Thanks for the advice everyone! You guys have been very kind! I updated my location to show that I'm from the denver colorado area. Do any of you have an online supply shop that you recommend for ordering the materials and tooling for this? What do you think about these? http://www.oldwestiron.com/Clavos-Decorative-Nail-Heads-s/118.htm ? These seem to be fairly decorative but they call them nails and not rivets. Do you think they will work or are these something that would be used for a different application?
The more I read all of your comments the more I'm thinking I should probably buy a welder. I've never welded...always wanted to...but I was hoping this project would be something I could try and do by hand like they did in the 1800s when this box was made. Part of that is because of the upfront cost but part of it is that I'm fascinated that this work of art could be accomplished by someone who didnt have electricity or power tools and I want to try and step into their shoes. Maybe that's being a little unrealistic given that this is my first project? Anyways, I digress....
Frosty, you make some good points. I may have to look into a proper lock set. I didnt think about fire protection but now I am haha. While I do want this to be functional on its own this will be going inside of my fireproof gun safe. The functionality is just so that it makes me feel good that I built something that works and not something that is decorative.
Good tips from everyone. So far my takeaways are:
make a cardboard prototype first, consider steel instead of iron, weld it to make it stronger, look into fire protection and a better locking mechanism than a padlock, and get the pieces cut from the material supplier.
If anyone is from colorado and wouldnt mind letting me shadow you on a weekend or something please let me know. Thanks!