Fruit/Vegetable Crate Out of 2"X3" Lumber (16" Long)

How to build a fruit/vegetable crate out of one 16" piece of 2x3 lumber (stud).

Tools/Materials:
-16" piece of 2x3
-Handsaw
-Table saw/circular saw
-Measuring tape
-Hot glue gun
-Nails (optional)

Step 1: Measuring and Cutting

Take a 16" 2x3 stud (actual dim 1.5" x 2.5") and mark it as per the drawing below.

16" length cut to 2ea 8" lengths.
8" pieces get cut along the width at 1/4" thick (total 16  ea @ 8" x 1-1/2" x 1/4").
You should be able to cut out 20 pieces at the above mentioned dim with the two 8" pieces.
Take one of the 8" x 1-1/2" x 1/4" and cut it into 4ea - 5" x 1/4" x 1/4".

Step 2: Gluing It All Together

Using a hot glue gun I glued two pieces together to make a 90degree corner.

I made a simple jig, shown in the pictures below. The second picture below shows how it was used to ensure a perfect square corner. I kept one piece in the jig and applied hot glue to the piece that made the inside corner and then slid it in to join the two pieces - I continued this step to make 6 corners.

Once the corners we glued and secure I connected two corners to make a frame - repeat this step to make 3 frames.

I took one of the frames and glued 4 strips to it to make the base of the crate.

Once the base is secure, install the 5" x 1/4" x 1/4" to the four inside corners of the crate. After the for vertical strips are secure, place 4 1/4" shims on the bottom frame and drop the first square frame on and glue it in place. After this first frame is secure repeat the step above for the last frame.

These crates are used to store light weight stuff - fruit/ veggies/ vitamin bottles, etc so I don't generally use nails in the build, the hot glue takes care of securing the pieces in place.

Sanding, staining and clear coating is an optional step, but in this case I prefer the raw look of the wood.

Enjoy and happy building.