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Utility Tray for the Trunk
Overview
On YouTube, several of the channels I follow were having a ‘Scrap Bin Challenge.’ This got me thinking, as I was had a shop day scheduled in which I didn’t really have a concrete project to work on. Oh, sure, could have worked on a few of the in progress things but I wanted something that would be done in a day. What could I make with the wood and hardware I had on hand? Well, I had been eying a trunk organizer so things wouldn’t roll around.
These are often over $40 for a well constructed one.
Trunk organizers start at $20 and the decent ones are probably closer to $40. Those tend to be a bit overkill, though. I need something more like a fruit crate. Just something to keep things from moving about the trunk area. I do have that left over 1x2 stock from my work frame project. (Which I should probably post as well) Hrm… I think I have an idea.
A fruit crate that was the idea inspiration for this project.
A crate-like organizer, roughly a foot in width by two feet in length. Open slats to reduce weight and some sort of tie-down anchors so I can secured it to the anchors in the Outback. Not only does this idea work well as a scrap bin project, since everything is made of pine and not intended for fine woodworking - finishing will be a snap.
Supplies
- Consumables
- 1x2 Stock
- Pine Board
- Cargo Tie-Down Anchors
- Equipment
- Miter Saw
- Planer
- Drill/Driver
- Measuring Tape
- Wrench
- Nail Gun
{“component”=>{“name”=>”Lap Desk”, “part”=>{“name”=>”back”, “thickness”=>”1/2”, “width”=>”2 5/8”, “length”=>”15”, “material”=>”Pine”, “quantity”=>1, “oversize”=>true}}, “supplies”=>[“double-face tape”, “1/8" brass rod”, “#8 brass flat washers (2)”, “3" wire pull”], “equipment”=>[“3/8" and 1" forstner bits”, “1/8" round-over router bit”]}
Details
- Brainstorm trunk space
- Include empty trunk picture
Slat Stock Prep
The 1x2 lumber was in pretty rough shape.
The long slats are going to be made with planed down leftover lumber from the finishing rack. The 1x2 stock is rather rough and knotty, even for construction grade material. First steps first, clean the stock up and see how many good long pieces are available.
When it comes to SPF construction lumber for projects, I like to buy at least 50% extra from what I think the project will need. This is due to the poor quality and the age of the lumber. As you cut and mill it down to the final dimensions, you expose surfaces that haven’t quite dried as thoroughly as they be. As the moisture leaves from a new direction, the lumber twists and cups on you. If you get a piece that has a crazy grain direction, removing the support will allow the piece to twist on you as well. Hopefully, one of these days, I can store enough wood that I can let it season longer and not buy wood specifically for projects.
The 1x2's had one face flattened to create an outside rounded edge while the inside is crisp.
I decided to plane off one of the faces until the edges were square with that particular face. I decided that I would like the inside of the tray to be as smooth and planar as possible. The outside of the tray should be left rounded over to be ‘softer’ against the surfaces it rides on. Having a flat surface on the inside also allows for a good glue contact area on the end pieces. It also thins the boards down a bit which is a bit more pleasing to the eye.
The slats have been cut out of the 8' lengths to roughly 24". Working around the knots, there was a pile of non-useable pieces. (well, for making slats)
After everything was planed down to roughly 1/2” thick, I determined where the weak spots in the stock were and cut those sections out being mindful that I was needing the overall length of the slats to be 24”. After cutting everything down, I had enough good slats to work with plus a few marginal slats that might be useful. I was surprised at how many usable slats I was able to cut but I still ended with fewer than what the math said my yield should be. Luckily, it’s cheap enough to buy 1x2’s in bundles and use as needed.
Layout of the Trunk Tray
Since I was able to get 13 slats from the 1x2 stock, I played around with a few arrangements to determine my width and height of the trunk organizer.