This time I’ll be making a wooden box, in line with the new class assignment.

Taking Measurements

To begin with, I’ll have to decide on the measurements of my box. I chose to go with the recommended size that the assignment prescribed; 16” by 12” inches. After cracking my brain trying to visualize how the box is going to come together, I headed over to the wood shop to cut wood with the right measurements. I decided to create a hybrid box/crate with both solid boards and wooden slats. Therefore, I ended up cutting six equally sized wooden slats as well as three solid wooden boards. The cuts were successfully accomplished on the first try using a table saw.

Assembly

Now that all my pieces of wood were ready for assembly, I started attaching my two solid sides of the box to the solid bottom. To do this I used a corner clamp to hold the wood together, then I drilled a pilot hole, and finally I put in a 2.5 inch wood screw.

After the three main solid boards had been attached I continued adding the slats. First, I had to fasten the slats at the right position using clamps. Afterwards, I could continue by drilling pilot holes and putting in screws. I decided to put in one screw on each side for each slat. I also made pencil marks on the slat to ensure that all screws were mostly equidistant from the sides. Before I settled on using screws in this fashion I tried to use the Kregjig to fasten the pieces of wood. However, this did not have the desired effect because the Kregjig works best when its screws are inserted in a direction that enters the thicker part of the wood. In my case, that would result in the pilot holes facing the outside of the box and that is the opposite of what is desirable. I found a helpful Youtube video that explains it further.

Post processing

When the box had been assembled, I moved on to post processing. First, I sanded the entire outside of the box using an automatic sanding machine. I repeated this process three times, each time moving down with grid size of the sandpaper. I started with 120 grid, then used 300, then used 400. Finally the box felt very smooth when I ran my hand along the outside.  Furthermore, I used the router machine to trim the edges, making them more round. Unfortunately the router defaulted and lost power when I was working on one side causing the wood to split.

To continue post processing there were many options to choose from, such as staining, painting, or adding a topcoat. Because I did not like the look of dark wood stains at all, I chose to finish my box by applying Danish Oil. Not only does this product bring out the beautiful grains of the wood, it also seals the wood, protecting it and making it water resistant, thereby eliminating the need for an additional clear coat.

Cost Analysis

For the raw material, I used approximately 0.5 m^2 of wood, but taking into consideration the pieces that were left over from the cuts that I made, I used approximately 0.6 m^2 of wood. The average price I could find for wood is about $40 per m^2 for hardwood, and $30 for plywood. Assuming I used 2/3 plywood and 1/3 hardwood this amounts to $20 for the raw material. Let’s also add another $5 for the screws I used.

Let’s say I was working for a Texas minimum wage at $7.25 per hours, the labor costs would amount to $43.5, since I spent about 6 hours working on this box.

All in all, the total price for this box comes down to $68.5. I could have definitely gotten a cheaper one in the store. But that wouldn’t have been as much fun of course 🙂