Design decisions:
- Should be wooden and solid
- Should serve more than the purpose of keeping the dog in and double as an end table
- Should not be an eye sore in the house
- Should be large enough for the dog to go in turn around and come back
- Should have proper ventilation
- Should take maximum use of existing dimensions for raw material
- Should not cost fortunes!
Material:
- 1 sheet of 4ft x 8ft, ½ inch thick Plywood
- 3 lengths of 1.5 inch x 1.5 inch x 8ft lumber
- Small pack of ¾ inch wood screws
- Small pack of 1.5 inch wood screws
- 8 90 degree metal framing angles
- ½ qt latex based wood primer
- 1 qt wood paint
- 2 Brass hinges – 270 degree
- 1 lock
- 1.5” brush and 6” roller
Design:
Steps:
So, here is how I got on with it.
All big cuts of wood were done at the store itself. Home Depot
cuts everything for free, and Lowes would make up to 3 cuts for free and charge
a small amount for each cut. I got my lumber from Home Depot and the plywood
and lengths of wood were cut to my exact measurements. It helps a lot to get
clean 90 degree cuts and most importantly it is so easy to transport.
The frame was done using the 1.5”x1.5” bars. I could have
used two more bars on the top, but I did not want to buy more lumber, and anyway
the plywood was going to give it the required support at the end. I used 90
degree angles with the ¾ inch screws to make sure I get all angles right and to
have a solid fit. The angles for the vertical bars would have been a better fit
if they were fixed on the outside, but I did it from the inside to make sure
the plywood sticks on to a flat frame without any obstacles.
Once the frame was done, the floor board was put in place. I
had to cut off a 1” strip as I was laying on the inside as shown in the design, and also four cuts were
made on the 4 corners to give way to the four vertical bars of the frame.
Then the plywood pieces for the side (2’x3’) and rear were attached
(2’x2’). All wood panels were sanded to make sure there are no rough edges left
out.
After this, 2 coats of wood primer was painted inside and
outside. It was important to do this at once coz the primer tends to warp the
plywood a bit when applied only on one side. The painting task was taken on by
my lovely wife and she did the primer and paint at the end.
Once this dried, I put on the roof part of the crate
which we wanted to double as the top surface of an end table. According to the
design and limitations of the size of pieces, I wanted about 1” length added to
the roof. I used a piece from what I cut off from the floor board and stuck it
on the 2 ft end of the panel using some wood glue. Since we wanted a wooden
finish, a couple of coats of wood stain was used on both sides of the 2’x3’
plywood. Once it dried up after few hours, it was screwed in on the top, leaving
the right amount of space on the front to flush fit just right when the door is
closed.
Next primer was applied on the door panel. The hinges were
attached to the panel in the 270 degree fully open position, and then the unit
was attached to the rest of the crate in a way that when the door fully opens,
it overlaps with the side.
Now the basic structure was done. Now it was time to cut the
vents. I didn’t like the traditional strip based design. So I wanted to drill
large holes in a pattern, and I also wanted the pattern to remain when I opened
the door as well. After a little
thought, we settled on a 3x3 hole grid for the door and overlapping sides, and
another 9 holes around – 6 on the sides and 3 at the back. A 2.5 inch hole saw
bit was used to drill the holes, which ended up very nicely. Point to note when
drilling holes in plywood is that if you go only on one side, there is the risk
of chipping on the other side. Therefore it is best you start drilling on one
side, and half way down switch sides and drill the other half from the other
side. You can easily do this because the guide bit drills the center hole, and
you just need to come on the other side along that. It was wise to attach the
door and then drill it, so that the overlaps for the holes on the door and
sides happen very precisely.
Once the holes were cut, all the rough edges were sanded. This is a lot easier if you had a rotary grinding bit. I didn’t have
it, and resorted to using sand paper with my hands. I don’t think I sanded
enough anyway.
After all soothing was done, paint was applied – with a
brush for the nooks and crannies and inside the holes, and with a roller on all
other flat parts.
Mission accomplished!
From day 1 Arthur loved the crate, and all ended well. The
whole project cost around 80 bucks for the raw material, paint etc with a
couple of coupons added, and I had invested in most tools already.
Next Steps:
- Planning to use some of the disks I got when cutting holes and use them as legs so that the door opens and closes easily, plus it will be good to ventilate the underside of the crate.
- Patch up the paint in few places where it has not got applied properly.
- Some areas look a little too rough to my liking. I will sand them down a bit more and paint once I get a proper sander.
- Maybe I will add 4 castor wheels to give it some mobility - maybe.
- Add bluetooth... Nah! I am kidding! :)
