Hello everyone! This post documents Liam’s and my progress in building our crate. I have previous woodworking experience, but I haven’t completed a fun project in a while. This crate allowed me to have fun and freshen up my skills, and we finished with a crate we are proud of!

Cutting and Preparing the Wood

To start, we were provided 0.75″x4″ and 2″x2″ lumber. To make the final box size of 12″x16″x12″, we needed to cut 6 pieces of 12″ 0.75×4, 9 pieces of 14.5″ 0.75×4, and 4 pieces of 11.25″ 2×2. As the miter saw has some amount of kerf, we cut each piece before measuring the length of the next to ensure accuracy.

However, while later aligning the box’s planks, we found that some of the 12″ pieces were actually ~1/16″ too short, causing problems with the alignment of the frame. Thus, we had to re-cut some of these pieces so the layers would fit together properly.

Once all the pieces were prepared, we routed the edges of the pieces that would show on the outside of the box, leaving the other edges square so they would fit together flush when assembled. We used a simple rounded 1/8″ diameter curved bit on the table router. This process gave us a very smooth and finished look to all the edges of our piece.

Cutting the Handles

We decided to add handles to the top layer on the short sides of our crate. We wanted a smooth, rounded handle, so we sketched S-shaped curves for the handle. To cut it out, we used a band saw and scroll saw. Then, we filed and sanded the curves. Finally, we routed the edges to match the routing of the other pieces. Since we free-handed the curve, with some additional cutting errors using the scroll saw, one of the sides of the handle is less curved than the other. In the future, we could use more precise tools to measure the curve to ensure symmetry.

Assembling the Layers and Staining

Once the planks were routed, we could begin assembling the layers of the crate. To do this, we use a 90° clamp to hold the planks at a right angle. Then, we used a 3/16″ bit to drill holes and 3/8″ bit to countersink for the screw heads. We created 3 rectangular sections, with one containing three planks on the bottom for the floor of the crate and another with the two handles.

Once the three layers were fully assembled, we could begin staining the layers and 4, 2×2 vertical uprights before the final crate assembly. We chose to use the slate stain to get a dark finish. Once we started staining, it looked a lot lighter than expected, but we decided to continue with that color. As we progressed, the stain seemed to get darker and darker, eventually turning black at one point. We realized that although we mixed the stain, we didn’t thoroughly mix through to the very bottom of the can.

To fix the issue with the staining, we tried to re-stain the lighter colored pieces to get a consistent finish on each layer, but the already stained pieces wouldn’t absorb a new layer of stain as well as we wanted. Unexpectedly, the shade of stain on each layer ended up being a consistent gradient from light to dark, and we decided we liked the way it looked, so we proceeded to the final assembly.

Final Assembly and Conclusions

Once all our stained sections were dry, we began the final assembly of the crate, attaching the uprights and layers together. We began by screwing the uprights into the bottom layer. Then, we placed extra 3/4″ wooden planks across the walls and added the second layer of our crate to create a gap between the layers. After screwing the uprights to the second layer, we repeated this process again for the final layer.

One issue we ran into while drilling the holes was that the countersink bit would sometimes catch the wood and cause it to splinter. We used a chisel to scrape away the excess to ensure a clean look with the screws, however, some of the pieces were hard to clean and chipped some of the stain away as well.

Now that the crate was built, the last step was to attach our laser cut nameplates to our crate. We each used two small squares of velcro and attached them to the crate and nameplate.

Overall, we finished with a great looking crate, though we ran into some issues along the way. In the future, we will take more care in double checking the lengths of our pieces before cutting them all so we don’t have to re-cut all our pieces. Additionally, we’ll make sure to mix the entire can of stain before we start on our project.

Cost Analysis and Cleaned Workspace

Total Cost Estimate: ~$272.28

• Labor (15 hours @ $10/hr) = $150
• 0.75×4 Wood (16.88′ @ $4.48/8′) = $75.60
• 2×2 Wood (3.75′ @ $4.98/8′) = $18.68
• Screws (48 @ $6/100ct.) = ~$3
• Stain (1qt. @ $25) = $25

This cost analysis is a rough estimate for the crate. The time and labor cost values are greatly estimated, and the materials, as well as the machines, were provided to us by the OEDK.

Below is an image of our final work station following the final assembly of our crate.