Originally Posted by
Brian Tymchak
I think I would be inclined to build that chest using 4 separate panels and join them at the corners with a glued butt joint. That would be probably be sufficient but the butt joint could be splined/biscuited/doweled/dominoed for additonal strength. That would give you a nice clean interior by eliminating the corners of the legs protruding into the box. Then, you can put the bottom in a groove in all 4 panels but I would also make the bottom from 3/4" material and add cleats under all 4 sides to add support. It's a box, and boxes can end up holding a lot of weight, like children, as someone mentioned above.