Material
Wood boards
Offcuts can become a carrier, a box, a frame, or a place to attach a mechanism.
Get to know it
Inspect salvaged wood for nails, screws, cracks, coatings, and contamination. Sound untreated softwood and suitable plywood are useful starting materials. Thickness affects every box joint: measure the actual board, then fit the adjoining pieces to it.
Mark a reference face and dry-fit the parts before fastening. Grain direction, screw position, pilot holes, and edge distance affect splitting and holding. A sturdy-looking box is not automatically suitable for heavy loads or supporting a person.