Wood Burned Bread Box/ Storage Box From Reclaimed Pallet Wood

This bread box is a project that I thought my house needed because we usually have to stack our bread on top of a couple of cereal boxes to keep the bread from sweating and becoming soggy. The bread box is made of a wooden shipping crate that my dad brought home from work several years ago. Although mine is made of reclaimed pallet wood it can also be made using a 1"x12"x12'. You do not need a 12-foot long board but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Building Material:

• 1x 6'x2'x3' shipping crate or a 1"x12"x12' board
• 1x Pair of Rustic Cabinet Hinges
• 1x Door Catch Magnet
• 3D Printed Parts for Door Handle or Rustic door handle
• 1x 1 1/4in Dowel or Simular Sized Stick (Only if using the 3D printed parts)
• 4x 1/4in screws (got mine out of an old picture frame)
• 1 foot of 16 gauge wire(Got mine out of an old vacuum cleaner cable)
• Crimp-on Connectors
• 4x 1 1/14in Wire Nails(Only if you are using the 3D Printed parts)
• 4x 1in Wood Screws(optional)
• 2 feet of 3/4"x1/8" Aluminum Bar(optional)
• 4x 1 1/4in Wood Screws(Only if you are using the 3D Printed parts)
• Wood Filler and Plastic Putty Knife
• Minwax Polyurethane Clear Coat(I used semi-gloss)
• Foam Brushes or Terry Towles
• About 25 5/16in precut dowels
• A bottle of Wood Glue

MOST MATERIAL CAN BE SOURCED FROM A HOMEDEPOT OR A HARDWARE STORE OF YOUR CHOICE AND WILL MOST LIKELY BE CHEAPER THAN BUYING IT ONLINE!

Tools needed:

• Drill
• Drill Bits
• Screw Drivers
• Circular saw at least(I used a table saw and a miter saw)
• Some Sort of Straight Edge
• Brad or Pin Nailer
• Sanding Supplies
• If using pallet wood you will need a Planer and a Jointer
• Square
• Tape measure
• At least 3x 12in clamps(if using pallet wood)
• Band Clamp or Ratchet Strap
• Hack Saw
• Wire Crimping and Cutting Tools.
• Drill Press If Desired

I First started by sanding down all of the pieces of wood that I got from the old pallet with some 80 grit sandpaper until I got what I thought would be good enough. The wood was in such rough shape that it took about 4 hours to get all of them to a workable condition. If you have a jointer and a planer now would be a good time to use them but I thought I could get away without using one.

• Cut List 1:
• 1x 16 15/16" x 8 15/16" (Bottom)
• 2x 11 7/8" x 9 1/4" (Sides)
• 1x 16 15/16" x 11" (Back)
• 1x 5 1/4" x 16 15/16 (Top)

ALL MATERIAL IS 3/4" THICK UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED!!!!

When cutting it is a good idea to make them about 1/4in longer than what it is supposed to be and remember to measure twice and cut once. I don't know how many times I messed up. Also if you are going to use pallet wood then you need to make sure that the size of the pieces that you are using adds up to the proper size. You will soon see why I say to make sure you are measuring things properly.

• Cut list 2:
• 1x 12" x 1"
• 1x 12" x 12" x 1/4"

I used some scrap wood to build this. First I found the center of the 1in wide piece of wood and marked a line all the way around it. Then proceeded to drill a 5/16in hole through the piece of wood. If you are going to use a hand drill make sure the drill is square to the piece of wood at all times. I then used a pin nailer to attach the 2 pieces together. This jig will most likely not last to do any other projects though.

When I marked the holes on the pieces of wood I made sure to alternate the wood grain to keep it from warping as much over time. I then made sure the pieces were square with each other and marked the lines on both pieces at once.

I then grabbed my drill and got to work. I used the same 5/16in drill bit and set my stop so it would go a little deeper than 1/2 the length of the pre-cut dowel. You can also put a piece of tape around the drill bit so you know when to stop it. I clamped down the material and the jig so they wouldn't move. I drilled 3 holes in the longer pieces and 2 in the smaller pieces.

I sanded all the way down to 120 grit on this pass because I wanted the pieces to bond together well and just to remove any burs that a saw might have made.

In the first picture, I accidentally cut something too short and had to glue it back on and use some pin nails to hold it together. Then I layed everything out so I could glue everything up and get pressure on them as fast as I could. I applied a little more glue than I needed though. And yes I used old car batteries to weigh it down because it started to bow in the middle, but you gotta use what is available.

Once everything is dry you can unclamp it and take it to the planer. I do not own one myself but my high school AG department had one and they kindly let me borrow it. I wasn't able to take many pictures of this step though because I was in school. You can just use a sander to do all of this flattening but it will take a long time. After you do all of this you can go back and cut off any of the extra material before test fitting.

I then cut them down to make them all the proper size. I set up all of the pieces on a flat surface and then clamped them together with a ratchet strap. I soon figured out that everything wasn't as square as I thought it was so I had to make a few adjustments. This is why all of the measurements are so odd. Also, make sure the base of the box is 1in from the bottom so there can be some airflow because mine is being set on top of a toaster oven, and the vents are on top of the oven. This also helps to keep the bread from sweating as much.

I made a diagram to show you how to find the angle. I first just tried to eyeball it but the sides were not the same. And when I cut them I lined them up on top of each other and then cut them at the same time so they would be equal. To find the angle you take the inverse tangent of A divided by B. And make sure the calculator is reading in degrees and not radians. If you look at the diagram it should explain everything. Then test fit everything again.

• Cut List:
• 1x 18 1/2" x 2"
• 1x 18 1/2" x Approximately 10"( measured mine at about 12in to have plenty to cut off in the next step)

Cut the bigger piece out, drilled the dowel holes, sand it with 120 grit, and glue it together if you are using pallet wood. I then took these pieces back to my school to plane them, then sanded them with 80 grit.

With the rest of the box clamped together tightly set the 2 pieces on it and make sure all of these are lined up. I then set my square on the small flat portion and marked a line on the door itself. I then took it to the table saw and cut the angle so they would be flush. (mine was about 22 degrees) I did the same for the top but when you do this please make sure you are cutting these on the correct side.

Clamp everything together and make sure everything is lined up and the base is 1in from the very bottom. Then use your nail gun to attach the sides, back, base, top, and the 2in piece onto the front lining the bottom of the 2in piece up with the base. DO NOT NAIL THE DOOR ONTO IT!!! I almost made this mistake.

I first started off by wiping everything off with a dry paper towel then I masked off one of the major holes I had in the top with some masking tape. I began filling everything up with the wood filler. After this, I sanded everything down with 120 grit and I had to do some by hand because I couldn't get in the corners.

• Cut List:
• 1x 18 15/16" x 5 1/2"

I cut and sanded this down to 120 grit.

I laid everything out in a place that didn't have many flammable things around. Then started on the back of the box so I could get a feel for it. When you are doing this you are going to have to keep your arm parallel to the wood and move your arm back and forth without twisting your wrist too much. The back of mine is not ever going to be seen so I didn't sand all of the glue off and didn't care if I messed up when burning it, this is why I burnt it first.

I sanded everything down with 120 grit until I got a color that I liked.

I centered this by taking the height of the inside of the box then dividing it by 2. Then I found the thickness of the wood and divided it by 2. I took 1/2 the height of the box and subtracted 1/2 the thickness of the wood to find where I needed to put the shelf in the box. I measured the length that I found from the bottom of the inside of the box and marked a line. This was the line I lined it up with then nailed it in place.

I used a piece of scrap wood and screwed a stick that I had sanded the bark off of onto it. I then used a miter saw to cut the stick at about 8in long. You can also use a 1 1/4in dowel with the 3D printed parts.

I used a couple of foam brushes to apply this finish. I had to apply about 3 coats to get it where I wanted it. You need to do the same for the wooden handle (if using the 3D printed parts) but I forgot to include it in the picture. I would also recommend lifting these off the ground with some small pieces of scrap wood so they will not stick to whatever you are doing this on, in my case cardboard.

I cut these to the length of each side because somehow both sides were a little different. I clamped them in a vise and cut them with a hack saw. Then I drilled and countersunk holes 1 1/2 inches in from each side. I predrilled holes in the wood and used 1in wood screws to attach it. I put these on the bottom because I needed a barrier between the oven and the wood, also the base was a little wobbly so this helped keep it from wobbling.

I first took and lined up the stick inside the printed pieces. I then predrilled the holes for the 1 1/4in nails and hammered them into place. I repeated this step for both sides. I then lined this up on the door and drilled and countersunk the holes for it. I used the 1 1/14in screws to attach the handle to the door from the backside.

I measured 1 1/2 inches in from both sides to make the first hole, then I folded the hinge over the top of the piece of wood to make sure it was square. I predrilled the holes and screwed the hinges in place then squared up the door and attached it in the same way, predrilling then attaching the screws.

I placed mine in the top left corner and tried to predrill but soon found out that it wouldn't work so I had to attach it with a screwdriver, and luckily this one is adjustable and I was able to put it at a slight angle to make the magnetic pull not as strong.

I cut 2 pieces of 16 gauge wire to 6in. Then I added the crimp on connectors in an opposite direction for both sides of the wire so it would match up with the angle of the box sidewall and the door. So, when you attach them put one connecter down flat and crimp it on then for the other side of the wire rotate the connecter 90 degrees clockwise for the left side and counter-clockwise for the right side. Then attach it to the sidewall and the door making sure both wires are tight when they hold open the door.

Now you are finished, before you go putting food in it wipe it down with a Clorox wipe and let it air out for about a month. I learned the hard way on that one because I put bread in it the first day it was dry and then forgot to take it out so the whole loaf of bread tasted like polyurethane.