On a recent visit to our local grocery store, we discovered a rustic looking soda pop box. We both examined it and without saying a word, we both thought, "we can make that and make it even better." The price tag on the box was $129. WHEW... that's a lot of money for a poorly made box.
Well.... we talked about it on our way home and knew we already had some of the materials that we would want included in ours. Wayne has an excellent eye for spotting things along the highway and had previously found a bundle of styrofoam (normally used for insulating ). Our son, whose in the sheet metal union, had given us two 3'x4' sheets of galvanized sheet metal. We had some scrap lumber to build the internal frame....all we needed was the Redwood lumber for the outside finished product plus a hinge and something to use as handles.
We jumped on starting the project quickly...first visiting the local Lowe's to get the Redwood lumber and other hardware. This project actually took 3 weekends because, after all, he does have to work. He started by building the very bottom, making it 4 inches thick, this included the insulation and tin. He next build the frame, which included the legs. He then added the Redwood sides and completed the bottom portion by adding more insulation to all four sides. He then covered the inside with tin and used silicone caulk to seal the seams. The last major portion of building was the lid, which included a 1 inch thick plug that would seal the top.
When it came to adding the handles, we quickly decided we had bought the wrong style. We ended up going to the local feed store and purchased some horseshoes for the end and top handles. Of course, we had to have one "pony" shoe for decorating the front. We added a few rustic metal stars and all we're lacking at this point is an authentic "Coca Cola" wall mount bottle opener, which we are looking for.
We have a store here that sells vintage soda pops...Bubble Up, Nesbit Orange and Grape, Sasparilla, Old fashioned Root Beer and Cream Soda. ALL of these are made with cane sugar and have the "old fashioned taste" that so many of us grew up with. Even our glass bottled Coca Colas are made with the cane sugar...
Oh by the way... the total amount of money we spent on this was around $40 and we are sooooooooooo proud of the way it turned out.... Bring on the 4th of July...we're ready.
Well.... we talked about it on our way home and knew we already had some of the materials that we would want included in ours. Wayne has an excellent eye for spotting things along the highway and had previously found a bundle of styrofoam (normally used for insulating ). Our son, whose in the sheet metal union, had given us two 3'x4' sheets of galvanized sheet metal. We had some scrap lumber to build the internal frame....all we needed was the Redwood lumber for the outside finished product plus a hinge and something to use as handles.
We jumped on starting the project quickly...first visiting the local Lowe's to get the Redwood lumber and other hardware. This project actually took 3 weekends because, after all, he does have to work. He started by building the very bottom, making it 4 inches thick, this included the insulation and tin. He next build the frame, which included the legs. He then added the Redwood sides and completed the bottom portion by adding more insulation to all four sides. He then covered the inside with tin and used silicone caulk to seal the seams. The last major portion of building was the lid, which included a 1 inch thick plug that would seal the top.
When it came to adding the handles, we quickly decided we had bought the wrong style. We ended up going to the local feed store and purchased some horseshoes for the end and top handles. Of course, we had to have one "pony" shoe for decorating the front. We added a few rustic metal stars and all we're lacking at this point is an authentic "Coca Cola" wall mount bottle opener, which we are looking for.
We have a store here that sells vintage soda pops...Bubble Up, Nesbit Orange and Grape, Sasparilla, Old fashioned Root Beer and Cream Soda. ALL of these are made with cane sugar and have the "old fashioned taste" that so many of us grew up with. Even our glass bottled Coca Colas are made with the cane sugar...
Oh by the way... the total amount of money we spent on this was around $40 and we are sooooooooooo proud of the way it turned out.... Bring on the 4th of July...we're ready.
