For our first ENGI 210 assignment, we were tasked with building a box! The box had to be made out of wood and had to meet some basic dimensions and criteria, such as routed edges and no protruding fasteners. A couple of years ago, I worked on a personal project to make a wood side table with an interior shelf. One of the driving ideas for the project was to minimize the need for screws or nails. Since I was really happy with the outcome, I decided to use the same approach I used for my table on my box.
The table I made as a personal project.
The first step in the construction process was deciding the dimensions for the box. I plan to use the box to store snacks in my room, so I aimed at making the box the maximum size allowed (10” x 10”). In the wood shop, I was able to find a piece of thick wood, which I liked. Since the piece was too long, I marked the desired sizes and cut the five pieces using the miter saw. I made more precise cuts using the table saw.
Using the miter saw to cut the wood into small pieces
Using the table saw to cut the wood to the desired dimensions.
After cutting the wood, I tried to loosely assemble the side pieces to see if they were all cut to the same dimensions. Although the dimensions were correct, I quickly realized the wood was warped because none of the edges aligned. To correct for the bends in the wood, I used the planar. After leveling out the pieces, the sides aligned well.
Using the planar.
The difference between the two assemblies was noticeable.
The assembly with warped wood.
The assembly with leveled wood.
My next step was to prepare the bottom piece of the box. Since I didn’t want to use any screws on the sides of the box for aesthetic purposes, I decided to add a ‘step’ on all four sides of the bottom so that the side pieces of the box could rest and have some support. I used a rabbet router bit that took off approximately half of the height of the wood material. Although I had used this technique while making my table, I initially struggled in that I couldn’t remember the right type of bit to use. I also didn’t have a precise way of measuring the depth of the cut, which later on affected the final assembly of the box and led to a couple of small gaps.
Routing the ‘steps’ onto the bottom piece.
Once I had all the parts cut and ready, I assembled them and joined them using wood glue. I left the box clamped overnight to ensure the glue had enough time to dry and tightly join the pieces.
The clamped box once it was glued together.
Because part of the assignment involved demonstrating that I knew how to use a screw, I decided to locate four screws at the bottom of the box. I countersunk the screw so that the head of the screw wouldn’t stick out. This involved first making a pilot hole for the screw, making a shallow hole with a diameter larger than the screw head (to allow for the head to sink below the rest of the material), and finally inserting the screw. This part of the assignment was the most frustrating because I ended up splintering the wood. I realized that in an attempt to place the screws as far out as possible, I placed them too close to the edge and splintered the wood. Additionally, Dr. Wettergreen later advised that I might have been able to prevent the splintering by using smaller screws.
A splintered corner of the box.
The last step in my box building process was routing the edges of the box to make them smooth. I rounded all the exterior edges as well as the interior edges. One problem I faced with routing the edges is that the routing wasn’t as smooth when the grain of the wood was against the direction of the cut. As a result, the edge had some marks left, which I later removed using sandpaper.
An edge marked by the router.
To smooth out the box, I also used the belt sander and the orbital sander.
The various ways I smoothed the sides of the box.
Done!
In the end, I was somewhat satisfied with my box. I was a bit annoyed about the couple of small gaps between two sides (as a result of the imprecise routing) and the splintered corners. However, I was happy with the overall texture and appearance of the box (disregarding the gaps).
Top view of the finished box.
Bottom view of the finished box.
Cost estimation for building the box
Labor
- I spent a total of 5.5 hours on this project. Assuming a pay rate of $15/hour= $82.5
Machining
- Through the whole construction process, I used the following machines: miter saw, table saw, router, belt sander, and the orbital sander. To use similar equipment at a fabrication lab outside of Rice, I would have to pay at least $50 (the price of the “Tinkerer”, the cheapest membership which includes full access to tools at TXRX Labs).
Materials
- Screws: A package of 184 screws is sold for $7.97 at the Home Depot. I only used 4, so $7.97/184= $0.04 per screw. $0.04 x 4= $0.16
- Wood: A 2 in. x 10 in. x 8 ft piece of wood is sold for $9.67 at the Home Depot.
- Wood glue: 1 bottle sold for $3.97 at the Home Depot. I used approximately ⅕ of the bottle, so $3.97/5= $0.80
Total cost= $82.5 + $50 + $0.16 + $9.67 +$0.80= $143.13
