For this week’s homework assignment, we were tasked with making a box using the joining and post-processing methods we learned in class. To begin, I cut my plywood pieces using the table saw. My box was rectangular in shape with the shorter sides being 11.625″ in and the longer sides being 13.25″. To achieve these dimensions, I cut 10.125″ x 13.25″ pieces of plywood to account for the 0.75″ thickness of the plywood.

After cutting my wood, I clamped by pieces in order to join the sides. I drilled a pilot hole with a 1/8″ bit and then used 1.5″ wood screws to join the two corners. This process took me quite a while because I wanted to make sure everything was lined up properly before joining the two pieces. After all 4 sides of the box were together, it was time to cut the bottom piece. I measured to length and width of my box and cut a piece, using the table saw again, according to those dimensions. When I cut the wood, though, the piece ended up being 1/8″ too long, meaning there was an 1/8″ overhang on one side of my box. To fix this problem, I used the belt sander to make the bottom piece flush with the side piece.

 

After going all sides and the bottom of my box, to was time to use the router to curve edges. I decided to only curve the sides because I want to top and bottom to have straight edges. I ran into yet another problem: my screws were too close to the edge of my box to safely use the router without worrying about hitting a screw. So, I had to unscrew each side individual, route the edge, and the put the screw back in before repeating for the other 3 sides.

Finally, after about 4 hours, my box was finally constructed! It was now time to move on to post-processing and finishing.

First, I used the orbital sander with 60-grit sand paper to sand all of the sides, the inside, and the bottom. The outside of my box had black text on it, so I had to sand the sides pretty rigorously in order to remove the text. Then, I went back in with 100-grit sandpaper to smooth the sides, insides, and the routed edges. I also used the belt sander the make the bottom pieces flush with the side as aforementioned.

After my box was sanded and smooth, I went on to finishing my box. My original plan was to stain it, but I realized the sides of the plywood were exposed and I was concerned that the edges of the box would come out a lot darker than the side faces. As a result, I opted for a polyurethane clear coat and no stain. I followed the directions on the container, which were to apply a thing coat using a bristle brush, let dry two hours, lightly sand with 220-grit sandpaper, apply another coat, let dry again, and lightly sand again. After applying the two coats, I was satisfied with the outcome. Looking back, I do wish I would’ve applied a stain before the clear coat because the clear coat gives my box and ugly yellow tint, but overall I’m very satisfied with the construction of my box!

I used two pieces of 0.75″ x 24″ x 24″ plywood which costs about $20. I used 16 1.5″ wood screw, and at $9.58 for a pack of 100, that totals to (16/100) * ($9.58) which equals about $1.50. I also used the table saw for about 30 minutes, and at around $15 an hour, that totals to $7.50. I used the router for about 10 minutes, and at about $35 an hour, that totals to about $5.84. The drill cost about $120, and I used it for about 4 hours. If the drill lasts two years (730 days), and 120/730 = $0.16 per day, then the total cost of me using the drill was about $0.10. I used 60-grit, 100-grit, and 220-grit sandpaper, which totals to about $5. I used the orbital sander which costs $75 total, and I used it for about 30 minutes, and if it has a lifetime of say 4 years, that comes out to a basically negligible cost of use of about $0.05. Finally, I used a clamp, which cost about $11 total, again leading to a basically negligible cost of use. I used a polyurethane clear coat, which totals to about $5. I received help from the lab assistants for about and hour, and I spent about 5 hours total, and at $10 an hour that totals $60. to Adding everything up, the cost totals to about $100.