coofin

I used 1/2" thick plywood and used a power saw to cut it out. I used
finishing nails (headless) about 1 1/4" long, and Liquid Nails for
assembly. In addition to the plywood, you need pieces of 2" x 2" wood
totally about 8' long.

Graphic Drawing

(1) Measure and cut three pieces (A, B, C) each 8.5" wide.
(2) Measure and cut one piece (D) 8.5" wide.
(3) Measure 13" in from one corner of the remaining rectangle. Measure 13" from the diagonally opposite corner. Connect these two points. This is line "E". Cut on line E.
(4) Take one of the resulting two pieces and flip it over and around so it is positioned exactly like the other. Put one on top of the other. Nail the two together in the center with 3 or 4 nails so that subsequent sawing operations can be done on both pieces together. Use nails long enough so they can be hammered out when all cuts are done.
(5) Measure 1" up from the corner. Connect that point to the corner formed by the cut "E" and the bottom edge. This is line "F". Cut on line F.
(6) Measure 52.5" up from the new bottom of the board (the point made in the previous step). Make another measurement 5" in along the top edge of the board. Connect these two points. This is line "G". Cut line G.
(7) Measure 52.5" from the bottom of the board alone the cut line "E". Measure another point 5.25" from the cut line E along the top of the board. Connect these two points. This is line "H". Cut line H.
(8) LAST CUT IS COMING!! (Oops, I forgot to label this line in my drawing!) Measure 1.5" down from the top of the edge "H". Connect this with the top of line "G". Cut along this line.

Remove nails from center of board. Put one piece aside as the lid. Proceed with the other piece as described below. In the text below, I refer to this cut out piece as the "coffin", while in fact it is the floor or bottom of the coffin.

First cut the 2"x2" wood into "braces" about 8" long. Then measure and cut a piece of "A" to fit along the top edge of the coffin, and a piece of "D" to fit along the bottom edge. I then nailed and glued braces to these "walls". Make sure braces are attached to the walls so that the edge of the brace line up flush with the long edge of the wall.

When glue is dry, attach wall/brace units to the top and bottom of coffin. The wall/brace units must sit on top of the coffin with the outer surface of the wall lined up with the edge of the coffin. I did this by putting the wall/brace units on my saw horses with the brace resting on the horse and the wall hanging down. Then I applied glue, put the coffin piece on top of it, then nailed through the coffin into the brace, making sure the edges of the coffin and wall line up. I also nailed through the coffin into the 1/2" thickness of the wall in those areas where there was no brace. This is difficult, as the nails tend to go crooked, and punch
through the surface. I had to pull some out and start them again when they did this. I nailed ALL pieces described in the paragraphs below in this manner, that is, through the coffin and into the 1/2" thickness of the walls in those areas where there was no brace.

The remaining piece of "D" should fit along one long edge of the coffin "E". Attach three brace pieces to this wall with glue and nails, and attach it to the coffin. I also applied glue to the corner formed by this wall and the bottom wall. With some luck, you can also drive small nails through the height of the long wall into the edge of the bottom wall without the nails punching out of the surface. If you cannot due this, you might want to glue and nail a brace piece in this, and each of the four inside corners.

Then cut a piece of "A" to fit along the top part of the side you just "walled". Since these two walls meet at a sharp angle, you will have a small gap where they meet. I avoided this by changing the angle of my power saw blade to about 60 degrees before making the cut. This allowed the two walls to mate well without a gap. Make this angled cut before cutting this wall to final length, as angled cuts mess up lengths. When done, return saw angle to 90 degrees.

Glue, nail, or brace the corner formed by this wall and the top wall.

Next cut a piece of wall to fit at "G". Don't worry about angling the cut as was done on the other wall, as that will be taken care of on the next piece. Attach brace to wall, and attach at "G". Glue, nail or brace in the corner to the top wall.

You should have only one long edge left to wall. You may not have one 8.5" piece long enough for the full length (I didn't). I assembled one brace/wall unit and secured it to the lower portion of this remaining edge, and glued/nailed/braced it to the bottom wall. The remaining gap now meets up with the wall at "G", and will require an angled (60 degree) cut to avoid a gap.

DONE!

When glue was dry, I painted my coffin and lid with black paint. I may attach the lid with hinges, or leave it loose