I’ve never built a complete object out of wood before. Yet the assignment clearly read: Build a Box!
The adventure began in the familiar OEDK basement, where I found the perfect piece of plywood for the job. Then, the wood shop, where I, with the guidance of lab assistant, used the table saw to cut the 1/2 in. thick wood into five pieces: one 7 in. square, two 7 in. x 10 in., and two 8 in. x 10 in. pieces. I then routed the edges of the pieces with the router to ensure a smooth finish. In my mind, I could already see the pieces coming together to form the bottom and sides of a tall, elegant dark wood box.
To hide the screws from view on the outside, I chose to use the Kreg Jig to fasten all sides of my box. Spending hours in the maker space, I used an electric drill with the Kreg Jig drill bit (set to 1/2 in.) to drill two holes in each side piece (3 in. and 7 in. from the top edge) and four in the bottom (connecting to each of the four sides, see Figure 1). Next, increasingly clamping down the box to ensure tight, rigid fitting of all pieces, I used a screw driver to hand-screw 1/2 in. nails into the holes (Figure 2).
Figure 1
Figure 2
With the basic structure of the box complete, I proceeded to smooth out all the connecting edges. And I quickly found that the sanding machine was not the way to do it. Running a side piece against the circular sanding belt, an entire layer of plywood in the area was ripped off (Figure 3). I immediately switched to manual sanding by sand paper– it may be slow, but it is the most precise way to achieve the desired results.
Figure 3
Finally, to further hide the screws and connecting edges and to realize the original image in my mind, I stained the entire box with a dark colored coffee wood stain, using a piece of cloth to apply the stain evenly over the wood surface (Figure 4). As I type, the box is still drying in the OEDK, right at the ENGI 210 tables.
Figure 4
The adventure is thus coming to an end. We are often told to think outside the box, but right now I would simply like to think about the box. I’ve built a 8 in. x 8 in. x 10 in. coffee-colored plywood box… but what is the cost?
Raw materials:
- 5 pieces of wood: $5
- 12 screws: $5
Machining:
- Table saw: $5
- Router: $3
- Drilling: $3
- Sanding: $1
Labor:
- 6 hours * $20/hr = $120
That adds up to… $142 for the box. Well, I won’t be putting that in my cart at IKEA anytime, but I sure can build it myself!
