A Great Crate | ENGI 210: Prototyping and Fabrication

Steven and I built a crate! It is a 16”x12”x12” (LWH) storage box with routed and finished sides. The process is below.

Cutting the wood

Based on the dimensions specified in the instructions (9 14.5” long pieces of 1×4 lumber, 6 12” long pieces of 1×4 lumber, 4 10-11” long pieces of 2×2 lumber) we measured and marked out the pieces of lumber we intended to cut. Then, used the miter saw to cut at the markings.

For the handles we used the jigsaw to cut out semicircles in two of the 12″ long pieces of 1×4 lumber.

2. Initial Sanding

Before we started assembling we wanted to sand all the pieces so that even the parts that would be covered by joining would be smooth. This initial sanding ended up not meeting out standard later so we had to re-sand at another point in the process. If I had to rebuild the crate I don’t think I would include this step unless there were serious deformities that would get in the way of a clean assembly.

Regardless, this time around, we used an orbital sander and both the 80 & 180 grit sandpaper to go over the lumber.

3. Putting the frame together

Before routing, we decided to put the frame together to ensure that the joins & subsequent routing would flow smoothly. We employed the methods we learned in class: clamping the ends with a corner clamp, drilling a guide hole & a countersink, before finally drilling the pieces together. After joining the three frames/tiers of the crate, we measured out where to drill for the bottom planks on the final tier. That made drilling into planks we could not see the exact thickness of much easier when making the bottom of the crate. With the measurements done, we clamped the bottom frame down and screwed the base planks in, completing the bottom.

4. Routing & Second round of sanding

After all the frames were complete, we routed the outside edges of each frame to make sure everything was smooth. We used the table router. With the outside edges rounded, we moved on to the second round of sanding. In this round we used the orbital sander on the flat pieces and hand sanded the places that were harder to get to (corners & handles). When sanding the handles we also made sure to round them so it would be more comfortable to carry and not poke into one’s hands when carrying a heavy load. By the end of it, every surface was sanded with 320 grit paper and felt immaculately smooth to the touch.

5. Staining

For staining, we selected a light color in case any of the staining was uneven, it would still look natural. We put down cardboard, mixed the stain, applied it, wiped it off and left it to dry.

6. Dinner break

While waiting for it to dry we got some dinner 🙂 (not pictured).

7. Assembled the crate

Lastly, we put in the vertical posts and using the same drilling process we used for the frames, & we put the frames of the crate together using the same drilling methods as previously. We also used two planks to space the frames out properly when assembling them.