We were tasked with making a box using the joining and post-processing methods we learned in class. I never had any experience with tools before so it was challenging and exciting. I first cut my plywood pieces using the table saw. I cut 10.125″ x 13.25″ pieces of plywood to account for the 0.75” thickness of the plywood, so that I would have a box that was 12” tall, 13.25” long, and 11 5/8” wide.

After the wood was cut, I arranged my box so I would know where to put the pilot holes. I then clamped the two pieces with a corner clamp and drilled 3 pilot holes with a 1/8” bit. I then used the 1.5” wood screws to secure the pieces together. Since I never had experience with using a drill, I stripped a lot of screws and it took me a while to align the pieces of wood together perfectly. Once I joined all 4 sides of the box together, I measured the length and width for the bottom piece. I then used the table saw again to cut the wood to the perfect size. However, there was a bit of an overhang, so I used the belt sander to try to make the bottom piece perfectly aligned with the side piece.

Finally, I was ready to use the router to curve the edges along the sides of the box. But, my screws were too close to the edge of the box, so I had to unscrew each side, route the edge, and then put the screw back in. I did this for all 4 sides to ensure I wouldn’t damage the bit in the router. The process was pretty fast because I was more comfortable with the drill and the router was pretty fast.

For post-processing, I used the orbital sander with 60-grit sand paper to sand the sides and the inside. I actually forgot to sand the bottom. I wanted to use the light stain, however I ran out of time.

I used two pieces 0f 0.75” x 24” x 24” plywood ($20). I used about 24 1.5” wood screws (I think, I stripped a lot of screws so I had to replace them), which costs about $2.30. I used the table saw and router for about 45 minutes while the lab assistants were helping me out which is about $11.25 for their time and assistance. I used a $120 drill for 4 hours, $2 60-grit sand paper, $75 orbital sander for 30 minutes, $11 corner clamps and regular clamps. For all the tools, I would say it costs about $10 considering the amount of time I used it. I spent about 4 hours on the box, so that was about $40 of my time. The total cost is about $85.55.