Given a design brief to ‘Build a Box’, detailing various sizing, material and fastening constraints among others, I began to brainstorm ideas.

Firstly I needed to assess my use for the crate. Where would I use it? What would it store? So I looked around my apartment to see what needed a new home.I need a box for the corner of my bedroom to store a ukelele, charging cables, portable Bluetooth speaker and massage gun – as well as whatever else fits in it! The crate would be placed near the outlet in the room so the cables can be set up as a charging station for my headphones, speaker and mobile phone which otherwise sit around on whatever surface (ie the floor) is nearby.

I sketched some crate ideas in my notebook, see-sawing between a bookshelf-like crate and a ‘mystery box’ of indeterminate size. The former, when used upright, allows me to store things on shelves and standing upright, while the latter would allow for many different things to be stored upright at different heights.

I considered some other design aspects such as cut out handles, triangular inner supports and inner dimensions of the crate for each solution. Since the multilevelled crate provided more space and a more aesthetically appealing design I opted for this.

Upon finalising my initial design idea, I measured, cut and planed my lumber to 3/4” thickness and then assembled it to check everything was cut to size. I did this by drilling pilot holes where the screws would sit and then using a larger drill bit, shaving away where the head of the screw would sit so it can be countersunk into the wood.

As I completed this step, I noticed that the wood had a tendency to split when drilling with the larger drill bit so I adjusted the power of the drill and the pressure I was applying to achieve a better result on other sections of the crate. Completing this step before post processing also allowed me to sand and smooth these areas before putting the crate together.

Then I took it apart again and began post processing aspects:

– I routered a 45 degree chamfered edge along all four outward facing sides. I used both the hand router and table router in the woodshop to try set up of each method and ensure consistency between the two methods. I preferred using the table router because I was able to get through the cuts more quickly. I routered a larger straight cut with a shallower angle on handle pieces as this makes it more comfortable to hold. 

– I sanded each piece of wood to a smooth finish. This can be tested by running fingers along the edge of the wood to ensure it is smooth. Visually, there are a few areas of damaged wood which have been sanded as smooth as feasible without taking away too much of the wood surface and making it uneven. 

– I completed one layer of stain on all wood faces using a dark stain then left it to dry for two hours.

– I cut handles using a drill press, scroll saw and the orbital sander. I left them with rounded edges, and a smooth but textured to give it a rustic feel. It adds character!

– I used a deep reddish stain for the second coat and left for 8 hours (overnight).

Using the drill press:

Using the scroll saw:

Sanding inside handles:

First coat of stain:

Putting it all back together:

After the coats of stain had dried, I was able to assemble everything. I used clamps to ensure right angles for joining the wood. I then did a coat of stain on the inside of the inner support pieces. Just having one layer of the stain creates contrast with the rest of the crate and I liked this visually. I did the same with the inner rim of the handle to complete the crate.