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Recycled Can Decorative Box

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Materials

Hammer

Screwdriver

Small nails

2 hinges (small)

8 screws for the hinges

4 pieces of wood cut 6cmx6cm (sides of box)

1 Piece of wood cut 6cmx6cm (bottom of box)

1 piece of wood cut slightly larger than 6cmx6cm (lid of box)

4 soda cans

Scissors

Knife

Pliers with wire cutters

Wood glue

Sandpaper

Ruler or measuring tape

Saw

Marker

Bleach

Water

Dish soap

Large bowl or bucket for washing cans

Step one, creating pieces 

Take the large bowl and fill it with water, add dish soap and bleach to the water, then submerge your cans. Let them soak for about half an hour to dissolve anything that might be left inside (Suco Mais cans are especially dirty). Drain the water and let the cans dry.

After your cans are clean cut them open by using a knife to remove the bottom rim, then use the scissors to cut along the seam to the top and remove the top lid. (You can save the bottom portion to use in the candle holder box made with bottle caps). A tip about cans: not all cans are of the same thickness. The Suco Mais cans are the most flexible and the Pepsi and Coke cans are harder to work with due to the thickness of the aluminum.

Try to find the thinnest type of wood you can for this box. Measure and draw a line on the wood for five squares of 6cm square and then cut the wood using the saw. Four of these will be the sides of the box and one will be the bottom.


Make sure that all four pieces of wood are the same size. You may need to use the sandpaper to even them out. You can also hold all four pieces tightly together and grind them down by hand on a cement ground used as a plane. These pieces will be used to form the sides of your box. Do not cut the lid at this time. After you assemble the box it will be slightly larger due to the added layer of aluminum and you will trace and cut the lid after assembly 

Step two, assembling the pieces 

The first step is to cover the inside (or only one side of the wood) of the box with the aluminum can. You will probably have to cut the nails down, depending on how small they are, so that they do not go all the way through the wood when nailing the aluminum to the can. Cut the nails using the wire cutters on the pliers. You will also have to use the pliers to hold the cut nails in place as you hammer them in. This can be tricky, but you will get good at it with practice.

After you have covered the inside of the box, assemble it by gluing the sides together and then hammering it together.

You will essentially wrap the box with the aluminum like a present. Pay attention to the edges of the can so that they are not sharp and that a cut edge is never on a corner. You should fold the can over the edge so the cut edge is on a plane. Also pay attention to the direction the design on the can is facing so that your finished product is pleasing to the eye.

After you have covered the box, turn it upside down on the wood and trace out a square to use as a lid. Cut this piece with the saw and then sand the edges down slightly (remember, the lid will be slightly larger after covered with aluminum so it should be filed down a little). After your lid is cut and sanded, cover it with aluminum using the same techniques as before.

 

 

Take your lid and place it on the box.  Match up the hinges where needed and attach them.  It can be hard to start with the screws so you may want to use a hammer and nail to get a hole started for each screw.  You can also decorate your hinge by cutting out a small piece of aluminum the same height as the face of the hinge but longer on the ends to wrap around so the edge is not sharp.  If you do not want to cover the hinge with aluminum you can also paint it with nail polish.



Now that your box is complete, you can experiment with different sizes and colors.

You can also use your old Newsweeks or other magazines instead of aluminum cans to wrap the wood with.  Wood glue is fine to work with to apply the paper.