Beck and I made a crate! We both had some previous experience with woodworking, so we were pretty excited for this new project and couldn’t wait to get creative with it. Inspired by the Japanese shoji doors, our original plan was to make an additional decorative frame with interlocking wood pieces around our crate. Shoji frames usually consist of translucent sheets on a lattice frame, but we decided to forgo these fragile panels for the sake of durability in our design.

The most difficult part of the project by far was figuring out the correct measurements. We had decided to cut our own wood because we had to tweak the original dimensions to accommodate the additional frame. The inner crate portion came together nicely, but we quickly realized that some of the measurements for the outer frame were off. For this portion of the project, we brought in additional materials such as thinner ¼ ’’ dowels. We cut notches into these sticks to fit them together and eventually figured out the correct measurements through trial and error.

In the end, the most satisfying part was slotting everything together and decorating our project. Our crate took a lot more time and effort than the original project, but I think it was worth it to design and create something uniquely ours. Maybe the real treasure was in the crate we built along the way.

How much did this project cost?

• Raw materials
  • 1”x4” lumber: $1.08/ft x 16’6′: $17.84
  • 2” dowel: $3.21/ft x 3’8”: $11.77
  • 50 1.5” wood screws: $6.87
  • 0.5” dowel: $0.83/ft x 8′: $6.51
  • 0.25” dowel: $0.59/ft x15′: $8.90
• Tools
  • corner clamp: $31.97 x 4: $127.88
  • table clamp: $13.97 x 2: $27.94
  • drills: $49.97 x 3: $149.91
  • 1/8” drill bit: $10.97
  • 1/2” drill bit: $13.97
  • philip’s head screwdriver: $14.49
  • 40-grit sandpaper: $8.47
  • spray paint: $2.78 x 2: $5.56
  • from the oedk: miter saw, planer, and band saw
• Labour (of love!)
  • $15/hour of somewhat skilled work
  • ~12 hours x 2 people: $360

TOTAL: $771.08 (whoa)