Hi! This week My partner, Sophia, and I were tasked with creating our official “EDES” 210 crates. We put our heads together and came up with the following plan.

We wanted a matte, light wash crate with handles and a filet on the top two rows. First, we sanded down all our wood, starting with 60 grit, followed by 120, 180 then 320 grit. This was very time consuming, but the difference was clear. Next, we took turns routing the wood, pre cut by the teaching team (go teaching team!) with the fileting bit on the hand router and then with the bit attached to the standing router.

To make the handles, we drew out the shape we envisioned and used a jigsaw to cut the shape out. Because of the very organic shape we chose, we had trouble achieving the roundness we wanted using the jigsaw alone. So, I went in with a dremel to roundout the corners and then sanded it to ensure the felt nice to the touch. This was for sure my favorite part and I was so excited I forgot to take pictures 😔.

The next step was to assemble the three rings of the crate. We measured out and marked where we wanted our holes to be, then used cornerclamps to align the pieces of wood together. We drilled pilot holes using 1/8″ drill bits, and then used a 1/2″  countersinking bit to ensure the screws would lay flush to the crate. Using a phillips T-52 head, we screwed everything together before sanding it all down again to prep for staining.

We stained all the current parts: the three rings, the four posts, and the baseboards and left it to dry overnight.

Now it was time to assemble the crate.  Employing the same/similar techniques from the previous day, we took turns clamping, drilling, screwing , countersinking until TA-DA! we had the crate you see before you.

As someone who was afraid of woodworking, and wood tools in general, this was the project I looked forward to the most because I would be gifted the opportunity to draw on the experience of a partner and professors and gain confidence in my abilities in the safety of the OEDK. I am so proud of my crate! I can’t wait to make more things!

Wood: $5 (Home Depot)

Screws: $2.50 (Home Depot)

Light Wash Stain: $6.00 (Home Depot)

Labor:  9 hours * $15 = $135

Total cost: $148.5

Signing out,