DIY Industrial Table With Storage Made From a Shipping Crate

Tools and Materials

• Large shipping crate
• Lumber (this is to line the box but won’t be seen, the size and wood type here is up to you)
• Tape measure
• Miter saw
• Table saw
• Aromatic cedar
• Wood glue
• Nail gun
• Nails
• Hand planer
• Hinges
• Hydraulic hinge
• Clasp
• Pin legs

I wanted to make sure that the box was properly sealed from the inside, as I was planning on using it for storage. I started by lining it with pine. The pieces don’t have to line up perfectly here, but don’t leave two much space between the pieces of pine. 

I measured the box and cut the pine to size. 

I glued and nailed each piece into place until I had fully lined the box. Don’t forget to line up the sides as well.

Then I added another layer using aromatic cedar floor planks. Aromatic cedar is great for products that will be inside, away from the elements. This wood is great for storing fabric material, which served my purpose well as I was planning on storing blankets in it once I finished it. As these were floor planks, they had tongue and groove cut into their sides already, making it easy to slide them together to fit snugly. 

As with the pine, I glued and nailed each piece in place until I had fully lined the box. With the cedar I wanted a more airtight lining, so I made sure that the pieces I had to cut for the corners sat snugly up against the corner. 

I had just added two layers of wood inside the box, and now the top edges of the box were no longer even, so I had to plane. Using a hand planer I planed the entire top edge of the box. This part can feel a bit tedious but it’s important if you want the lid to sit properly on the box. 

I added a hinge all along the top of the box. This would make it easy for me to open and close the box without needing to exert myself too much.

Then I added a hydraulic hinge to each side so I wouldn’t have to worry about the lid collapsing on me when I was pulling something out of the box. If you don’t have these that’s fine, you’ll just have to hold the lid up yourself whenever you want to get something from the box.

For extra security I added a few clasps to the box. This made it easy to keep it tightly closed, even if the items in it were pushing up against the top a bit, as often happens with blankets. 

I wanted to stick to the more industrial look that the markings on the box led to the table, so I decided to go with metal pin legs. These are easy to find and really add to the overall look of the piece. I screwed one onto each corner of the bottom of the box and voila, I had created a table!

I love being able to take something that would normally be thrown in the trash heap and turning it into something new and useful! What have you upcycled lately? Let me know in the comments below.