I am paired with Ender Lv to build a wooden crate! We started our project on Friday afternoon. However, when we arrived, we discovered that there was an alumni meeting taking place at that time, which prevented us from using the router to trim the edges of the wood. As a result, we could only use sandpaper to smooth the wood by hand, and we decided to trim the edges on Saturday. 

Since we planned to stain the wood before assembling it, we went to OEDK on Saturday night to do so. We arrived around 8:30 p.m., finding there’s no people there except for us. After we finished staining the wood, we were surprised when another group of people arrived.

Most of the work was done on Sunday. We first used corner clamps and table clamps to secure the dimensions while assembling the four sides of the box from the 1×4 lumber. After completing two pairs of sides and almost finishing the third pair, we realized that one piece of wood was missing its corner, probably because we accidentally knocked it off while moving and placing the wood :(. This forced us to find a solution to fix this issue while still aiming to complete the project on schedule. To address the issue, Ender focused on reattaching the corner to the piece of wood using wood glue and wood shavings. Meanwhile, I worked on sanding down one of the edges to ensure it would fit properly into the frame. Initially, I spent a lot of time sanding in a smooth plane, but I then realized it was more effective to focus on the corners. I then added the four vertical supports to the corners of the box. With these tasks completed, Ender successfully repaired the missing corner, resolving a significant problem!

The remaining procedures were relatively simple. We used extra pieces of 1×4 lumber as spacers to ensure that the gaps were evenly distributed, and then placed the frame we had created on top. For each frame, we drove one nail between the frame and each of the two vertical supports, resulting in a total of eight nails per frame. Since we had previous experience with nailing from constructing the frame, we completed these tasks quickly and without any problems.

We then finished constructing the crate! Our remaining tasks were to use 400-grit sandpaper to achieve a smooth surface and to reapply the stain to the exterior, as some of it had been removed during sanding. We cleaned the table where we had been working using a vacuum cleaner, and after completing all these tasks, it was around 10:00 p.m. Overall, although some nails were not perfectly aligned and the crate’s dimensions might not be exactly 16”x12”x12”, I am very satisfied with the final product!

The table after we cleaning it

ESTIMATED COST

Wood $15

Stain & nails negligible

Machine ¥10

Labour $15 * 2 * 8 = ¥240

Total $265