# Questions about crates and pallets



## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

I've been downloading dozens of photos of old wood crates of a variety of types and pallets, as I've got a warehouse and conveyor project I'm working on. I plan to build lots and lots of them, some perhaps with old colorful decals.

Has anyone built pallets and crates and would like to share their photos or links; along with techniques?

I plan to cut my own stripwood and use Titabond III glue, which, is sort of cheating. A small pin nailer would be more prototypical and I don't have one at the moment.

Do you think I can get away with just using glue? If not, I can certainly look to purchase one. 


Also, how would one make stencils and stuff like that (markings)? I'm thinking of pulling out my old woodburning tool


Your opinions appreciated. 

Dave V


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

*Dave, 
First a pin nailer won't hold the pallets together very well as they lack heads. They're great for providing shear strength to a glued joint however. If you can find a brad gun that shoots small emough brads they would hold the pallets together just fine without glue. 

I "stencil" by painting the color I want the lettering to be on a surface, then apply vinyl alphabet lettering, spray final finish color and then peel off the letters with tweezers to give painted letters. The trouble with vinyl alphabet letters though is that they don't come smaller than 1/4". 

An alternative I'm using for boxes is to print, either my own design or real ones from the internet, on vinyl label stock. I use the full sheet label sheets and fill each with various signs, both just lettering and company logos. It is easy in a print shop program to size them as desired and duplicate each one as much as you like. This allows for lettering much smaller than 1/4" as well as permitting complex designs. You cut them out individually off the sheet, carefully peel off the backing and stick them where you want them. The brand I'm using is from PlanetLabel.com, stock #LT175-1-1IJWWV. They are very durable and are intended for outdoor use.*


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## Chrisp (Jan 3, 2008)

Hello Dave, I built a bunch of pallets for a Gn15 project from scraps of balsa and basswood. Titebond III works just fine for holding things together. If you're doing these in SE, try using craft/popcicle sticks. You can age them nicely with ink/alcohol stain, and smash up a few of the boards and mark up with paint or colored markers. 

It's boring work, make sure you have good music on in the background.


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

glueing is the way to go. 

for lettering i used either dry-transfer rub-on letters or a black ballpen with one of these rulers, that provide letter contours. 

which era are you modeling? pallets are relatively new. in europe they were introduced in the post WW2 aera. 

have you thought about using cutout paperboxes for background use?


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

Hi, thanks everyone. 

My question relates more to aesthetics. Should the nails show? I'm 7/8 scale modeler so my pallets will be somewhat bigger than normal. 

I thought about this over the weekend and am considering simulating nails with some paint dabs and maybe some rust from the nail. Has anyone tried this? 

The crates I'm modeling are those colorful crates that contained fruit, coming from Florida and California. I've downloaded dozens of photos of these crates and the very colorful posters that were tacked on them. 

Go to Flickr and type in "crates" and these will pop up. 

I'm likely going to place lead or cement in the crates to weigh them down, as I'm building a conveyor system so the pallets actually move (heavier moves better). I've got a forklift too that is R/C. I'm even building a rail car with a conveyor on it, having found prototypical photos of one. Obviously, the crates will be closed; but I'm considering making some open, but need ideas on how to model fruit. 

Cheers 

Dave


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

need ideas on how to model fruit. 

you don't. you just buy in the seeds section and in the spices section and paint. 

most used seems to be pepper (the entire seeds) as tomatoes, apples, oranges etc. 

for cabbage coat them with various layers of tissue hankies. 

not long ago i found grapefruits in the toy section - "ammo" for toy pistols.


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

"you don't. you just buy in the seeds section and in the spices section and paint." 

OK, so you mean visit the seed and spice section of the food store and some of these can be painted as fruit? 

I'll do that!


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

For your crates, I'd cut wood blocks and glue the stripwood to them. Should add the mass you need and will make them stronger. Some 1/2 to 3/4 (tall) blocks with open tops and a layer of fruit showing...packed in green tissue. 

Nail heads are often simulated with a pencil tip pushed into the wood and a rust streak down from it.
John


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Nail heads with rust streaks, on durable goods maybe, but on perishable goods not likely.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Modern ones I saw were stapled together, flimsy wood just strong enough for one time use. Modern.... 1970's


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

thanks! I looked closer and I'm seeing staples and brass nails and possibly some wire nails


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

oops, repeated 1

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## rhyman (Apr 19, 2009)

For an excellent web site with hundreds of antique produce crate labels, just click here: link to crate label web site

Just right click on any label and save it on your computer. Then re-size it as desired with any photo editing program (such as Microsoft Office Picture Editor) and print out as many copies as you need on a color printer. Glue the labels to your crates, waterproof with a coat of clear spray, and presto ... realistic produce crates.


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

Bob, 

That's an awesome site; I'm ready to create a whole fruit industry now!!!! 

Thanks 

Dave V


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

dave, if you want to see the easy way (but not as good looking, click on the picture. 

edit: why did i expect somethin like a pic-link could work here??



_(Here ya go Korm, it does work, but you've got to type the HTML for the image and link in the HTML view mode. SteveC)_


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

http://kormsen.ko.funpic.de/forum/viewtopic.php?t=501&sid=ce6e7520412325cf0c8730d53bc9e500


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

Thanks, now I've got more than enough to work with. i applied to join that site. Hopefully, there are some dimensions of the box size somewhere there.

Dave V


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

What about HO scale or N scale track spikes for "nails" then? They rust prototypically.... 

Chas


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

their heads are not round; but 200 years ago, nails were squarish b/c they didn't yet have nail dies invented


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

Posted By SE18 on 05 Oct 2010 09:44 AM 
their heads are not round; but 200 years ago, nails were squarish b/c they didn't yet have nail dies invented 

are you a busyboy with lots of time at hand?
then buy shoemaker's nails and file the heads to measure. it is easy - they are very soft.

about the dimensions... 
i just import these pics into MS Word. 
that got two advantages. i see the size of the page and i can ampliate the size easyly, without messing up dimensions.

send me a pm with your mail address- then i can send you the boxes readymade as .doc files.

or you just save the pics from my site to your pc. they are bigger and sharper, than those in the .docs.


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Dave

Maybe the following will be of help on the size front.

Fruit & Produce Standard Pack (c 1922) PDF[/b]


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

Thanks, Kormsen, Steve, 

Very helpful info! I'll go to the site and download from there. The dimensions most helpful! 

Dave


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

just sacrificed my siesta. 

if you want good boxes, make them. these two took me about twenty minutes, mostly waiting for the glue. 











let's see, if i can link my boxes here: 










boxes By korm I.doc[/b]


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

oh, how i lllooovvve it!!! 

click this: 

http://supersol-chaco.net/bahn/kisten/kiste01.JPG 

http://supersol-chaco.net/bahn/kisten/kiste01a.JPG


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

AAARRRRRRGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 


I PUT THE PICS AT MY SITE: 

http://kormsen.ko.funpic.de/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2866#2866


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Korm, 
Must be that urgent MS update last night..... 
Nice crates by the way... 

Dave, I'd only 'super' detail the boxes that will be upfront, any moving or farther back can be plain wood 'n labels. 

John


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

I'd only 'super' detail the boxes that will be upfront, any moving or farther back can be plain wood 'n labels. 

that is exactly the way i do things too. 

as i found some pics with nice crates, in a couple of days i will make more with other boards. 
but at the moment i'm busy building the bases for my track.


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

thanks; I'm downloading these; the produce looks fresh and convincing as well!


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

how do you plan to conserve your chinaberries? 

the seeds i am using get a bath in either alcohol or lighter-gasoil, to be painted when dry again.


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

ive heard of using glyceron but i've have success just using spray adhesive; but i may try the alcohol as it's less sticky; will rubbing work or do you denature


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

I actually made a mistake, it's cottoneaster, not chinaberry 

btw, do you just let it sit in the alcohol and then let it dry?


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

I actually made a mistake, it's cottoneaster, not chinaberry 
i wouldn't know the difference anyhow... 

yes, i just bathe the seeds for some hours, so that the liquid enters and destroys the ability to grow. then i let them dry. after a couple of days or weeks i paint them. 
(if the seed stays too long in alcohol, it might get a bit lighter in colour) 

yes, i heard about glizerin too. but neither glizerin nor adhesive spray are easy to find here. 


i think, one of these days (or years) i will try out, what i get, if i bathe seeds in red or green ink.


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

since the boxmaker (or should i say the boxer??) was busy, we could expand our grocery business.
an' soon we expand inter da olive oil buziness too...


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

That's beautiful; the green things look a bit off color if they're fruit but the rest look terrific. 

How did you make those 2 baskets dealies?


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

How did you make those 2 baskets dealies?
diapers - 15 year old diapers, that i use as rags when painting or glueing. (and, no, the colour is not 15 years old! i was using that rag to apply furniture polish) 

i just cut a piece off from the rag. about 1" by 2 and a half inch. double it, apply a generous amount of glue to the sides and let dry. then i just turn it inside-out and fill it. 

as glue for this i use the general use UHU. 

the "fruits" used: green pepper in its natural colour at the left, bathed in furniture polish in the sack/basket and bathed in green ink in the box with the lid half closed. 
the tomatoes and lemons are untreated pearls of this glibbery stuff, that grows when wet (so nothing for outdoors...) 
the grapefruit and the green whatevers are ammo for toy-guns. 
(i think, with a little tissue and paint, the green whatevers could become nice cauliflowers.) 

this pic was taken without flash - this is how the colours look in reality.


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

too much fun. I've got brass or copper BBs from wal-mart's gun section. They might be nice when painted and would weigh down the pallets too so they can slide down my conveyor thingy I'm building, as all my crates will have movement animation and be lifted by R/C forklift.


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

as all my crates will have movement animation and be lifted by R/C forklift. 

do it! go for it! 
(and when it works give a detailed description, for me to copy your ideas)


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