For this assignment, we were tasked with creating a box out of wood using tools from the woodshop to cut & process the wood, fasteners to assemble the box, and sanding and finishing techniques to post-process. This was probably one of the more intimidating assignments for me, as I had very little prior experience working with wood and assembling with drills and fasteners.
To start, I planned out the dimensions that each of the panels of the box would need to be to fit the assignment specifications of 16x16x12in. I also planned out which edges of each panel would need to be routed in order to have all corner edges of the box rounded. I decided that I would post-process (route and sand) my wood pieces before assembling, so that it would be easier to access all edges and surfaces of the panels.
I asked a lab assistant for help and went to the wood shop. Because the available plywood panels were 24inx24in, I decided to scale down the size of the box so that 4 side panels could be cut out of one piece of wood (accounting for the thickness of the table saw blade). After cutting with the table saw, the end dimensions of the side pieces were 11.75×11.75in, and the end dimensions of the bottom panel were 12.5×12.5in. This was also accounting for the thickness of the wood which was 0.75in. I was then debating whether to use the planar to smooth the surface of the wood. The lab assistant recommended that the surface of the wood was already very flat and that it could potentially take away chunks on the plywood. Therefore, I moved on to routing. I routed the appropriate edges of the bottom piece and side pieces so that all corner edges would be rounded.
Next, I moved onto sanding. I used the orbital sander with 60 grit sand paper to sand the surfaces of all of the panels. I repeated this process using the orbital sander then using 220 grit paper. Following, I hand-sanded the routed edges of the pieces using first 80 grit sand paper and then 320 grit sand paper (the exact size depending on what grits were available).
Next, I began the assembly of the pieces. I measured where the screws would need to go to be placed at the same location across each panel. I then used a corner clamp to hold the edges the sides in place, drilled holes, and then drilled in the screws.
It was this area where I encountered a couple of issues, and there were a few key learnings from this:
- I had some struggles removing the drill bit after drilling a deep hole. To remove the drill bit from the wood it is helpful to run the drill in reverse.
- It is important to make sure the drill bit you are using isn’t too large in comparison to the screw. I thought I had sized the bit appropriately, but some holes became too big to hold the screws in place, and I had to find wider screws that would fit in their place.
- For me, it was helpful when I could drill from above, rather than trying to drill sideways into the piece. I was able to achieve this when I was attaching the bottom piece to the sides. In the future I would clamp the pieces so that I could have drilled from above for all panel attachments.
- When the screws were close to being fully screwed-in, it was helpful to use a hand-screwdriver to finish the process to prevent plywood breakage and screw stripping.
Evidence of these learnings can be seen in some of the screw fastenings. I did attempt to create wider holes with a wider drill bit so that the screw head would not protrude out from the box, but this did not always work out. The last piece I assembled was attaching the bottom panel to the sides. I believe this was my cleanest execution of the above learnings.
I then moved onto finishing the box with a wood stain and clear coat. I used a white stain to cover the box, let it dry, and then spray-painted a clear coat cover to seal the wood to reach the final product! Through this process, I learned quite a bit about wood shop and wood assembly procedures that I can apply to future projects moving forward.
Cost Analysis
Material costs:
Equipment costs:
- Table saw: $600+
- Router: $650 (from workbook)
- Cordless drill: $160 (from workbook)
- Drill bits: $60 (from workbook)
- Screwdriver: $5
Labor costs:
- ~5 hours @ 10$/hr = $50
The majority of the costs associated with this assignment are related to the machinery used. However, assuming that the equipment would be available at a woodshop with a usage rate of $11/hr, the total equipment cost would be $55 (5hrs x $11/hr). The total materials cost is approximately $54, and the total labor cost is around $50. This project had much more active labor time than some of the other projects which required more machine time (e.g. 3D printing). Therefore, the total cost to create the box was approximately $160.
