Hi all, popping in for the next assignment: build a box. This project thankfully allowed partnering, which likely saved some time, but Ashley and I still put in a combined 14 hours of work– so you better believe we are proud of our masterpiece.

As with any project, this one started with a bit of planning and deciding the order we wanted to do everything. We started with pre-cut wood, and began with sanding to smooth off the rough edges and surfaces. We decided to go with an assembly line, Ashley smoothing out the super rough edges with the belt sander and me taking those pieces to sand the surfaces with the circular electric sander (grit 80). We next marked out our pieces, determining top and bottom outer edges, as those were the ones we hoped to route. Before heading out to the wood shop, we marked our drill holes using a post-it note and pen. This allowed for holes at the same distance apart and from the plank edges at each corner.

Our initial hope for our crate was a straight chamfer on the designated edges and the inner supports (since ours were a bit rough when we got them); however, the router bit was nowhere to be found. We pivoted to using a router that rounded our edges, and simply sanded down the inner supports, essentially chamfering the inner corner on each one. We practiced on a couple scrap pieces in the shop before using our already-sanded wood and changed the distance to get the best cut, even the whole time. While we did route a couple pieces a second time just to double check we had the edge we wanted, routing was a quicker part of the overall process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, we went back to the basement for assembly. We started with a 1/8″ drill bit, then a 1/4″ initial countersink, followed by the 5/16″ countersink, a swipe of the hand sander, and finally the screw. We tried ‘stepping up’ to the desired countersink using the 1/4″ because our wood was splitting towards the edge of the box when we used the larger drill bits. In all, the step didn’t really work, and it was a toss up on when the drilling would split the edge wood and when it wouldn’t. To make the process quicker, and since we had the space to ourselves, we set up four drills, each with their own component, then cycled through. Our only mess-up was when we drilled our routed top together. We had two separate corner clamps going for the top, but when we went to put them together, the box was rounded on the top on 2 edges and on the bottom for the other 2…. sad day. Never fear, we were able to quickly unscrew and get back on track.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of assembly went pretty smooth. We put together each frame, then while I started screwing in the bottom planks (2 screws per end per board), Ashley sanded the edges of one of the three pieces to have a perfect fit. It was a little too large width-wise when we started and wouldn’t straighten out, so it took her a bit of time on the belt sander then checking the fit (and back again), but she eventually got it and the fit was great! After the base was done our inner supports went in, then the middle and top frames. For the inner supports, we alternated screws on the short and long ends to offer support from both sides, which worked out pretty well (except for one stray screw, oops!). Getting those frames in took quite a bit of time. We used a plank of wood to get a uniform distance between levels, but still had to adjust quite a bit while clamping since everything shifted very easily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our crate was whole, we began post-processing. I sanded the whole box with the 120 grit, making sure to round off the edges that met the routed edges but didn’t get rounded themselves, and smooth off the surfaces/any plank edges to ensure no splinters. There were also some joints that weren’t 100% even, leading to a little sanding down to get them so, but overall, not terrible. Ashley got it up to the 220 grit before we decided it was ready to stain. We chose a more natural finish for our crate, using a danish oil that I was able to apply with a sponge brush pretty easily. It took only one coat to get the desired finish, although I started with the outside and inside, waited, wiped, waited 24 hrs for that to be complete, then moved to repeat the process for the bottom section.

Looking at the beautiful finished product made me very proud of the work we had done. I used a lot of new skills throughout the process, including routing, using corner clamps, and staining– all skills I’m sure will serve me well in the future.

Total crate cost: $182.59

Materials-

Wood: $14.04

1×4 @ 12′ = $8.28: 9pieces @ 14.5″ = $7.5, 6pieces @ 12″ = $4.14

2×2 @ 8′ = $5.68: 4pieces @ 10″ = $2.4

Screws: $9.90 for 85 screws @ 48screws  = $5.6

Stain, Natural danish oil: $13.98 for the 473mL canister @ ~100mL = $2.95

Overhead for building and machine use- $5/hr @ 7hrs = $35

Borrowed materials (sandpaper, hand and electric sanders, corner clamps)-$5/hr @ 4hrs = $20

Total labor- $7.5/hr @ 14 hrs = $105