Author: Gabby Lea | Partner: Elena Nikolaychuk

Overview

Elena was my partner for this project. We worked very well together because we effectively delegated our tasks. On most parts, we worked together on the same task to coordinate and make sure we were both satisfied with the results. However, on other tasks, primarily those where a piece of equipment could only be used by one person at a time, we worked on different tasks at the same time. We also split our work across multiple days. Some tasks, such as routing, couldn’t be completed without a TA or technician present due to needing access to the woodshop, so we needed to come in on days when we could get that access. We made sure to clean up our spaces thoroughly after we left each day, but I only remembered to take a picture on the last day.

 

Planning

We began with a pile of pre-cut wood provided to us by the TAs. Several of our pieces of wood were of sub-par quality (e.g. pieces with remaining bark, heavily splintered and cracked pieces, etc.), so Elena and I decided to recut those pieces out of new planks and then went back inside to plan out how exactly we would make the crate. Because it seemed to be much easier to route individual planks to the whole crate, we set the general order to be as follows: choosing where each piece of wood would go, measuring the hole positions, pre-drilling the holes, routing and sanding, staining, assembly, and finishing touches.

Measuring Holes

Elena and I roughly set up our planks so we could begin measuring and marking the drill sites. On the 12” long planks (the “short” pieces), we measured two points on each side 1 cm away from the side edge and 2 cm away from the top and bottom edges. These would secure the side planks to each other. On the 14.5” long planks (the “long” pieces), we measured two points on each side 2 cm away from the side edge and 3 cm away from the top and bottom edges. These would secure the side planks to the inner square pillar planks. We made a note of which part of the wood would face the outside of the crate as these holes would be countersunk. At this point, I made a mistake. I did not realize how deeply permanent markers absorb into wood. This was fine for the dots I marked to drill away, but the letters I wrote to denote the outside versus inside face of the planks did not completely go away after we started sanding.

Pre-Drilling Holes

We held the planks together using corner clamps and drilled with a 1/8” bit. We then used a ¼” countersinking bit and tried our best to get a consistent depth. After drilling, we marked the wood so we could put the same pieces we pre-drilled back together once it was time to assemble. Because the woodshop was closed at this point, we decided to do some light sanding to get rid of any big splinters before routing.

Handles!

The handles were more of an afterthought after seeing them on other crates. As someone with smaller hands, I think this was a very good and useful addition. We measured the handles to be about 12 cm wide at the top and then taper out at a 45-degree angle at the bottom. We both tried to cut one of the handles using the band saw. However, due to the thin nature of the band saw blade, we kept getting bent and crooked lines and overall had a pretty difficult time. For the other handle, I followed TA advice to use a jigsaw instead, leading to a much cleaner look. Of course, we still had to smooth the corners. I used the belt sander for the diagonal parts since they were the only parts of the handle that could get to the belt. For the rest of the handle, I used a Dremel tool.

Routing and Sanding

While I cut the handles and sanded them down, Elena routed the wood for the rest of the crate. We figured this would be more efficient than just standing and watching the other person do a task. Elena used a ¼” round-over bit on the table router to give the planks a nice “bubbly” look. One I was finished with the handles, I routed those pieces of wood as well.

After routing, we used the orbital sander with 120 grit sandpaper to go over the broad sides and then hand sanded with 220 grit sandpaper on the corners and edges.

Staining

Elena and I had to make an important creative decision regarding the crate. We wanted to preserve the natural look of the wood grain, but also wanted to have a smooth finish. We decided to do a stain or oil, then cover it with a polyurethane clear coat. Our choice of stains was limited by what materials were remaining. The darker brown stains looked good, but there simply wasn’t enough to cover our whole crate. For a moment, we thought about using the blue stain, but the test piece of wood we tried staining just didn’t look right even after multiple coats. In the end, we opted for the Danish oil, following the directions to add two coats. The directions said to let the oil dry for 72 hours, before adding a polyurethane clear coat, so we came back later to assemble the crate.

Assembly

The pre-drilled holes made crate assembly very easy. Just like assembling IKEA furniture, we placed the boards in the right shape, lined up the holes we already made, and drilled in the screws. The only part of the create we didn’t pre-drill holes into was the base boards. Looking back, I wish we did, because one of the holes we drilled ended up being too close to the bottom, cracking one of the planks. Not to worry, though, because we just filled it with wood glue and sawdust, and because it was on the bottom of the crate, it’s not immediately noticeable.

We weren’t sure of how strong the hold would be from the planks on the sides of the crate, so we decided to screw each 2” x 2” pillar to the base boards for extra security. We measured a point 2 cm away from the top and side of the base at the four corners where the pillars would be. This didn’t add that much extra security, but it did mean fewer visible screws on the side of the crate.

We used some spare planks of wood to evenly space the side planks of the crate before screwing them to the inner posts.

After assembling, we sprayed the inside with a matte clear coat and the outside with a semi-gloss clear coat for a bit of added shine.

Cost Model

Cost Type	Cost	Price	Source	Quantity	Total
Materials	Wood Planks (1×4)	$2.87 /8ft plank	Home Depot	3 Planks	$8.61
	Wood Planks (2×2)	$2.87 /8ft plank	Home Depot	1 Plank	$2.87
	Assorted Grit Sandpaper	$7.99 /36 sheets	Amazon	6 Sheets	$1.33
	Danish Oil Finish	$13.98 /can (1 pint)	Home Depot	½ Can	$6.99
	Wood Screws (1.25”)	$9.98 /box (184 screws)	Home Depot	80 Screws	$4.34
Labor	Woodworking Operator (me)	$19.40 /hr	US Bureau of Labor Statistics	9 Hours	$174.60
	Woodworking Operator (Elena)	$19.40 /hr	US Bureau of Labor Statistics	9 Hours	$174.60
	Prototyping Engineer (me)	$36 /hr	ZipRecruiter	1 Hour	$36.00
	Prototyping Engineer (Elena)	$36 /hr	ZipRecruiter	1 Hour	$36.00
Overhead	Woodshop Access	$40 /month	The Maker Barn	3 Days	$40.00
				Total	$485.34

Once again, the biggest cost of this project is labor. Because this was a partner project, the cost of each person’s labor is being included in this model. In total, we each worked about 10 hours on this project. I am including any other overhead fees in the cost of the woodshop access because the facility is almost definitely taking care of equipment maintenance and custodial needs. I also assumed that membership cannot be prorated, so even though we only worked over three days, I am including the whole month’s cost. There was only the one iteration of the crate, so there are no additional design costs.

 

GLEN, signing off!