~Thrifty Thursday~

I hope today's project inspires you to think outside the box.

Here was my piece I started out with.

Today I am turning this old wood crate into a pet feeder.

I had been looking for a while now at elevated pet feeders because I read so much about how they are better on your pets joints, digestion, and everything really.

I didn't want a standard off the shelf one,

{and I didn't want to pay retail}

so I decided to turn an old wood crate I got at a garage sale for $7 into one.

You could use old soda crates too, which would be very fun.

~Here's the scoop~

For my size dogs

{we have 2 yellow labs}

I read the height should be around 18"

To elevate it, I added casters to the bottom.

These were a bit pricey at $10 a piece.

X four that is $40.00, but I think worth it in the end.

It adds that industrial vibe and brings it to the right height.

To attach the casters , I flipped my crate upside down and measured in a 1/2" from each corner edge and made a mark.

The holes were too big on the casters so I added washers so the screws would fit.

Once those were all in place I worked on the top.

I didn't have one big piece of wood to cover the top so I had to join 2 pieces together.

I used barn wood, but you could use any kind of wood.

I laid my top pieces upside down and marked a spot in the middle and drew a line.

I did this at either end as well.

This is where you will be joining the wood together.

I used 3 scraps of wood and my air nailer to attach the strips

that will now hold the 2 pieces of the top together.

Now you are going to measure and make templates for where your bowls will go.

Make sure your bowls have a rim, or they will fall right through the hole.

I had 2 white bowls from Walmart that I decided to use.

I made a template by tracing the top of the bowl onto card stock and then cutting it out about a 1/2" smaller all the way around.

Now lay your templates down on the back of your top and trace around with a sharpie.

Now it is time to cut out the holes with a jigsaw.

But first, you need to drill a hole in the center of each as a starting point for your jigsaw blade.

Cut out along the lines~shoes are optional.

I ran into a problem here.

My jigsaw couldn't make the full circle cut because my wood pieces joining the top together were in the way.

I had to remove them, then cut the holes, then put the wood back on.

So, in hindsight, I would cut the circles out first and then add the joining pieces.

Hope that makes sense!

After that you can sand any rough edges and fit your bowls.

Some adjusting may be necessary.

It's better to cut the hole too small and have to go back and cut more out.

If you cut the hole too big, you are outta luck.

This is the back with the top placed on.

As you can see there is a gap.

The hinges I had on hand were small, so I filled in this gap with a piece of scrap wood so that the screws in the hinges would have something to screw into.

You want to screw in a hinge to the back on either end.

Now your lid will flip up for storage inside!