We are tasked with making a 12″x12″x16″ box for this assignment. Unfortunately, by the time I started and tried to look for wood to use, there was no longer any pieces that were big enough for such dimensions. I was basically considering either trying to fit multiple smaller pieces of wood together to make it work, or cut down the dimensions by half and make a 6”x6”x8” box instead. Pressed for time, I went with the latter choice.

I first used the table saw in the wood shop to cut out 5 pieces of wood (1 8”x8”, 4 7.25”x5.25”) to accommodate for the 0.75” thickness of the plywood. One piece has a weird curvy hole, which I decided would be convenient for a bottom corner if I want to stick some electrical wire out of the box for any random purposes.

 

Before assembling the box, I went to the wood shop touse the router and smooth out the bottom sides of the base 8”x8” piece. Afterwards, using corner clamps, I assembled the box and secured everything with wood screws (1/8” bit for pilot hole, 5/16” bit for counterbore). To smooth out the top edges, I used the wood shop’s router again

 

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For post-processing, I first sanded off all sides and edges of the box, especially because some of the plywood edges fell apart/chip while being routed. I then used wood stain to stain both the inner and outer surfaces, wiped the stain off after a couple of minutes, and left to dry overnight.

I then lightly sanded off the stained wood before applying a clear coat, and here is the finished box!

Total cost: scrap wood ($5) + labor ($15/hr*4hr) + wood stain/screws/wood shop use ($20) = $85.