Ice Box Remains Good Storage Place

There was a time when an ice box like this one could be found in almost every home. Although refrigerators have rendered them obsolete, antique oak ice boxes have remained popular with collectors, even though they are usually expensive and hard to find.

This do-it-yourself project and authentic reproduction is neither: It is both inexpensive and easy to build, making use of readily available materials and requiring only straight cuts.

Built of oak and oak plywood and featuring solid brass hardware, this ice box has a number of uses, but it is especially popular when used as a bar. Its top opens up to reveal a builtin serving area and a storage area for bar accessories. The bottom cabinet compartment stores bottles while the top compartment keeps glassware clean and safe.

The project calls for about 40 board feet of 3/4-inch oak, one 4-by-4 sheet of oak plywood, dowel pins, nails, glue, stain and brass hardware. The finished ice box is 38 inches high by 24 inches wide by 16 inches deep.

The Oak Ice Box plan, No. 686, is $6.95 and includes complete step-by-step directions with 20 photos, exploded diagrams, a shopping list and cutting schedule and a mail-order source for solid brass hardware at lower-than-retail prices.

A package of three ice box plans, No. C58, is $12 and includes this two-door ice box as well as one- and three-door designs. A catalog picturing hundreds of do-it-yourself projects is $3.95. Prices include postage and handling (for first-class mail, add $1 per item up to $3 maximum).

MEMO: To order by mail, clip this article and send it with a check or money order to U-Bild Features, c/o The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2383, Van Nuys, CA 91409-2383. To order by credit card, call toll-free (800) 828-2453. Please specify plan numbers.