Heavy Duty Beer Box Organizer

I've been saving beer boxes for awhile now in hopes of using them for parts/supplies boxes to aid in the organization of a shop. Actually, if the truth were to be told I was planning on making a shelf to put all of these boxes on, but that time hasn't come yet. Also, I had a better idea for how I want to use said boxes, so I decided to make an Instructable on it.

This idea isn't a new one. In fact, my first version is based off of a plastic organization parts bin. Then I made one and got some new ideas, searched on Instructables to see if anyone had done it yet, and found this one!

This other Instructable inspired me to make an organizer that is close to his idea, only re-purposed for heavy duty use. So this is going to be a remix, and I've decided to enter it in the remix contest.

I would like to add quickly before we get started that I am using a empty 12 pack beer box in this Instructable because it is what I had. I'm very pleased with the outcome, but if you wish, you could probably adapt this to any box you see fit for use.

Problems:

-Organizational containers can cost quite a bit of money and that can add up quickly! Especially if you're attempting organizing a shop, like me.

-Desired parts to be stored can be way too heavy or large for dinky little store bought organizers or boxes that have been re-purposed but are just not strong enough. I've had way too many a boxes pulled off of a shelf only for the contents to be quickly relocated at my feet.

Solution:

-I've found that unlike many other boxes, beer boxes tend to be pretty strong by themselves; they're roughly the same size(if they are the "type" that are shown in this instructable...12 pack of bottles), and they also seem to be in surplus...(cough)...(just kidding, I've been collecting them for awhile)...(no really, I have)

More problems:

-When you start filling them with random things like the above pictured, everything fits nicely, and the box can handle the weight, but what if you were looking at it from a shelf view? What's in that box? I don't know I've got a whole hypothetical shelf full of boxes and they all look the same!

-The flaps annoy me...(they just do)

More solutions:

-Modify the box to fit our heavy duty and aesthetic needs.

This step shouldn't be too hard. Here is the list of materials I used:

-Beer boxes. Plenty of them.

-Something in the form of a ruler or straightedge. I used a combination square.

-Something to mark with. I used a black sharpie.

-(Optional) Something to glue with. I used a really old bottle of Elmers Carpenter's Wood Glue. (Mainly because it was super old and this seemed like a good project to use it up on) Had I not found this bottle of glue, I would suggest hot glue, mainly because it would make the gluing process super fast.

-(Optional) Something to clamp with. If you choose to glue, clamps are really helpful. I used some spring loaded clamps.

Alright, so I took a lot of pictures in hopes that if I missed a step the pics would illustrate how I got to the finished product, even if you skimmed the words. This is also because I put the directions in order with the pictures. But please, check out all the pictures! If you get lost, I'm positive the directions will more sense if you check all the pictures out.

For the first section:

-Remove the bottle divider

-Fold all the flaps inward into the box except for one "handle" side flap

-Cut that flap off

-(I know there is still a flap in this picture but pretend there isn't) On the side that you just cut the flap off of, measure out half way and make marks on either side of the box, or all the way across.

-Cut down the corners until you reach the mark

-If you made it this far you should be now be able to bend this side over and inward into the box, just like the rest of the flaps, only this flap should just hit the bottom of the box.

For section two you will:

-Pick an angle that runs from the top edge of the side down to the side that just got bent. I chose a 45 degree angle.

-Mark it out with your straight edge and sharpie.

-Cut the angled section off! (Repeat for both sides)

It should now look like the last picture in this step.

For section three you will:

Deal with the handles and use them against the box to help hold the flaps in!

-Grab the handle on the front edge and pull it upward towards you.

-Take your sharpie and mark along the flat edge of the handle onto the surface behind it.

-Make a cut in the box just above the sharpie line in that side that is slightly wider than the handle.

-Stick the handle through the cut and fold it down.

-Repeat for the back handle.

If the directions confuse you, refer to the pictures. This step is a bit hard to explain.

For section four you will:

Use the knowledge used in step three!

-Pull a long side up and mark out two equidistant 1" wide tabs approximately .5" deep.

-Bend the tabs upward.

-Mark the side being folded against under each tab.

-Make cuts in the side, slightly above each mark made. (Like a blade width)

-Push tabs through cuts and fold down. They should kind of fold flat with the side if it works right. You may have to make some vertical cuts on the side panel for the tab to fit right.

-Be patient. Repeat for both sides.

For section five you will:

Salvage another box for reinforcement. Preferably one that was ripped or damaged in the top flap area. The sides must be in good condition.

-Cut down all four corners

-Cut sides without handle holes off at the bottom fold. Now cut the top flaps off these pieces leaving only the sides.

-The center section should now have the two handle hole sides on it. Flip this piece over and remove the very bottom pieces glued on by ripping them off.

-Cut the handle sides right under the flat spot in the handle. Keep the inner pieces without the handle hole.

-Put aside all pieces except for the "side pieces" and the "inner pieces without the handle hole" (refer to pictures). You should have four approximately equal sized pieces.

Keep these handy! You now have the bottom reinforcement. (for four organizers)

For section six you will:

Install the bottom reinforcement.

-Take one of the four pieces you cut and slide it down into place in the bottom. It should fit snugly.

Its up to you whether to have the design up or down. I like the design up. It is physically slick and therefore less likely to soak up oil right away. Plus it looks cool.

There you have it! The basic design completed! If you compare the same random junk I showed in the complete beer box at the beginning of this Instructable, visibility has increased a lot! Especially from "shelf view."

The box is way stronger, and I've addressed those pesky flaps by using them to strengthen the top perimeter of the box and keeping them tidy with the "tabs and cuts" method.

No other added materials are needed except for the boxes and the tools. However, if you wish to make a stronger box or maybe just skip the "tabs and cuts" steps, continue on to the next step.

For section seven you will:

Glue everything.

This step is pretty self explanatory. Take everything apart and put glue on it, then put it all back together. If you notice, I've glued, and used the "tabs and cuts" method on this box. The back handle leaves a section open when put together. If you do the same, you can use a handle cut out from the box you salvaged in section five to make it look whole again. Make sure to clamp it all down so the glue is effective.

When the glue dries, you'll have one awesome organizer box. While we're waiting for it to dry, I have a few more things to share.

Sideways version:

Just check out the pictures. This version is unique in that the side folds down to be the reinforcement bottom piece and the reinforcement front piece all in one fold.

Making tabs or gluing is up to you based on how strong you need the box to be. I'll be honest, it could look better. I kind of rushed through this version.

I could see using this version for wider items that needed to seen from shelf view.

AKA - My favorite version so far. This one was inspired by the first version, only I slimmed it down a bit because the tall sides are nice, but really, this is a good size to use for my application. I think you got the hang of what I'm doing, so I'll just show all the pictures.

This version is my favorite because there isn't much waste involved in making it and the end result is super strong. As an added bonus, if you choose to add the extra bottom piece, no tabs or gluing is necessary because it forces the folds to stay folded in. If you felt like it, you could always glue it for super strength. I'm going to go ahead and test this version as is.

Oh! And labeling! I found that a piece of masking tape works nicely for labeling the front edge or back edge of this organizer box. I tried to simulate overhead and shelf views when taking photos.

When I make stuff I always like to test it out in some way or another. I thought, well, if it can hold the weight of its contents when its only being supported by its corners, then its probably a pretty tough organizer.

I'm pretty happy with the looks and functionality of this one. It held a bunch of large fittings, even when supported only by the corners.

This only leaves one question:

How heavy duty is it really?

Well I didn't intentionally try to break it! Sheesh!

It did, however, hold 40 lbs of random curl weights I saw within walking distance at the time. In fact, the box held the weight surprisingly effortless.

At this point, I figured, I could start stacking 25 lb weights in there and see how far it gets...(I still may). In all reality, if it was able to handle 40 lbs without a bulge out the bottom and without gluing anything, it would probably be able to handle any organizational task I could throw at it just fine.

Thanks for looking! As always, I hope you enjoyed this Instructable and have found it to be useful!