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One fence picket, one hour, one genuinely useful object: a divided caddy for utensils, napkins, craft supplies, mail, or whatever bench-top clutter needs corralling. The whole thing is three 16-1/2" boards (two sides and a bottom) in a U-shape, with four short dividers dropped in — every cut a straight crosscut on the miter saw.
The one instruction that matters is 'measure and cut the dividers TO FIT.' Fence pickets are not precision stock — thickness wanders between 5/8" and 3/4" board to board, and even along one board — so a divider cut to the theoretical 4-1/2" may rattle or refuse to seat in your actual assembly. Build the U first, then measure the real inside width and cut the dividers to that. This measure-the-real-thing habit is the whole lesson if this is a first project, and it costs nothing here where the stakes are a 4-1/2" offcut.
Cedar takes both paint and stain well, and a foam brush is all the finishing equipment this needs. Sand more than seems necessary — picket surfaces are rough-sawn, and this is an object hands reach into.
| Item | Qty |
|---|---|
| Cedar fence picket, 5-1/2" x 72"The whole project. Dog-eared is fine — the clipped end becomes scrap. | 1 each |
| Brad nails, 1-1/4" | 30 each |
| Wood glue | 2 oz |
| Paint or stainA foam applicator brush is the only equipment needed. | 8 oz |
Overall cost: $. Lumber prices vary by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure we would only be pretending to know.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L |
|---|---|---|
| Sides and bottomCedar fence picket | 3 | 5/8" × 5 1/2" × 16 1/2" |
| DividersCedar fence picketNominal — measure the assembled caddy's inside width and cut to fit. Picket thickness varies too much to trust the math. | 4 | 5/8" × 5 1/2" × 4 1/2" |
Buy 1 board at 8 ft.
1 board
Assumes 8 ft stock, a 1/8" saw kerf, and buying each part at its own width. Change the board size or kerf on the full board plan →
Glue and brad-nail the two side boards to the edges of the bottom board — a long open trough, ends open. Wipe glue squeeze-out off the inside corners now with a damp rag; dried beads in a corner you can't sand are the kind of thing you notice forever.
If the picket had a dog-eared end, arrange cuts so it lands in the scrap.
Measure the actual inside width of your trough and cut the four dividers to that — not to the cut list. Two dividers cap the open ends; the other two divide the interior into compartments sized to what you're organizing. Glue and nail through the sides and bottom into each divider.
Sand everything, round the top edges where hands reach in, and finish with paint or stain on a foam brush. Then make two more — a one-picket project with leftover picket is asking for it.
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