The objective of this assignment was to create a simple open box and to become more comfortable with using the tools in the OEDK.  I originally had big plans for this box but those were eventually put aside once I realized I was spending too much time on this first assignment.

From the start I wanted to make a box that I would actually see myself keeping.  After looking at the scrap wood in the OEDK basement, I went to the woodshed in search of pieces that were high quality and were large enough for me to constructor’s a whole box from.

From the wood shop, I chose some free pieces of wood that were 1.5″ thick and at least 10″x 10″. I then measured and marked where I wanted to cut the wood. First I used the circular saw to cut out all the pieces, then moved onto using the planar tool to make the wood closer to the exact dimensioning I wanted.

After cutting out all the pieces I started preparing the box to be fastened together. Since my original goal for the box was the stain and etch a pattern on all side of it, I knew I would have to kreg jig all the sides together in order to ensure no visible screws could be hit by the laser cutter.

After kregging the holes into each, I screwed two faces together in pairs. Then, I screwed the first pair down onto the base while clamping the corners to have the faces flush with the base.  When preparing to place the second pair of faces onto the base, I noticed that once of the edges on the piece I had already screwed in was a faction of an inch too long. This error was probably overseen during my planning phase because when I was assembling the box the first time, I tired to push all the sides together and make sure all faces were flush with each other and the base. But when I ran my hand over the faces, it would not longer be as tight and the slight overhang was just pushed in.

 

To try remedy this error, I filed the box then sanded it for over 30 minutes but it was taking more time than I anticipated. In Heinz-sight, I should have just unscrewed the pieces and used the planar tool again. However, I was afraid of stripping the screws so I was hesitant to unscrew then put them back in. Since the file was taking too long, I tried to use the belt sander which was a mistake. I ended up taking too much material off and  the faces of the sides were flush with the base but there was now a slight gap between two faces.

I then screwed in the second pair of sides into the base which only left 4 more screws to be fastened before the box was secure.  Then I encountered another error, I did not drill a full pilot hole for the screws paste what had already been kreg jigged. This meant that I had to use the smallest screw driver on the inside of my box to try push the screws through solid wood. This took a lot of needless time and effort which caused me get pretty frustrated. Also from screwing so hard, my thumbs got blisters and the skin eventually tore off so I couldn’t unlock my phone with Touch ID for the next 2 weeks.

Once the box was all fastened together, I went to the woodshed to route it. Then I used the orbital sander to smoothen out any overhang and then I sanded it by hand until I was happy with how smooth it was.

As I mentioned earlier, the reason I put myself through this extra effort was for the end goal fo staining and etching the outer surface of the box with a design of my choosing. I tested out a few stains then put them in the laser cutter to see which one I liked the most after being etched.  I decided I liked the contrast of the white with the etching the most but I never followed through with this completely because I had been working on the box for so long that the due dates for the other projects were coming up so I had to prioritize those.

 

 

Overall I am sad that I didn’t see my vision through until the end after putting in so much time and effort into it; however, I am not disappointed with the way it looks at the moment. Later this semester I will give this box the finish it deserves and I can feel proud of the result.

 

Cost analysis:

Based on the price of yellow pine lumber from Home Depot, $10 for 2″x8″x16′, the total price of lumber would be $2.85.  By estimating rates for rental of the tools in the OEDK, my usage of machines would be around $2 as using machines such as the circular saw, planar, router, and belt sander would have rates for less than $1 an hour and I only used these tools for 10-20 minutes each.  By far the most expensive factor in the cost of this would be the price of labor. I would want a wage of at least $15 an hour and if I worked on this box for around 10 hours, that would be $150 worth of labor. Coming out to a total cost of about  $155, it is immediately obvious that using the tools more effectively would have been a better option financially and in terms of saving myself time.