I really enjoyed making the crate! Although there were a lot more parts and it was more time intensive than the apron, I had fun building it. I also enjoyed being able to build it with Sahana!

To start the crate, we first grabbed our materials, including the wood, countersink bit, ⅛” drill bit, 1.5” star screws, and corner clamp. We used the clamp to set the edges and screw them together. First we countersunk, then used the ⅛ bit, and finally put in the screw so it was flush with the wood. We built all 3 rectangular side components.Next, we moved our side pieces to the woodshop and used the table router to make all of the external edges smooth. The table router is so much easier to use than the hand router, and it made this step go by very quickly. 

Then, we sanded down all of the wood, including the 3 bottom pieces and the 4 posts. For the flat faces and external edges, we used the orbital sander which gave the wood a smooth surface. For the internal faces, we hand sanded them and smoothed over the internal edges. We also hand sanded the posts.

Once everything was sanded, we stained all of the pieces with the color golden oak. It took some time to let it set for a bit before we turned them over to the other side, but it was so pleasing to watch the color set it in. After all the wood was stained, we set the pieces on the drying rack outside.

Two days later, we went to finish working on the crate but the stain had not dried. It had been well over 24 hours so we decided to move the pieces inside since it was too humid outside. We returned the next day and the stain still wasn’t completely dry, but we decided to just finish the crate.

We screwed in the 3 bottom pieces and then clamped the pillar pieces into place to screw into the sides. To build up the next two rectangular sides, we used two boards to evenly space them apart. We screwed in the last two sets which completed the building!

For our final touches, we lightly sanded all of the wood with 400 grit sandpaper to remove any saw dust and raised wood. Finally, we glued on our laser cut nameplates!

Cost Analysis

Cost Type	Item	Cost	Source	Quantity	Total
Material	Wood Slats 1in x 4in x 8ft	$7.97	Home Depot	1in x 4in x 17ft	$23.91
	Wood Posts	$1.52	Home Depot	2in x 4in x 2ft	$1.52
	1.5” Wood Screws	$11.97/pack	Home Depot	48 screws	$11.97
	Tried & True Stain	$34.99/pint	Amazon	1/8 of pint	$4.37
Labor	Carpenter	$23.98/hr	Indeed.com	12 hours	$287.76
	Prototyping Engineer	Custom	Self	1 hour	–
Total Cost					$329.53

Reflection

I am really happy with the crate! The routed edges all feel really nice and the stain makes it look pretty. The only thing I would have done differently was stained the crate at the very end after all the screws were in. Some of the wood chipped a little with the countersink so it would have been best to stain last. Other than that, I think the crate is great and I would not have changed anything else!

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