Planning and cutting
This project made me think outside the box a little because of how much I had messed up the measurements, but it was a rewarding and fun experience overall. Initially I did not have a plan for how I wanted my box to look, but I worked with Sara to come up with measurements to make the box 16” x 14.5” given one of the examples in the instructions. This involved cutting 2 9”, 4 9.4” and 2 14.5” 2×2 wood for the frame and 6 14.5” and 6 16” 1×3 wood for the sides.
Layout and Building
After I finished cutting out all the wood and tried to lay out the frame, I realized that the sides did not line up with the frame for several different layouts. Eventually I found a frame layout that allowed the sides to line up, although the bottom plywood did not completely line up with the sides.
I started drilling the frame together, although I struggled with getting the nail through at first and ended up cracking one of the edges. To prevent that from happening again, I used the ⅛ inch drill bit to drill a hole through and then screw the edges in together. It took a while and several tries, but I eventually finished the frame and drilled the bottom layer to it. Afterwards I started drilling the bottom plywood to the frame, which made the overall structure more stable. Then I connected the sides of the other two layers and drilled them to the frame; it took me a few tries because the middle layer was not completely even with the other layers.
Post Processing
I used the OEDK’s abrasive belt sanding machine to smooth the surfaces of the wood and the orbit sander with a sanding disc of 60 grit to smoothen all of the edges and the top of the crate. The effects were not very noticeable but it definitely felt safer and more comfortable to carry.
After constructing my box, I started to stain the surface of the wood, which was somewhat challenging because I forgot to get some parts of the supports that were peeking through the sides. When I flipped my box to paint the bottom, I also noticed that I hadn’t noticed the bottom of the side pieces being unpainted as well so I went back to paint over those areas.
To finish up the box, I made some stencils like my name and Engi 210 to spray paint onto different layers of the sides. I did many trial runs with stencils to make sure I didn’t mess up and I still did because there was too much paint accumulating on the paper. I was able to wipe it off and stain over that area again. I felt alright with my next tries so I kept the spray paint as it is.
Conclusions
Overall I am satisfied with the results of my box given the time constraints- however, there are definitely so many I could and should have done better at, especially correctly measuring and planning all the pieces. I think that would have also allowed me to sand my edges better and make the whole box more smooth and satisfying. I rushed the wood staining and stencil spray painting a bit too so next time I will take my time with that and make sure all sides are evenly painted and dried.
Cost Analysis
Labor: 9 hrs $13/hr = $117
1x3s: 2 x $7.71 = $15.42
2x2s: 1 x $5.48 = $5.48
Plywood: 0.5 x $9.15 = $4.58
Box of Screws: $8.97
Wood stain can (used 1/4): $8.78 / 4 = $2.20
2 Spray Paint cans(used 1/7) : ($4.58 x 2) / 7 = $1.31
Approximate Total Cost: $154.96
