Western Massachusetts

Make your own RAIL newspaper box

Recipe makes 3 literature boxes.

Buy a sheet of 1/2 plywood or chipboard. Have the store cut it into thirds (32 inches wide by 48 inches high). This will fit in a small car, and the directions are built around the idea of the wood already being in thirds. (Note: plywood is sold by grades. A is furniture grade, B has more knots, C has even more, etc. X stands for exterior. Nicer wood looks better but costs a lot more. You're going to paint and nobody will examine it that closerly. Home Depot type places will be a lot cheapier than a Lumber yard. But the most expensive way will be to go to a local hardware (not lumber) store.

Make the plywood cuts in the order marked with the numbers. The 12 inch wide tall piece is the back, and the other tall pieces are sides. Smaller pieces are shelves and the tiny piece is garbage.

Cut the 2by3s into 12 inch pieces.

Screw 2 2by3 pieces to the 9.5by12 pieces like so:

The 2by3gs give strength and all screws will go into it. Place one shelf (2by 3s on the bottom!) on the floor. Stand the back up against it, and screw it in. Then put the sides on the same way.

Measure down 4 inches from the top. This is where the top of the top shelf goes. Put the middle shelf in there somewhere.

If you have some extra wood lying around, you can extend the back for placement of eye catching graphics. We like this design better as it displays our RAIL logo as well gives us a place to put posters for upcoming events. This design requires you to find another 12 by 9.5 inch piece of plywood (any thickness) for the 3rd shelf for each unit built.

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