Solid wood crates are incredibly useful to keep around the home and the shop. In this situation I'm making them to organize my pantry, and I wanted to create something that could hold all the loose bags of food that needs a home. Using solid fronts and slats for the sides and the bottom, they are very sturdy, yet nice looking and feature a label made with chalk paint on the front. There's a complete build video of the pantry makeover including the creation of these crates that feature more detail.

Step 1: Mill Up the Wood

For this build, I decided to use oak because it's what I had on hand, however any wood would work. The first step was milling up the wood by resawing, planing and cutting up slats and bigger solid pieces for the sides.

Step 2: Cutting Out Handles

To make it easier to grab the crates, adding a rounded section in the front and the back. Using a paint can to trace out a half circle and then taping several pieces together and cutting it out on the bandsaw. Finally routing a round edge all around the pieces to remove any sharp edges.

Step 3: Assembly

To assemble the crates together, using glue and a pin nailer. It's ueful to hold one of the sides upright with a clamp. Once you have a couple of pieces in, it's pretty quick and easy to assemble.

Step 4: Corner Brackets

To provide extra strength, adding a couple of 45 degree corner brackets that are glued and pin nailed in. This adds a lot of reinforcements all around and stiffens up the crates.

Step 5: Chalk Label

To add a label, simply cutting out a piece of stiff paper and then spraying chalk paint on to the wooden crate. It's nice to be able to write what the crate contains, plus with chalk you can easily change it when needed.