The Record Crate Project

A work in progress, I didnt think to take pics until I was pretty far along... Made of pallets. I have NO IDEA what I am doing but here it is so far. Still need to put a bottom on it. Started to rain this afternoon so I stopped for the day and stained it.



From the side:



I'll make the bottom tomorrow but I need it VERY sturdy. Will make some more too. Again, I have never done this before and I am all thumbs when it comes to any type of project like this. I am not a DIY guy at all but I am pleased so far, even if I am not quite done or even if it doesn't work. It stand 14 inches high.

That looks cool. We just made a backyard deck out of pallets.

The only part not from a pallet is the 2X4 along the top side. I put those on the top to give it a little "lip" to grab it by. Also bought a "saws all" today to help with the project. The only saw I ever ever owned is an old style hand saw. Trying to decide what to put on the bottom. Pallet boards are a little thin, prob less than a half inch. May put 1X6's on the bottom which I'll have to buy tomorrow. Am off work all week on vacation so working on this and going thru all those records that guy from work gave me a few weeks ago.

Oh and so far this "free project" has cost me:

New saw & blades- $85
2x4- $3
Cherry Stain & Brush -$15

Could have bought an already made crate for less than all of this!! But it is a fun project and gives me something to do on my vacation. And vacation at home is fine. In the last 2 months I have been to Pittsburgh 2 times, Vegas once and prob back to Steeltown before the end of Sept. so for vacation I just wanna hang out at home.

Luckily I had the tools. The only cost for me was $95 in deck stains,navajo red for our picnic table (which needed rebuilt) and then beach (a shade of tan) for the deck.

Doesn't look exactly level, but I'm not criticising. I probably couldn't do that much.

Just saying it's probably not a hot seller on the summer yard sale in 2046

But the good news is, it's for your own use, and what I've found out is that when I make something myself, I appreciate it a lot more than something that's store bought (even when store bought is better).

That is really cool. Keep on keepin' on, bro.

Lari wrote:

Doesn't look exactly level, but I'm not criticising. I probably couldn't do that much.

Just saying it's probably not a hot seller on the summer yard sale in 2046  

But the good news is, it's for your own use, and what I've found out is that when I make something myself, I appreciate it a lot more than something that's store bought (even when store bought is better).

Good eye as it is a little off. I am hoping when the bottom is on it straightens up a bit. But if not, oh well, it will still hold records. I may try something different on crate #2 when I finish this one.

Thanks to the Florida climate the stain is STILL not dry. 100% humidity, maybe by this afternoon. Then I will put a bottom on, probably after a trip to Lowe's to buy some decent wood. I just don't think pallet boards are going to go the trick. Here's a quick video

Still not quite right, but now waiting for the bottom to dry. Bottom is oak.

Either way this will work for what I want it to do.

This is a really cool project, but how heavy is that crate going to be empty? That alone may lead to a "back to the drawing board" on this. Granted, I made the mistake of moving my LPs in huge plastic totes, forgetting completely that vinyl is @#$#ing heavy. I mean, these things were beastly with two people lifting them... So I'm speaking from a position of some knowledge (though, fortunately no lasting injury other than the mental scars).

Not real heavy at all but the oak on the bottom added some weight. Here it is done!



Same crate, different album in front.


Will do another one before the week is over.

Very fetching as a finished piece. Nice work.

Thanks my wife was happy, although she reminded me that making crates doesn't result in obtaining someone else's record collection again and having the stuff all over the place

raining again today, will try to make one tomorrow.

very cool. I need to do the same. I was at FYE today. They were selling a crate that you put together for $30. It held 100 records. I didnt get it cause i'm waiting to find one of those plastic crates. I have a bunch of crates but not the right size.

Runicen wrote:

This is a really cool project, but how heavy is that crate going to be empty?  That alone may lead to a "back to the drawing board" on this.  Granted, I made the mistake of moving my LPs in huge plastic totes, forgetting completely that vinyl is @#$#ing heavy.  I mean, these things were beastly with two people lifting them...  So I'm speaking from a position of some knowledge (though, fortunately no lasting injury other than the mental scars).

I just tried to lift it and it is extremely heavy when full. Luckily, I won't be moving it any time soon and if I do I can carry it across the room but not much further. Will try another one today or tomorrow.

add wheels

And an engine. Maybe a little propellor too. Then put googly eyes on the front and you've just created a franchise.

Ok Mike, after seeing your post you had me looking for pallets to make a crate for my records haha. I have a few pallets in my back yard but they had bricks on them so they were all pretty much shot and grey from being outside. While I was working someone on my route was throwing out a really clean pallet. I thought about it and actually passed it up cause I felt funny taking it but then on my way back I said screw it and threw it in my postal truck haha. I couldn't wait to get home and start working. I thought maybe an hour tops to do the whole thing but I didn't take in account of actually taking the pallet apart and then pulling out all of the nails lol. That was probably the longest part. After I got all that done I just measured a record and then stacked all my records up and measured to get a rough idea how long I'd need to make it with enough room to add more. Once I got all that done it went pretty quick. Still took me 3 1/2 hours or so to get it all put together. It took me a while to figure out what to do for the bottom. I was thinking of something like you did just a flat piece of wood but all the wood I had left from other projects were too short. Once I finally figured out what to do I finished it up rather quickly.

The next day I got sandpaper but didn't have time to sand it til yesturday so I got up early in the morning and sanded it all down. I was going to stain it but then that would be another day I'd have to wait to get it done so I decided to just sand it just so it wasn't so rough and then spray it with polyurethane. I had a few cans laying around so I sprayed it and sanded it a few times. I had to buy 2 cans cause I wanted it to shine a little more and finished it up. All the wood I used was from the pallet. I had black screws already so between the sandpaper and 2 cans of varnish I spent around $12.

I think it came out pretty good. Like you I'm not too good at doing these sort of projects but I do have some knowledge of how and what to do. I have done a few minor things here or there. Thankfully my brother left his table saw at my house haha. I did have some splitting problems which was my fault cause I wanted to see what would happen if I didn't drill holes first haha. Ok I was being lazy but it split so I just drilled holes before I put the screws in. otherwise it came out pretty decent. All the imperfections gives it character haha. Ok enough talking. Thanks for the inspiration! haha

Heres some pictures.

Wow, is this the latest thing now?

Ikea is going to go broke!

Nice, PRD. How smooth were you able to get the thing between the varnish and sanding?

Very cool! I think I like yours better than mine. I did make another one and the second one took no time at all. In fact, I spent more time taking the pallet apart than building another crate. Cheap pallets can be a problem because when you start pulling boars they split and nails break. But I was able to make another but I haven't gotten around to sanding it down. Luckily I have an electric sander so I can be done with it in no time (might work on it this weekend).

As for the bottom I didn't want to use boards from the pallet because that wood is so thin and bends very easy. So for the bottom I bought a piece of oak and had Lowe's cut it for me. I used that as the bottom of the first one. The left over piece wasn't as wide but I was able to use it as the bottom of the second one.

The second one I made is a little more level but I still have some jagged edges and un-straight cuts. A "sawzall" is all I have and while it will cut the crap outta wood, it isn't worth much if you need straight cuts.

Runicen wrote:

Nice, PRD.  How smooth were you able to get the thing between the varnish and sanding?

I got it fairly smooth. I used 100 grit sandpaper and used a machine to smooth the wood out first. If I wanted it smoother I should have gotten a rougher sandpaper probably 80 that would have really took some of the rougher spots away but I was happy enough with what the 100 grit did. I also could have took a lesser grit to smooth it out a little better but again it was good enough. I figured once I started with the varnish it would help smooth it out too. between each coat I just took the back of the sandpaper and sanded it with that. there are some rough spots but nothing thats will poke you or cut you. definitely a lot smoother than it was. I wasn't going to go too crazy about it cause it just holds records. I think the 5 cans of varnish I used was a lot but it looked good. Oh I also used a Glossy varnish.

mikeinfla wrote:

Very cool! I think I like yours better than mine. I did make another one and the second one took no time at all. In fact, I spent more time taking the pallet apart than building another crate. Cheap pallets can be a problem because when you start pulling board they split and nails break. But I was able to make another but I haven't gotten around to sanding it down. Luckily I have an electric sander so I can be done with it in no time (might work on it this weekend).

As for the bottom I didn't want to use boards from the pallet because that wood is so then and bends very easy. So for the bottom I bought a piece of oak and had Lowe's cut it for me. I used that as the bottom of the first one. The left over piece wasn't as wide but I was able to use it as the bottom of the second one.

The second one I made is a little more level but I still have some jagged edges and un-straight cuts. A "sawzall" is all I have and while it will cut the crap outta wood, it isn't worth much if you need straight cuts.

Oh man, you used a sawzall to do the whole thing? HAHAHA! You were probably better off doing it by hand. Did you clamp the wood onto something to cut it? Those things jerk around a lot. I would have probably never made mine if I didn't have the table saw.

Believe it or not that wood from the pallet isn't that thin. I thought the same thing too but after putting it all together it had some weight to it and was pretty strong. I screwed the boards to all the sides and also along the edges. The only one I couldn't do that with is obviously the middle one, but really its a lot sturdier than you think. You could also brace them with putting another two boards going across just remember to use smaller screws. Did you use screws or nails?

Oh and your right about taking the pallet apart. it was actually a lot of work haha.

Yeah I used a sawzall on the whole thing!! Turned out ok I jut made sure all the uneven parts face up. To cut them I just stacked them on other pallets and held on tight! No clamp either! When I say I'm not very mechanical I mean it! I used decking screws so much better than nails but I didn't know about the "drill a hole first" tip before it was too late. So I do have some splitting boards but, hey, it was free wood and we have an endless supply of them at work. I kid you not we probably throw away over 1000 pallets a week.