I made this cache box

[newdiscovery]

I worked really hard on it. What do you guys think? I'm going to hide it in the woods.

This woud be a wonderful fall cache! I'm going to put it out soon, but in some months I'd advise people to go looking for it when its fall.

It was made with last fall's leaves that never got raked in the backyard, and a ton of glue. I used wood glue, do you think that will hold up in the rain?

 

Edited April 29, 2010 by newdiscovery

[+sdrawkcab]

I worked really hard on it. What do you guys think? I'm going to hide it in the woods.

This woud be a wonderful fall cache! I'm going to put it out soon, but in some months I'd advise people to go looking for it when its fall.

It was made with last fall's leaves that never got raked in the backyard, and a ton of glue. I used wood glue, do you think that will hold up in the rain?

 

What is the container? Ammo Can? Will it be able to keep things dry?

 

Looks cool in the pic.... Will the leaves be broken off after it has been found a few times?

 

Spelling edit WSIM

Edited April 29, 2010 by sdrawkcab

[newdiscovery]

no, its a plastic storage box

and the leaves are quite brittle so I hope not.

[+Anno Lynke]

it looks like tupperware but not a lock and lock

 

should hide nicely

[+StarBrand]

As long as it stays upright and doesn't have a lot of temperature variation or wind or rain or snow - the container might be ok for a while.

 

Really nice job on the camo though.

[+Knight2000]

It looks great! Thanks for taking the time to make a nice container!

 

Is that a Sterilite tote? It looks like it. If it is I don't think it will hold up well at all. They are not watertight and they are brittle. It should be something along the lines of storing food items as those are meant to be more water/air tight.

 

The leaves look good but they probably won't last. They will disintegrate. You could just do maintenance on it regularly. Nothing wrong with that. It's better than nothing. What is under the leaves? That may be adequate too.

 

You learn from experience.

[+roziecakes]

That's pretty cool!! I've found that with "natural cammo" caches the cammo tends to disintegrate after a while, but I'm sure that's easily maintainable by just gluing a few more leaves on when they do fall off. Have fun hiding it!!

[+Chrysalides]

The problem with camo that looks too authentic is that someone might step on it

 

Great job on the camo.

[newdiscovery]

yeah, Knight, it is Sterilite. it just leaves glued on a plastic lid.

[+sdrawkcab]

yeah, Knight, it is Sterilite. it just leaves glued on a plastic lid.

 

I'm afraid to say I think that it wont last long.... They tend to be britle. Looks great.... Better that a Micro....

[+Vater_Araignee]

Looks good.

The leaves wont last, eventually they will look like they where ran through a mower first.

But hey just crumble up a bunch of leaves once and a wile and dump them in the hide location.

You could consider eventually retrofitting the container with artificial leaves.

I have bought leaves like these and people have asked me if I was renting storage for my supply. Made 'em slap their foreheads when I showed 'em they where fake.

[+9Key]

I might suggest switching out the container for an ammo can or a Lock n Lock. Those stay dry. Good job though!

[+buttaskotch]

It looks great! But if its real leaves they will be brittle and won't last very long, based on an experience I had with them breaking of all over the back seat of my car, en route to place the cache!

 

A suggestion for a longer lasting cache, is go to a $ store and get the fake plastic leaves and epoxy to a Lock N' Lock. I bought some vine ones, and purchased gream camo spray paint for plastic to coat the Lock n' Lock and epoxy to glue to the top. I only have gotten around to the spray paint part so far....

[newdiscovery]

where I live, leaves just sit on the ground for months and dont decay. and this will be in the woods where no raking happens. they might flake off during handling, maybe I could put in the description to be careful handing the container?

[+BCandMsKitty]

maybe I could put in the description to be careful handing the container?

Good luck with that! There are lots of cachers that take care with the cache containers, but there are just as many that don't care.

Great job, and like someone said, it will probably get stepped on.

Great first try, and it is all a learning experience, for all of us. See how it goes, and fine tune it in regards to fake leaves, better container, etc.

[+42at42]

I built one like this. I don't know how it over-wintered. I haven't had any new comments on the camo job so it may new a re-do.

 

I used fake leaves so I didn't have to worry about the leaves getting broken. I didn't use any dirt.

 

Nice job.

[+GeoGeeBee]

It looks really cool, and will be a fun one to find... at least, for the first few finders.

 

It's already been pointed out that Sterilite containers don't survive long in the wild. I adopted a cache that was in one; it was a soggy, mildewed mess.

 

No one else has answered your question about wood glue. There are several products called "wood glue," but none of them will stand up to being repeatedly soaked. And none of them sticks very well to plastic.

 

I'm glad you took the time to make a creative, interesting container. Go ahead and place it, and start working on the replacement container. I'd suggest an ammo can or Lock'N'Lock, and using something like Gorilla Glue to attach the leaves.

[+DragonsWest]

I've found a couple hides with leafs glued to them a week ago. Expect the leafs to break off, rot, they will decompose when they become wet and the bugs and worms find them, and so on. Looks great now, but don't expect more than one season out of the cover.

 

I painted an ammo can a few months back, which is now lurking under a bush (hint: Vg'f va gur ohfu) which should do about as well for hide, but last longer. A simple base code on a container, then lay over stencils of leaf shapes cut out of heavy paper and spray paint appropriate colors.

 

[+GeoGeeBee]

I paint my ammo cans like that, only backwards. I start with a coat of brown, then put leaves on it and spray black and green splotches. I end up with a black and green can with brown leaves.

[+briansnat]

yeah, Knight, it is Sterilite. it just leaves glued on a plastic lid.

 

Cool camo but those Sterlite storage boxes are not waterproof at all. Make sure the contents are well protected by Ziplocs.

[GOF and Bacall]

where I live, leaves just sit on the ground for months and dont decay. and this will be in the woods where no raking happens. they might flake off during handling, maybe I could put in the description to be careful handing the container?

 

I no we are supposed to be striving for a kinder, gentler forum so please, take this in the constructive manner that I assure you it is offered. Any time that you feel the need to tell folks to be careful when handling your cache it is time to rethink your container. Yours has several problems. First is that the base container is not the best. Look for containers that have a gasket and some form of positive locking mechanism. If plastic it should have a certain amount flexibility to it. Next is the cammo. The problem here is that the leaves are brittle and will crumble quickly. And last is the glue. Most wood glues aren't weatherproof.

 

But thanks for the effort. It looks like you are willing to put in the effort to create an above average container for your fellow cachers to enjoy. We need more of that.

[Clan Riffster]

Very kewl! I also use natural camo:

Your medium will get brittle and break off over time. A bit of maintenance every so often will fix this.

The container itself will probably fail kwickly, since they are not intended for outdoor use.

On your next build, an ammo can might be a better choice. They are hard to kill.

Wood glue doesn't last long when exposed to the elements.

Liquid Nails black roof repair, found in the caulk section at Wally World, lasts dang near forever.

Just be careful with it, as it really smells as it cures, and will stain everything.

 

Thank you for putting some nice effort into your container. I wish more folks took such pride in their hides!