to it easily as well.

I was pricing bins on-line and trying to find a way to contain this from laying all over the garage floor.  That is when I had the idea to make a storage bin.

I sat down and sketched out my idea on paper for my husband.  Since he is an incredible woodworker and has his own woodworking business as well, I knew he could probably make what I wanted.  I was right.

He was able to build this box in just a few hours.  It was a fun project for him and our son is thrilled that he can actually find the things he needs when he is out working on his catching or hitting.  As the added bonus, it is easy for him to put things back (which, he actually does)!

 

Materials

¾ inch Maple Veneer Finish Plywood
1 ¼ inch wood screws (square drive head)

Tools

Table Saw
Tape Measure and Pencil
Small Framing Square
Small Rubber Mallet
Drill and Drill Screw Driver Bit
Drill Bit for Countersinking Screws

Pieces and Cut Dimensions

Bottom 22” x 15 ¾”
Front Face 22” x 15 3/4 “
Back 22” x 15 ¾”
Sides 21 ¼” x 15 ¾”
Inside Cleats 15 3/4” x 1 3/8”
Back Bracket 22” x 4”
Inside Bracket 20 ½” x 4”

Using a table saw, cut the bin bottom to dimensions. Then cut the inside cleats, which are the small wooden runners attached to the top of the bottom piece of the bin.

The 1 3/8” face of the cleats goes down flat on the top of the bottom piece. The cleats must be offset ¾” from the sides of the bottom piece in order to leave a ¾” wide ledge to sit the sides on top of. The cleats are used to screw the sides to and help tremendously when screwing the sides on.

 

Cut the two bin sides to dimension. Place a 15 ¾” edge of a side board against the cleat and top face of the bin bottom. Place three screws to anchor the a side to the cleat and repeat for the other side.

 

Cut the large back piece of the bin and attach it to the back edges of the side pieces, anchoring in each corner with a screw (total 4 screws). The sides will have a little sideways movement in them prior to screwing the back on, so you can use that movement to help adjust for a good square fit. To do this, attach the top corner of one side, then using your free hand, hold the back and side so it’s flush square, then screw in the second top corner.

Finish the back by screwing the bottom two corners.

Screw the back bracket above the large back piece, using a screw in each corner.

Screw the large front piece on, again starting in one top corner, then moving to the other top corner, then a screw in each bottom corner.

Install the inside bracket 4 inches in front of the back bracket. You may need a small rubber mallet to tap the inside bracket into the tight fitting between the two side pieces. To ensure a quality fit and to make it easier to screw this bracket in, cut a 4” x 6” piece of scrap plywood and lay the 4” wide edge in between the back bracket and using a rubber mallet, tap the inside bracket flush against the 4” plywood scrap piece. This will square up the inside bracket nicely and makes it easy to screw it from the sides.  Repeat this on the other side of the inside bracket.

Sand the box with 220 grit sand paper for a final finish. If you want the screws countersunk and to make a nicer finish look, predrill 1/16” deep holes prior to drilling screws in.

And you have a box perfectly suited to hold helmets, balls, bases and even a slot where the baseball bats can stand up!