For Homework 02, our task was to create an open-top box out of wood, where the dimensions of each side could range between 6″ and 10″.
First, I went to the wood shop and chose a beautiful, warped piece of 3/4″ wood. The dimensions I decided to roll with were 3 7″ x 7.25″ pieces and 1 5.5″ x 6.5″ piece for the sides, and 1 7″ x 5.5″ for the bottom base. I then dimensioned my piece of wood with these dimensions as seen below:
The piece of wood that I initially dimensioned was super long, so I cut it to an appropriate length before laying it on the Miter saw. To prevent further warping, I utilized the machine’s holding mechanisms (the clamp-like things that apply weight to both sides of the intended cut). Once cut, I attempted to tentatively put together my box by stacking the individual pieces together like Legos, which is where I realized my wood was warped beyond repair, despite my best efforts to straighten it out.
I was both relieved that I hadn’t moved further in the process with the warped wood and frustrated that I would have to cut again. To prevent repeating my past mistakes, I picked a much less warped piece and proceeded the same as I had before.
With all my pieces, I went downstairs to start the assembly process, as you can see here:
My general procedure was the simple clamp-drill method, worrying only about 2 pieces at a time. However, on the first attempt at junction (pictured above), I made a pilot hole way too close to the edge of the wood. I didn’t think too much of it at first, but when I inserted the nail, the wood cracked intensely, so I once again had to start from (more or less) square 1.
At this point, I was convinced that the Miter Saw was cursed (that was obviously the issue), so I decided to use the flat-table saw that is directly next to the Router (I’m blanking on the name), to redo the 2 pieces I had messed up.
Apparently, my suspicions were correct, and the rest of the construction process went pretty smoothly. There were a few moments where I had to utilize the power of the belt sander to get my pieces to fit together completely correctly, but aside from that, there were no other real issues.
This is what the assembled box looked like:
I then routed the box, hoping not to hit the nails in the process. I used a 3/8″ bit along the bottom edges and sides. I also sanded down some of the even/jagged edges by hand (mostly along the sides). This is the result:
COST:
As for how much it would cost to create this box, there are multiple factors to consider:
Raw Materials: $6.75
For me, I technically built 2 boxes, and 2 extra sides (2 of the 7″ x 7.5″ pieces). This comes out to a total area of 558 sq. in, or ~4 sq ft. Similar quality plywood is listed at $53.98/32 sq. ft. at Home Depot (https://www.homedepot.com/s/3%252F4%2520plywood%25204×8?NCNI-5). Scaling that down to our needed square footage is how I derived the $6.75 figure.
Labor Time: $35.00
I assumed a lab tech’s salary here, which I believe is $10/hr. Since I worked on this for about 3-4 hours, I met in the middle at $35.00 (not including my paid lunch break).
Machine Time: $33.00
You can apparently rent a table saw for 4 hours from Home Depot (https://www.homedepot.com/tool-truck-rental/Table-Saw/2705/) for $33.00. Don’t think you would need it for anymore time than this, and this is the lowest amount of time that it can be rented, so I went with this number.
TOTAL:
$74.75
All 3 of the costs could definitely be optimized, especially if you could find spaces that rent machinery by the hour, and you work very efficiently.
