An old friend asked if I could build him a crate like the one I w a s using to move my hunting gear around.

“Nothin fancy, just comething I can put firewood in next to the fireplace”.

So I told him that I would use scrap wood and see what I could throw together for him. I goofed the measurements a bit and ended up leaving the aussie cypress runners underneath exposed – they were initially intended to be hidden.

Materials:

5/4 × 1” strips of Australian cypress for the base, 1/4×3” strips of red oak for the “floorboards”, poplar corners, 1/4×3” mahogany ends and 1/4×10” Bolivian Rosewood for the sides.

Joinery:

Nothin but nails. Because time was of the essence,I only have 3 days to deliver on this, I decided to cheat a bit. Skipped the glue – mainly because I’m currently out of glue – and used my new 16 gauge brad nailer. Money well spent right there.

Hit it with a quick coat of oil and man did that grain pop! I still have to add handles. Rather than a wooden one, I think I’ll go with a nice & thick knotted manilla rope rather than milling handles.

Thanks for looking!