This is the time of year that my family loves to be outside (in the shade with a cold drink). We have some of the best neighbors on Earth, and we spend most of the weekends hanging out together around the grill, just cooking and laughing. We switch houses often and all chip in with food and supplies for each meal…which means I’m constantly carrying condiments, paper plates, and drinks up and down the sidewalk.
I needed a better system.
Luckily for me, BLACK+DECKER swooped in and sent me a new toy that was just itching for a project. So, my DIY Condiment Caddy was born.
My new BLACK+DECKER Autosense drill promised to help me be able to complete this project with the help of it’s automatic clutch, which would keep me from over driving screws and cracking my wood. As a DIYer who is not the world’s greatest carpenter (or even sorta the world’s greatest carpenter), split or cracked wood from over tightening is one of my big problems. As you can tell from my decorating, I just don’t know when to stop.
But, this drill made it easy. There aren’t a ton of dials to turn – just two buttons: one for drilling and the other for driving screws. It’s compact, really lightweight, and has a 20V MAX lithium battery.
And did the Autosense deliver? You bet it did. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to drive my screws flush without over tightening and cracking the wood. The drill just literally stopped driving by itself as soon as the screw was flush. Automagical, y’all. I took a little video with my phone so that you could see it in action yourself.
Below is the tutorial for making your own condiment caddy…and even further below is your chance to win your very own BLACK+DECKER Autosense Drill!
DIY Condiment Caddy
Shopping List:
1″ x 6″ x 4′ pine board (if you are buying new, you might have to buy a 6′ or 8′ length)
1″ x 2″ x 3′ pine board (if you are buying new, you might have to buy a 6′ or 8′ length)
(10) #8 x 1 1/4″ wood screws
50″ of 3/8″ width sisal rope
120-grit sand paper
spray paint
Tools:
BLACK+DECKER AutoSense Drill
circular saw (or miter saw, depending on size)
drill bits
1/2″ spade bit
measuring tape
clamps
safety glasses
pencil
Cut list:
(1) 1″ x 6″ @ 14″ Bottom of Caddy
(2) 1″ x 6″ @ 12″ Ends of Caddy
(2) 1″ x 2″ @ 15 1/2″ Rails of Caddy
1. Cut wood pieces to the specified sizes and sand each piece with 120-grit sandpaper.
2. Clamp one end piece to the bottom piece so that the end piece is on the outside. Drill three pilot holes across the end piece and screw into place. Repeat with the second end piece onto the other bottom side. This creates a 3-sided box.
3. Lay your box on its side and measure and mark 3 1/2″ from the bottom on the small side of the ends. Clamp one of your rails with the bottom edge lined up with your mark. Drill a pilot hole on either side of the rail and screw into place.
Repeat on the other side.
4. Lay the caddy on its side with one of the ends on top. Measure and mark two spots that are 2″ from the top of the end and 1″ from the edges.
5. With your 1/2″ spade bit, drill two holes in the spots that you marked.
6. Paint or stain your piece in the color of choice. I went with black spray paint for ease of use, but you can do whatever you want.
7. Once the paint is dry, cut your 3/8″ sisal rope into two 25″ pieces. Stick one piece through one of your holes and tie a knot on the inside. Stick the other end through the adjacent hole and tie another knot on the inside. Repeat for the other side.
Now, you can load your new caddy up with whatever outdoor party supplies you need and join your friends!
I also happen to know that this caddy is large enough to hold a bottle of wine or four. I don’t know how I know that.
BLACK+DECKER wants to give away an Autosense Drill to one of you! You can enter to win by leaving a comment below stating why or how you would use the BLACK+DECKER Autosense Drill for your own project. If you are reading this via an email or feed reader, be sure to click over to the actual blog so that you can leave a comment to be entered. This giveaway is open through 6/20/2014 to US residents, 18 years and older.
This post has been sponsored by BLACK+DECKER, but the love of the Autosense Drill is my own.
We would use it to finish dry walling the new bedroom!
were building our son a tree house and this would be perfect for all the work ahead of us.
This would be great for all the furniture re-dos that I am always stealing my husband’s drill for! 🙂
I need my own drill, every time I go to use my husbands I cant find it or he has it some where else
I would use it on numerous projects! I am always needing one!
My husband is getting out of the military and we are going to be buying our first home so sure this would really come in handy! Thank you for the chance to win!
I would love this so I wouldn’t have to always borrow my husbands drill when doing all my projects!
I would LOVE this drill… I kind of wore out my most favorite drill ever (another Black and Decker) building a shed. We have a little one that we’re using, but it’s not nearly as heavy duty and easy to use as my B & D was.
What’s the first thing I would build with a new drill? I gate for my pumpkin patch!! 🙂
I would use this drill to replace my old bulky one that doesn’t stay charged very long. I do numerous crafts and projects around the house that require either drilling holes or using screws.
We currently have 2 rooms in our house that need complete makeovers and this drill sure would make that a whole lot easier! Thank you for the chance!
This blog post makes it sound like Black and Decker found a way for us overzealous drillers to stop breaking stuff! LOL Why I would love one? Simple… my husband has a more carpentry-savvy drill that is a little too powerful for me. No matter what my project is, I end up having to have him drill holes for me and resort to a manual screwdriver for the screws. I would love to be a little more independent on my projects as he has projects of his own that keep him busy. To say I built something all on my own would be amazing!
This drill looks awesome! I don’t have my own drill and would absolutely love this one! I have to use my husband’s drill, and it is one he has had forever, so new technology would be so appreciated!!
Thank you for the giveaway!
I desperately need a drill! I don’t have one! The horror……
I would use this drill to work on some of my many summer projects including some pallets I have outside awaiting something fabulous!
i would give this to my husband.
he is going to be making me chairs for the table he already made me!
I would use this drill for everything I usually use my drill for……… If I still had it!!! I think I lent it to my brother. And it’s been gone from there. And I’ve been dying to make a set of raised garden beds!
I’m getting ready to buy my first house and would love to upgrade my drill – I have a very old, corded drill – and this would make a great replacement!
we are needing some side tables, I would use it to build them!
I need a new drill Desperatly! Going to be moving into a new home come August and the project ideas from this site alone will keep me busy for years
I desperately need a drill, rather than borrowing from my friends or brother-in-law. I think my first project would be that great condiment caddy – the perfect helper for outdoor summer dinners!
We both are retired and still like to do some crafts. The only problem is my husband has arthritis so the other tools are harder for him to use. This drill sounds like the real deal for us to use.
I would love this drill! I like to do my own projects around the house.
Unfortunately, my raised beds will have to be replaced for the next season. Boy oh boy, would this come in handy!
Thanks for the opportunity — my fingers are crossed!
We just had a fire and lost most of our tools, and a girl can’t be w/o a drill for long, yo! Plus, we’re trying to replace all our tools with B&D so the batteries can be used interchangeably.
I always borrow a drill. I have lots of craft projects to work on.
Building bird houses, putting together wood flowers and help my
sister build ome benches
I’m refinishing/painting a beautiful midcentury dresser, and would love to use the Black+Decker Autosense Drill to change the drawer pulls from a single pull, to a double pull!
I would use this drill to hand pegboard in the garage.
My hubby has an old HEAVY drill. The battery dies fast. New drill for all home projects.
I would love this! I have a large box of scrap lumber pieces that I’ve saved. They are crying out to be made into something, but I need a lightweight drill that’s easy for me to hold. This drill sounds like the perfect thing!
someluckydog at gmail dot com
I would start and finish ALL my Crafting projects I have been putting off due to lack of hubby’s time to help. I could now do it myself !! New light weight and longer lasting battery !!! YES , oh YES !!
I would use the drill all the time! My next project up is to trim out the dog house.
I am not sure what I would make first but I know it would be nice not to have to keep borrowing my dads.
I would drill holes in some stumps that just won’t die. I’ve rooted cuttings and planted them in a better place but the original just won’t go away.
I usually hand off building jobs to my husband. but now I don’t want my 8yo daughter to think that creating wood projects is a man’s job. I think this project may be a good beginner project for the two of us to do together. So while I aspire to have the projects above … I would use this drill to make your project first!
With so many projects lined up, this would be a great addition to the arsenal!!
I would use the drill to make a head board for my bed.
I would make some much needed shelves.
I LOVE this cute caddy. I think I’ll make one…when I win this great Black and Decker drill lol.
Thanks for the great tutorial.
I’d use it to finally build the shelving unit I’ve been designing and redesigning for years 🙂
I would love to dabble in some furniture building!
I would use it to make raised garden beds. 🙂
I would use it to show my husband that I can make any project on my own! I don’t always need his help when it comes to using the power tools! 😉
I’d use it to make this very condiment caddy! We eat out on the back porch often, and making so many trips in and out is annoying!
I’d use it to assemble furniture. I always do it by hand and it’s so painful!
I would use it to make door panals for my daughters wedding.
I would use this nifty little drill to drill holes in all the cute little flower pots I have sitting in my house! I have so many ideas for planting in them but realized none of them have holes. Some decorative pots that you can still use for projects, don’t have holes. I’d hate to see any of them go to waste. Pahleeze choose me!!! Love, a desperate diy-er
We do not own a drill, so this would be handy.
Hubby is a handyman, this would make it easy for his projects at home.
This would help me complete my gallery wall.
I would use it to build some new planters for our patio
I’m working on some garden projects that involve wood frames.
This is awesome. I would use it to make a curtain rod out of old restored wood! I saw a DIY post on pinterest and it is so cute. Thanks!
denisekonkel@gmail.com
I have several projects that this would be handy for…crates for storage under the bench I made…planter boxes for my deck rail….bed work bench.
I would use it to build a bookshelf! It looks like it can handle a lot of different projects!
I would love to use this to make shelves in our bathrooms
I want to tackle building shelves in a few of the closets and some floating shelves in the garage for storage with the drill.
jslbrown2009 at aol dot com
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