For the second project in ENGI 210, I learned how to use the woodshop that the OEDK has and created a 16″ x 16″ x 12″ wooden box. The box is made of 2″ x 2″ lumber and 1″ x 4″ lumber pieces and is held together by screws. Although I had a lot of experience with smaller woodworking projects in high school using balsa and bass wood, I did not have a lot of proficiency with the big power tools in the woodshop. Overall, I really enjoyed using the woodshop and getting to put together everything
My Process
The first thing I did was planning out how my box would look. I decided to go with a pretty basic design of a frame made out of 2 x 2’s with posts in the corner. I did make my frame line up with the edge of my base since I wanted the 1 x 4 planks to reach the very bottom of my box and not intersect with the base. After my design was complete, I was ready to cut out my wood.
Figure 1. Box Design
The first thing I did was make the base. Since all of the bottom pieces were taken, I had to make my own base out of 1 x 4’s. Using the miter saw, I cut out five pieces which would be 17.5″ long meaning I had to cut it down by 1.5″. Since I wanted the base to be even, I cut out 0.75″ on two wooden planks with the table saw with the help of Douglas. Afterwards, I cut out my two different sets of 4 2 x 2 pieces for the frame and the 12 1 x 4 planks. Since my calculations accounted for the inaccuracy of the plank thicknesses, I used the planer to smooth all of my 1 x 4 pieces down to 3/4″ thick and all of my 2 x 2 pieces to 1.5″ thick. Next, I used the router to make two different edges on my 12 1 x 4 planks. I used a 45° cut-out (the 45° chamfer was broken) on the 4 edges that would be at the very bottom and a rounded edge with a little flat area for all the other edges.
Figure 2 & 3. Routed Edges on 1 x 4 Planks
After I was done in the woodshop, it was time to put everything together. First, I used the orbital sander with 100 grit sandpaper to smooth down all the edges on the planks a little more and get rid of any sharp areas. Then, I started making the frame out of the 2 x 2’s. Using the corner clamps, I was able to hold down the pieces to that they would be at a right angle when I drilled in the screws. Although counter-sinking took me a little bit to learn and I messed up the screws a couple of times, I was able to make the frame without too much headache. After the frame was done, I flipped it on the posts and started attaching the bottom 1 x 4 planks to the frame. For the edge pieces, I attached in the middle of the frame but for the other pieces, I had to drill the screws on the edge. After the bottom was done, I was ready to attach the side planks. I started by lining up the very bottom piece and then clamping it down onto the 2 x 2 frame. I screwed in the plank in the middle and also on the edges of the frame. After doing the bottom planks, I drew myself 1″ and 3.5″ lines on the 2 x 2 posts so that I knew where I would have to attach the other planks to make the gaps even. I clamped the 1 x 4’s on to the posts on the lines and was able to attach them all pretty evenly. After screwing in all of the planks, I was done with my box.
Figure 4. Clamping to Hold Planks
Figure 5. Assembled Box
Once my box was assembled, I ran it over with the orbital sander one more time so that I could smooth out some of the edges and uneven pieces. Then, I was ready to stain the box. Since I did not want a super dark stain, I went with the cherry colored stain on the wood. Since I was staining on Thursday, I only had time to do one coat of stain but I paid extra attention and tried to make sure the stain was as even as possible. I ended up not applying a clear coat since I liked the smooth wood finish and was not a fan of the glossy finish from the clear coats. Once I was done staining, the box was complete.
Figure 6. Final Box
Areas for Improvement
Overall, I think my box turned out pretty good and the areas of improvement are in some of the minor details. If I were to go back and do this project again, I definitely would have practiced counter-sinking and drilling in screws more since I was not as a good as I thought at that. I also would have tried to pick some better wood that wasn’t warped and made sure to make all of the sides level so that the box would be nice and flat. Finally, I wish I had more time to stain the box better and sand everything down even more to make it even.
An issue that I had was that I had some trouble with counter-sinking and drilling the screws, especially to start. I ended up stripping some screws and had to struggle to get them into the wood. Additionally, since I had never counter-sunk before, I struggled to make all of my counter-sinks even and there are very visible differences in some areas.
Figure 7. Uneven Counter-Sinking
My other main issue was from the wood itself that I picked. I ended up picking some really warped wood which caused some issues for my box. The box ended up being not as level and smooth as I wish it was. Especially on the bottom, my 1 x 4 pieces really did not line up which is probably a combination of the pieces being warped and the 2 x 2 frame not being properly level. Although I tried sanding it down to make it better, it was too much of a difference and sanding did not help much.
Figure 8. Warped Wood
Figure 9. Uneven Bottom
Other than those two main issues, I just wish I was able to spend some more time on the project so that I could have sanded some other places to be more even and so that I could have applied multiple layers of the staining. I also wish I did not get so many splinters and I wish I was smart and did not wear a white shirt and white shoes when I stained ( 🙁 rip ).
Cost Analysis
For this analysis, I will be looking at the costs for: screws, 2 x 2 wood, 1 x 4 wood, woodworking equipment (miter saw, planer, router), assembly equipment (orbital sander, drill), and my personal time.
I used 44 screws for the box and 1 lb. of Phillips head screws (approximately 200 screws) is $7.47 from Home Depot which is around $1.65. One 2″ x 2″ x 8′ wood is $4.40 from Home Depot and I used two for my box which is a total of $8.80. One 1″ x 4″ x 8′ wood is $6.48 and I used around 3 for my box which is around $19.44. For the woodworking equipment, a miter saw similar to the one we have as around $169 from Home Depot, a planer was around $350, and a router was $129. For the assembly equipment, an orbital sander is around $40 and a drill kit is around $70. Finally, I spent around 7 hours on this which is $70 based on my $10 per hour pay for being a DM.
In total, my box cost around $857.89, however, without the equipment costs, it would be $99.89.
