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It has been a while since my last post, so here it is. My daughter has been bugging me about making her a Texas Cooler. I collected about 60 cedar pickets a while back and finally got to make it. I used a 48qt cooler and built a box around it with 1/2" a/c fir, leaving a 3/4" space between the cooler and box. I used 3/4" Dow blue foam board to fill in the gaps. I used my thickness planer to take off a small amount of wood so I could have a good glue surface to attach my fence boards to the fir box. The hinges are off the shelf gate hinges. I had to do a little fill in due to the design of the top, and was happy with the results. It makes the hinges look really massive. The handle I got from the local feed store. There is a bottle opener in the front and a drain in the middle. The star is wrapped with mesquite. I was a fun project…Vic

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cool Idea
 

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I live in Maine and our cooler is the porch…lol It's a toatsy 27 degrees F this morning up here! My question is, does this in fact kaap things cooler longer than the cooler alone? It must be really hot in the summer and that is an invention of need. I like the idea and how it looks, cool design features. I also like the fact that it's raised up off the ground. Never even knew people make these. Good use of materials too, I like when people make use of what they have, tends to generate more creativity.

Awesome cooler.
 

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So is that the truck your daughter drives? ;>)
The star is neat.
Lee
 

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Never seen a cooler like this!! It should keep a bunch of Lone Star chilly for a long time.
 

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I think it needs a trailer hitch :)
 

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Doug, have you ever drank Lone Star Beer? I'm retching just thinking of the stuff. To be a true Texas cooler, it must hold Shiner Bock, preferrably picked up IN Shiner Texas, on the way to Omas Haus in New Braunfels for some bratwurst and house fries…

I have seen a couple of these lately, and have been wondering…

How do you make the freshly machined surfaces match the weather aged existing stuff?

I have about 30 unused Cedar pickets in my attic I would love to do this with, just mill it all fresh, and leave it on the patio to weather in a nice patina.

As far as why. These are simply decoration. They are pretty common here. The idea is to have the cooler up off the ground for 2 reasons.

#1. Easier to reach than having to stoop over.
#2. With the cooler off the ground, nobody will use it as a seat, so you don't have to get your poker buddy off of the cooler to get a beer.

If you were closer to Houston, I'd drop you a note on a body shop that can throw paint on that Dodge for cheap… (J/K, but do at least prime and seal where the paint has worn through, hate to see a perfectly good pickup truck rust away…)
 

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Great cooler, would look even better full of ice and your drink of choice. For me that would be B.U.D.W.E.I.S.E.R. = Because U Deserve What Every Individual Should Enjoy Regurarly.
 

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I bet your daughter loves that cooler!

As hot as it gets down there, I bet that thing gets plenty of use!

Nice job!
 

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db…...was stationed in Tx and drank that rot one time…..there after it was only used for cooking!!!!
 

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The cooler is not my invention. It does get hot here…very hot! The cooler will keep drinks on ice for atleast 2 days. The truck is my shop…lol…the daughter would not be caught dead in it. The truck is 15 yrs old and 260k miles on it.

The fence boards were from a fence that went down during Hurricane Ike. The patena is from being exposed to the elements for a couple of years. That is not to say that you couldn't build one from new wood and leave it exposed to gain the patena.

dbhost…where in Texas are you? We love the floats on the Guadalupe and Oma's Hause is the best. I live and fish the Freeport/Surfside area.

I have had several people request one of these coolers.
 

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Might have to make a Colorado Cooler to fill with some Colorado Kool Aid.
I've been wanting to make a Colorado Flag as it is, so that would make a nice lid IMO.

Nice job Vic.
 

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db, Vjer, we might have to have an EasTexas LJ gathering some time.

Vjer, the cooler looks great!
 

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Cool Cooler!
 

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Great cooler I need to build one I like the idea not having to get your buddy up when you need a beer.
I went through Texas on vacation this year and had a few Lone Stars on River Walk maybe I was just thirsty but I thought they were great.
I had the same model dodge truck the paint just peeled off, the last UAW auto I will buy
 

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Great job Vjer! I used to live in Houston, TX (years ago) but must say that this the first of this type cooler I've seen. Awesome build!!
 

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vjer,

LOML and I are in League City, between Galveston and Houston almost right on Galveston Bay.

How did you deal with the drain for the cooler?

Yeah the Guadalupe is the greatest… We have tons of the world's finest Tex Mex, and honest to goodness authentic Mexican here in the Houston Metro area, but very little good German food. What's cookin' on FM2094 burned down about 4 or so years ago and never rebuilt, and Alpine Brauhaus owners retired and just shut the place down.

Most of the fence lumber I saw from Ike around here was twisted and split into unrecognizable pieces. I saved what I could and reused it. But not much re-usable stuff was out there. I might just have to build one of these and leave it where I know it will get the most weather exposure to let it age quickly… But my fence must go back up first!
 

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dbhost…I have a good friend who lives in League City. He owns the Weeks A/C company and lives close to the LCPD. We will have to get together sometimes. Time is one thing I have to much of right now…being inbetween jobs…Vic
 
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