Over the past week, I constructed a crate. I really enjoyed the building process and I am satisfied with the final product. This project taught me about each step between raw materials and a finished product. I found the process elucidating and satisfying. Here’s how I did it.

 

Measure locations of screws:

The first step of creating the crate involved marking where I would place the screws and clamping the two pieces of wood together to align them for the drilling process. For the 3 frames, I decided to place the screw hole .375 inches from the side edges and 1/2 inch from the top and bottom edges of the 12in board. The frames were created using corner clamps to hold the slats together while screwing occurred. For the floorboards, I used the similar approach screwing in the holes about 0.375 inches from the edge of each slat of the floorboard. Additionally, I had to sand one of the floorboards to shorten it because it was too long to fit into the frame. I used P40 grit sandpaper to incrementally decrease the length of the slat. For the supports, I placed the screw holes 1.5 inches from the side edge and 1.75 inches from the top and bottom edge of the 12 inch slat. To space the three frames while assembling the crate, I used spare slats of wood as recommended in the instructions.

Figure 1: Demonstration of screw placement

Figure 2: Example of Corner clamp usage

Figure 3: Construction process

Drill the screws:

I used number 10 Phillips flathead wood screws that were 1.5 inch in length to screw the crate together. The process was generally uniform. First I would pre-drill a pilot hole using a 9/64 inch drillbit then I would counter sync using a 3/4 inch counter sink and then finally I would screw in the screw using a drill. One potential issue that I ran into during this process was that sometimes Phillips flathead wood screws would end up getting stripped or damaged if the pilot hole was not wide enough.

Figure 4: Screw Type

 

Sanding and Routing:

After the three frames were made, I used the 1/8 inch round over a bit on the router on all four edges of all the frames. I was sure to complete multiple passes on each edge to promote smoothness and uniformity. After routing was complete, I used the electric sander with P120 grit was used to smooth out all the faces of each frame.

 

Figure 5: Routed and sanded frame

Figure 6: Routed and sanded frame

Staining:

After assembling the routed and sanded frames, I applied Varathane classic penetrating wood stain English Chestnut to the crate. I did this by using a foam brush to apply the stain, and then wiping away the staining within 30-60 seconds of the staining being applied. Applying staining while the crate was completely assembled was difficult because it was sometimes be difficult to control where drops of excess staining would end up. However, with an attentive approach, I was able to apply relatively uniform staining to the entire crate while also getting staining in a lot of the crevices of the crate ensuring a uniform color. The reason why I decided to stain after complete assembly was because I was concerned that assembly after staining may damage the wood, in a way that the staining would no longer be able to minimize. After staining I left the crate on the drying rack for 36 hours.

Figure 7: Staining used

Figure 8: Staining post-construction

Figure 9: Crate on drying rack

 

 

Post Processing

After the staining dried, I did some light sanding in some regions where I thought that the staining application was too heavy. I used P220 grit to ensure that there was a smooth finish.

Overall, I really enjoyed building the crate. It taught me a lot about what it means to build something so macroscopic with so many screws that can actually be used in a day-to-day context. I think that if I were to do this again, I would not use a pen to mark the locations of all the screws because not all of my construction markings are completely concealed by the staining or by the sanding that I did early in the process. Additionally, there was one region where I think there may be too much staining applied and sanding was overall ineffective at removing the staining in a uniform manner. However, the staining dried well which was great. On one side, I think I countersunk a little bit too deeply leading to the witch screws. Going a bit too deeply into the wood, which slightly impacts the aesthetic look of the crate. However, overall, I believe that this project was a success. As Dr. Wettergreen said the way a crate looks indicates how it will be used. This crate looks rugged and scrappy and it’s because I would love to use it long-term for rugged and scrappy jobs. This project has inspired me to try to have an at home wood shop in the future.

Figure 10: Finished Product

Figure 11: Finished Product

Figure 12: Region of potential over staining

I imagine I could have used fewer screws in future crate constructions because I would be more careful to prevent the stripping of screws. However, the most significant portion of the budget was from the labor costs. It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to place the screws as well as find all the right tools for each step of the process. I think that with more practice I could easily cut down construction times to below 8 hours, decreasing the cost by over $50.

Figure 13: Clean workspace

Material	Amount	Price	Source
Common Wood slats	Area: 12 x 3.5 x 0.656 in x 6 short slats + 16 x 3.5 x 0.656 in  x  9 long slats= 308 square inches of 0.656 in wood	$8.31	Home depot
Common wood supports	2 in. x 4 in. x 2 ft Piece of lumber	$1.54	Home depot
Wood screws	50 Philips Flat Head Wood Screws No. 10, 1.5in	$10.32	Home depot
Wood Stain	Varathane Classic Penetrating Wood Stain English Chestnut	$7.98	Home depot
Labor time	12 hours at a $23.98 carpentry salary (TX average)	$287.76	Indeed.com
Total		$315.91