My nephew and I just did this build today after watching this video several times. It went great. Thanks so much for the detailed video and plans. We used PT instead of cedar and I made it much shorter as it is designed to fit under a shelf on the patio. We did 24" legs and its plenty tall enough. The cooler didn't come with a drain so going to add one out of the bottom since there is no shelf. Very excited about this one. Doing your cornhole build next
I love the cooler it's pretty easy to make, the only thing I would add, is a small wood box or tray under the bottle opener to collect the bottle caps.
I can't believe people are worried about how u talk instead of how u work. it's a great vid and straight forward. I've looked at many videos on this subject and yours come out at top 5.. thanks,,keep doing what u are doing,,,
To save a little money, I used pine 2x4s for the main frame and the section where the cooler sits on since they are covered by cedar eventually anyway. Great project!
Thank you Pete! I have been looking for a rustic cooler to make as a gift for my cousin who owns a ranch here in S. Texas. We are just starting to dig out of Hurricane Harvey. I have finished my house and have the evenings to work on this project to distract me a bit. I am going to work on this cooler over the next couple of nights and am really looking forward to it. I am a 51 year old woman who has been teaching myself how to use the tools I have accumulated over the last 3 years. I want to teach myself how to build simple but artistic projects that will increase my skills without increasing my frustration create pile of unfinished projects. Your a great teacher and I cannot thank you enough!! Any and all from anyone who would like to offer advice is much appreciated!!
Hello! I've been thinking about everyone from Houston a lot and am so thankful everyone is digging out and on the road to re-building. I'm so glad the videos have been helpful and you enjoy them :) Keep up the great work and have fun with the cooler build! Cheers - Pete
The video is awesome. I just built mine this weekend and it turned out amazing. I've got a lot of compliments already. Your instruction is very good.i used redwood 2x4 instead of the cedar because they weren't available. It was my first wood working project and I'm pretty stoked
From all this Corona Virus stuff going on I wanna be prouductive while staying home so I’ll be sure to work on this project. Thank you so much since this is a gift to my dad!
Pete thanks for talking about pocket holes and walking through this process with the tool needed to do it. I told my husband, use pocket holes...and he looked at me like wtf is that? I think you gave him way more confidence in building something now that he's watched your videos. Thanks again. Your home is lovely.
I want to thank you for your great Corn hole board set plans, I was able sell the one's I made which helped me when I needed some extra money in these crazy times.
Bueno por principio quiero felicitarlos por tan bonito video. Luego, agradecerles lo preciso que fueron desde el principio cuando dijeron lo que se necesitaba para hacer este hermoso trabajo. Hola, soy José Arturo Gutiérrez, vivo en El Paso Tx. Hace 12 años emigre a este bendecido país junto con mi familia. Hasta hace 1 año decidí dedicarme a la carpintería. No ha Sido facil ya que hace mucho que estudié y casi no practique. Saben lo que significa ver sus videos?... Sí. Me dan aliento y despierta mi creatividad. Gracias de nuevo y un sincero saludo de este su amigo. Bendiciones y adelante.
Good day Pete, I build this ice cooler and it's absolutly beautiful. I like the fact that you use cedar instead of recycled wood or old pallets wood. We held a deck warming party in September (just an excuse to gather with friends at our house and celebrate our new deck) and this cooler happen to be the most interesting thing on the deck with the outdoor kitchen. I had a lot of positive comments on how nice and functional it is. I wish I could send you a picture as I modified it a bit by trimming the edge of the boards with a router to give it a different look. Thank you very much for putting out there such a nice project and the DIY video is so well done, explain every steps clearly and is easy to follow. By the way I live just north of you in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Cheers from Alberta and keep up the good work!
Hi Andre! Great to hear from you and I hope all is well up in Canada! What a great addition to your new entertaining spot :) If you have Facebook, you could post a photo there: facebook.com/DiyProjectsWithPete --- otherwise feel free to shoot an email to: kate at diypete .com - Cheers!
DIY Pete is THE MAN...!! Just finished my ice chest -- awesome project! My first woodworking project of any kind and Pete's video made it soooo easy. Final test was whether the bottle opener would work -- passed with flying colors!! Built mine out of old pallets...the wood was a little tricky at times, but project came out just fine. Thanks, Pete, I'll send you some pics. And remember: There's a cold beer here in Colorado with your name on it...!!
Dude, Pete kicked ass on this project. And super thorough on explanation... great job. My father in law built us one of these about 10 yrs ago with a our favorite football team logo branded on the front and I am to this day amazed by it...
Thank you for the project idea... I recently finished my cooler; giving it as a gift to my Son & family...They love it... added side shelves both right & left...
Great build. I've built and sold 2 of these and the build couldn't be more straight forward. Doesn't take much time either. My kinda build. Keep it up!
GREAT video! any thumb downs had to be mistakes. I love that you used the pocket hole jig. I got one last birthday & I am always looking for simple pocket hole projects. What a beautiful finished project that didn't require a lot of complicated cuts etc. I have some medical disabilities so will likely have to shave a few steps off. I'm thinking that if I find a cooler with an attractive finish, maybe stainless, I can skip all the skirting. I'll be using pine so an ebony stain with a stainless cooler may work (won't be as gorgeous as your cedar ice chest). But, that's what i liked about your design and instructions, you left room for builder to make changes. I'm subscribing so i can check out some of your other projects. Looks like you often add led lighting & i am a rgb led light addict so I'm sure I'll try many of your projects. Thanks again for a great video,. Lisa
I'm a little late to the party, but the only thing I would do different would be to add a magnet below the bottle opener to catch the caps. I really like this idea. Wish I had thought of it. Good Job.
Hi I just saw these at a wedding. They were so cool. I'm so glad theirs a video on how to do this so I can do this for my daughter's wedding. Thank you so much.
They'll be great for your daughters wedding. We just used a couple at my younger brothers wedding and they were a "hit" :) Best of luck with the building!
Hi pete. my son and i. we just finished building a cooler chest just like the one you did in the video came out real nice thanks to your video and ideas. we sure will enjoy it for this Fourth of July weekend thanks again.
Awesome stuff! This video was quick enough to not get tired of watching, but still had all the important tips and instructions that a beginner like myself needs. When i return from my deployment, I am definitely referencing this video again. Thanks, Pete!
thankyou very much , I made them at 36, but I will need tio trim , because it is wobbly and I don't know why because they are all 36 in. almost done now , I'm giving to my son who just got his first house as a house warming gift. looking forward to your projects. ill send pic when I'm donepaul
I Also Want to Add I Like How Your coolers support is nice and beefy.. a cooler with melted water gets heavy and with some the other cooler builds I have seen using cedar slants to me seem like over time it would sag or even break under pressure .. all in all I love it and plan to build one for my living room to in crop into my small home theater setup
Hands down, best video showing how to do this! I am planning to build a 60" table that will incorporate this exact design concept. This will go great with my new Oklahoma Joe's 3 in 1 BBQ smoker.
Best detailed video, thank you! And thanks for using something other than pallets lol, I really don't feel like breaking a pallet down. Going to make this soon.
i guess Im asking the wrong place but does someone know a way to get back into an instagram account? I somehow lost my account password. I would appreciate any assistance you can offer me
@Randy Elliott I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and im in the hacking process atm. I see it takes quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
I finished mine yesterday and although its a little different here and there my neighbors and my friends whom I shared pictures with are wanting one! So I shared your video with them :D Thank you for the great idea and tutorial sir!
Fantastic video Pete! I'm in the middle of repairing/rebuilding my 30+ year old decks at my house...they're in ROUGH shape and frankly quite dangerous. Once I get the decks repaired/replaced as needed, I'm going to be adding a pergola for cover and then planning my "outdoor kitchen" build for my various grills. Your cooler idea is fantastic and I'm going to LOVE integrating your idea into the kitchen build. Thank you so much for the inspiration and instructive video. Liked and subbed!
DIY PETE Thanks! One deck is nearly complete. Used rebar reinforced copper pipe for the vertical balusters, pergola supports are up, though no pergola yet. I’m still jonesing to get that cooler built to hang next to the grill! 😁
I like to build the cooler into the frame. I do 45⁰ corners on the top with a biscuit to keep them even and trap the cooler instead of shims. I also use more weathered cedar, people like the look around here. I make the rough box around the cooler and put the legs on the frame. For the body of the cooler I do ship lap joints so not to see the actual cooler.
Greetings from Flathead Lake, Montana! I want to thank you for posting this how-to video. I followed your video and made one very close to the one you made, and it turned out awesome. Very easy to make. I've had a lot of compliments on it. Thanks.
Hey Jim! I hope all is well up in the Flathead area, I was just up there in August! Thanks so much for giving the project a shot, and great work completing it. Thanks for commenting and take care up in NW Montana!
MrsDavis913 South Carolina sounds amazing to me right now. Although I can't complain about our mild winter this year, 84 degrees and sunshine would be awesome :) Cheers - Pete
Good instructions, I am going to make one out of pallet wood with a Shou Sugi Ban finish. then put a sealer on it to bring out the grain. I will send a picture when I am done if you don't mind.
thank you, i learned a lot from your videos. i'm planning to make those project in my beach house soon. i will do the patio cooler first this coming summer. it's cool.
Nice project , I've been meaning to build one for a while . Gonna build mine out of pallet wood for a more rustic look . Especially since I can get the pallets for free lol .
Hey Pete...this is a very cool video and I am going to try and do this project. I do not have all the tools that you have and you make it look very easy but I am determined. Thank you for posting this video and I think that you really love the pocket holes...lol...be well.
OK, I like your videos. I am in the electrical field for my day job & wood worker by night!!! My wife & I enjoy your vids. I gotta say that you have literally buried your panel!!! This poses a bit of a fire hazard. But back to watching your build stuff!!!
+lowrider9367 Hi! Thanks for reaching out. That was the old workbench the person who owned my home before me built, and it definitely was super close to the panel. I've since built a new work bench and there is much more space between them. Thanks for watching!
