For this assignment, I cut, assembled, and finished 1×4 planks of wood into a 16″-by-16″, one foot tall box that was stained a blue color and clear-coated. Overall, I felt more confident with the process the further I got into it, and with minor snags, was able to produce a sturdy box that I am proud to say I completed every step from after sourcing the wood all the way to finishing the assembled box.

Planning

Before working with any material, I identified how I wanted to create the square shape of the sides of the box, opting to have opposite sides of the full length of 16 inches, and the two remaining sides be the full length minus the width of both full length sides (14-1/2 inches).

Next, I needed to plan how I would achieve a height of 12 inches. I wanted to use base wood of the same width as my 1x4s (3/4″) which left me with 11-1/4″ of height to make up. I knew that I would have paneled sides, with gaps between 1x4s, so to create paneling on the sides with appropriate gaps (~half an inch), I would need three 1x4s on each side.

Finally, I wanted to create a frame to secure the pieces together from inside the box. This frame would have a square-outline shaped base four pieces coming up vertically from each corner of the square, made of 2x2s. Given 3/4″ thick wood on the outside of my box, the base of the frame came out to be 14-1/2, which I decided to create using an indeterminate box with four 13″ 2x2s. For the vertical pieces, I would need to subtract the width of both the 3/4″ base of the box and the thickness of the frame base as well (1-1/2″), meaning I would cut four 9-3/4″ 2x2s.

Prepping

With concrete lengths planned, I used the miter saw to cut 1×4 planks of wood down to the appropriate sizes for the side panels of my box, 2×2 planks for the inside frame, and had planned to cut one single sheet of plywood for the base of my box. However, I was not able to find a piece of wood large enough, and ended up using wood that was already cut down to 16″ by 13-1/2″ and used the table saw to cut another large piece of wood that was 16″ long to a width of 2-1/2″, planning to conjoin these two pieces for the bottom of the box.

I used the planer to level and smooth each side piece and frame piece of my box, coming out with wood that was both nicer to work with, but also more even in thickness across. I also used the planer to make the 2-1/2″ wide piece of my base equal thickness as the larger base piece. I proceeded to used the router on my edge pieces to add a small fillet, doing so on the top and bottom edge of the outside of all of my side pieces, but also adding a fillet to the right and left outside edges of the longer side pieces (16″) to create a more finished look.

My final step to prep my wood before assembly was to manually sand down the bottom pieces that I could not put through the planer and as well as all my other pieces to make sure I could put everything flush together.

Assembly

I assembled the frame that would go inside my box first. I used the right angle clamp to hold two 13″ 2x2s together and adhered wood glue at the faces that were being connected. I then used a 1/8″ bit to create a pilot hole before using a screw dipped in wood glue to adhere the pieces together. This is the same process I used with screws throughout my box assembly. I first created the square base of the frame, then added the vertical pieces, using the right angle clamp along with a sliding clamp to hold pieces down each time.

I next screwed in my side pieces to the frame, working bottom up. I started with both shorter side pieces in a given level, screwing them into the frame itself. After that, I screwed both 16″ side pieces of a level into the ends of the shorter pieces, closer to the center vertically to avoid hitting other screws. I only remembered to add a countersink once I completed the bottom level, so my screws get more flush the further up the box one goes.

I found at this point that I had incorrectly measured some of shorter side pieces by about 1/4″, too long to efficiently sand down, so I used a jigsaw to cut off the ends of pieces that were too long.

Once I had enough side pieces on, I was able to assemble with the box on the floor, and able to leverage my weight better behind the drill. I found this really helpful to getting the screws all the way in without being worried about stripping them.

The last part of my box assembly was to add the bottom. I put glue on the edges of the bottom perimeter of the sides of my box as well as the faces of the bottom pieces that would connect, clamped both bottom pieces to the rest of the box, and then clamped them together. I added screws offset to the corners to avoid screws that I had added in corners previously in the assembly of the frame and the sides, as well as at the midpoints of each side.

Overall, the dimensions of the box I created came within an 1/8″ to the expected ones!

Finishing

Before adding any additive post-processing, I used the electric sander to smooth out and level my assembled box to the best of my ability with both 60 and 100 grit sandpaper. I chose a light blue stain to finish my box with, which in hindsight, is a little too close to modern farmhouse for my aesthetic. It still came out a nice color, and after letting it dry overnight, I added a clear glossy coat to the top.

In Hindsight

To start, I think I could have gotten away with planing my pieces even just a little bit more, if just to have a slightly easier time with assembling in not having to manually sand edges as much that were close but not completely flush. It might have even helped to choose pieces of wood that were more uniform — going with planks that didn’t have as many divots and had fully rectangular edges on all sides.  Additionally, I originally wanted to add handles, and it would have been easiest to add them to two side pieces before assembly.

A lot of my assembly process involved learning as I went along. Screwing in the short side pieces on the bottom layer was kind of an awkward maneuver since I didn’t plan on how the screws in the frame might be in the way, and couldn’t make them uniform vertically with the rest of the side planks. I had trouble with stripping screws, and found about half way through assembly that I was struggling so much simply because I wasn’t putting enough force behind the screwdriver. I also discovered that I could make a countersink using a larger bit that allowed for my screws to be flush in the wood, looking cleaner the further up I went. I found clamping really awkward with C-clamps being the most efficient for holding sides flush with the surfaces I wanted to screw them into, but being in the way of where I wanted to screw — turns out I can just flip them to the opposite direction to be out of the way!

While I used the right angle joiner, not all of my side pieces (particularly the longer ones) are flush with the frame inside, but I still ended up with a box that came out to the right dimensions. I would have liked to have both achieved correct dimensions for the outside of my box, and have a frame that fully supports the sides.

An early mistake with post-processing was staining my wood at night, and finding that it looked very different than what I expected in daylight. Like I had mentioned above, it vaguely gives a modern farmhouse aesthetic (less in the Magnolia Market way, more in what I find a little to be a bit tacky), and I’m not a huge fan of that look. I added a glossy clear coat, but would have liked to have finished it with a layer of polyurethane if I had more time for it to set.

cost analysis

16′ 1x4s………………………………….$10.00

8′ 2x2s……………………………………$4.00

1 Sheet 3/4 Maple Plywood……….$15.00

100 Pack of Screws………………….$12.00

Wood Glue……………………………..$4.00

– – – – – – – –

Miter Saw + Blade…………………..$225

Router…………………………………..$600

Power Drill + Bit……………………..$200

– – – – – – – – –

Labor (7 Hours @ $18/hr)………..$126

Overall, the cost of material for this technique for this specific project is relatively low, but the cost of tools and labor are medium, being higher than something like sewing, or paying a tailor for labor.