Dog Feeder With Storage for Dog Food

This is a dog feeder i made for two dogs with pallets I had in my shed.
The special thing about this dog feeder is that the top opens to store the food and opens in a way that water is not spilled when opening.

Material I used for this project is:
- pallets
- planer/thicknesser
- router
- glue
- scrollsaw
- some paint and varnish

Step 1: Dismantle Pallets

For this step, I have no pictures but one important thing about pallets is that it is absolutely necessary to use pallets that are marked HT meaning that they were treated with high temperature and can be safely used for projects involving food. Never use pallets that were painted red or blue because they were treated with chemicals and are not even to be used to put in a stove for heating.

Step 2: Make the Pannels for the Box

After planing all the pallet planks to the same thickness, i glued them together in several pannels.

Step 3: Making the Box Frame

I cut the panels to the right size and glue them together using box joints because I don't like using screws when the craft is to be used by animals and box joints are the best solution because there is a large contact area for the glue.

the box joints are made with a router installed under the table and a box joint jig I have made myself

Step 4: Glue Bottom and Top

To glue the top I first glued a band of wood that is a bit higher than the top of the box to get a rabbet to glue the top.

I did the same at the bottom.

In the top panel, I made three round holes for the food bowls. the holes are made with a router on a home made compass to make sure the circles are perfect.

Step 5: Names...

the names of the dogs and silhouettes are made on the scroll-saw and will be glued on the box after being painted.

Step 6: The Opening Lift

To make the top opening, I put the box on my table saw and make a cut at 4 centimeters from the top not going through the whole thickness of the panels to avoid pinching the blade and having as result a catastrophe.

I use my hand saw to do the cut and my hand plane to smooth out the edges.

The lift is made with wood scraps based on coffee table lifts.

Step 7: Finishing

for finishing, the interior of the box is covered with 5 coats of varnish suitable for food usage.

the dog silhouettes and letters are painted and three coats of varnish are applied on the complete box.

I apply the varnish also on the letters and the silhouettes to avoid contact between the dogs and the paint.