Next Steps

  • None!

Completed Steps

  • buy materials (only $30 roughly!)
  • buy tools (lots more lol)
  • cut to size (thanks, cuñado)
  • plane and sand
  • Apply more coats of verathane
  • Assemble- predrill and screw
  • Affix placard
  • Fill with toys
  • Place at destination (might require shovel work)

Backstory:

So, the plan with this one is to create a “take a penny, leave a penny” type bin for toys at the beach near me. It’s been a great learning experience in woodworking and I even got to justify the purchase of more power tools!

The idea came to me on the near-daily walks with Zoey on the beach. There are so many plastic toys getting left on the beach, and I felt they could be reused. Since the City of San Diego is too gigantic to deal with such an issue, I reached out to the Pacific Beach Town Council, but heard nothing back. I plan to plop it down anyway, and see what happens.

My wife and I have been gathering abandoned toys on our morning walks for awhile now, so it should have a pretty good start.

Finished!

The box came out more lopsided than imagined, but it works great! It’s been about a month and there have been multiple full cycles of toys. I’m thrilled that the community has been accepting of it, and that it hasn’t been removed.