Jeep(ish) weekend project

[JPAloha]

My wife is a nurse at a seniors home so we’re taking precautions & I’m working from home to reduce the risk of bringing something home from work that she could take into hers.....

The result of this is my JLR sitting in the garage and not going anywhere. I’ve installed the couple of things I had waiting to go on and am still waiting for one other item to arrive....so what Jeepey things can I do??

Well we happened to have a couple of lift kit crates lying around - the first one was dismantled, sanded down, stained, reassembled and strengthened - the result looks a bit like this....

It’s final use is intended to become a table with an oversized glass top - just deciding on long legs and using our bar stools or short legs and finding some chairs / a bench seat we like.....

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[Jmonroe]

Lookin' good so far

 

[JPAloha]

Lookin' good so far

Thanks - I think I’m also going to make one of the sides fold down and put a wine rack and glass holder on the inside, be a shame to waste all that storage space. Then I have to do something with the JL lift crate - i have more of the same color stain, I think adding a shelf part way up the inside, having the front panel open and using it to store detailing supplies and spare fluids in the garage might be the plan.

 

[sf5211]

I personally like it except there’s one problem.....the wife. Lol.
I bought one of those Fat Head wall stickers of a football player and put it on the living room wall while she wasn’t home.
She walked in and said “No way” Hahahaha I had to rehang it in my office.

 

[The Fixer]

@BikiniJLR that's a great idea! Looks fantastic so far.

 

[JPAloha]

I personally like it except there’s one problem.....the wife. Lol.
I bought one of those Fat Head wall stickers of a football player and put it on the living room wall while she wasn’t home.
She walked in and said “No way” Hahahaha I had to rehang it in my office.

We already had the JL crate and when I told her my idea to make it into a cabinet for the garage she got into the idea and wanted it to come into the house - the same day we found someone selling the JK crate for $10 and brought that home. Originally it was just going to be used as something for her to put her plants on but it’s a tad too big for that space and we got into the table idea. Once we find some glass for it we’ll decide what height it should be.

 

[JPAloha]

@BikiniJLR that's a great idea! Looks fantastic so far.

Thanks - we’re looking for a glass top on marketplace and trying to find legs that will suit it.

 

[Jeepney Johnny]

Nice "up-cycling" job, looks great! Seems like it'd make for a nice storage table with all that interior space. To me, it looks like a bar table you stand to use rather than a sit-to-use table.

I've got an island in my kitchen, and there's only one side that accommodates bar stools and sitting; The sides that don't have a cut-out space for legs aren't comfy to use if you want to sit and eat there, the person sits too far from the table, or has to sit sideways.

A custom-cut tempered glass top with finished edges isn't expensive from a window shop (at least it wasn't when I ordered one 20-years-ago). I look forward to seeing the finished project with legs.

 

[The Fixer]

We already had the JL crate and when I told her my idea to make it into a cabinet for the garage she got into the idea and wanted it to come into the house - the same day we found someone selling the JK crate for $10 and brought that home. Originally it was just going to be used as something for her to put her plants on but it’s a tad too big for that space and we got into the table idea. Once we find some glass for it we’ll decide what height it should be.

Another option (not sure if you considered it or not) would be to put some legs or maybe build a base out of 4x4's and seal the top with bar-top resin so you wouldn't need the glass.

 

[JPAloha]

Nice "up-cycling" job, looks great! Seems like it'd make for a nice storage table with all that interior space. To me, it looks like a bar table you stand to use rather than a sit-to-use table.

I've got an island in my kitchen, and there's only one side that accommodates bar stools and sitting; The sides that don't have a cut-out space for legs aren't comfy to use if you want to sit and eat there, the person sits too far from the table, or has to sit sideways.

A custom-cut tempered glass top with finished edges isn't expensive from a window shop (at least it wasn't when I ordered one 20-years-ago). I look forward to seeing the finished project with legs.

Another option (not sure if you considered it or not) would be to put some legs or maybe build a base out of 4x4's and seal the top with bar-top resin so you wouldn't need the glass.

The glass top will be oversized so there’s room to put your knees underneath it. If we can’t find a suitable piece of glass that will otherwise end up in the landfill or gathering dust in someone else’s garage we’ll seek out local glass shops to have something made specifically for it.

We’ve considered the 4x2 legs as they’d fit the blocky nature of the crate - there are 4x2 blocks on each corner at the moment.

 

[The Fixer]

@BikiniJLR I realize you're in Canada, but can you tell me what product(s) you used to stain the crate? Was it a stain/polyurethane blend, or two step process?

I was so inspired by your project that I found a crate on Craigslist and picked it up yesterday! Going to turn mine into some sort of entertainment storage cabinet.

 

[cosine]

i like the idea and its looking good. i might have to look for one and make it into a end table with storage. thanks for posting up the idea / project.

 

[JPAloha]

@BikiniJLR I realize you're in Canada, but can you tell me what product(s) you used to stain the crate? Was it a stain/polyurethane blend, or two step process?

I was so inspired by your project that I found a crate on Craigslist and picked it up yesterday! Going to turn mine into some sort of entertainment storage cabinet.

I think we have the same products - the main stain used is here. I used a gel stain in espresso for the base but won’t use a gel again - it has taken forever to dry out properly and stop stinking the house out.

 

[The Fixer]

I think we have the same products - the main stain used is here. I used a gel stain in espresso for the base but won’t use a gel again - it has taken forever to dry out properly and stop stinking the house out.

Yes, that's the same product then, thanks for sharing! I used Minwax's version of the stain/poly one-step product on my stairs and some shelves a few summers ago and it's holding up well, but the color I have on hand is way too dark for this project. Home Depot recently switched over to Varathane so I'm glad it worked out well for you. I will probably pick up the supplies this week and get to my design. And thanks for the tip about the gel stain, I'll stay away from that LOL!

One last question - any issues with the poly adhering to the painted on Jeep logos? Sorry for all the questions, but I want to get this right the first time and not make a mess out of this awesome crate!

 

[Indio]

I think we have the same products - the main stain used is here. I used a gel stain in espresso for the base but won’t use a gel again - it has taken forever to dry out properly and stop stinking the house out.

Project looks nice. I haven't tried the all-in-one stain/poly combo. Out of habit I've always first stained, and then top coated with the clear poly. You are happy with the results of the one-step? Seems like a time saver, maybe I should give the one-step a try.

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