Plan

I decide to follow the beginner’s box-making guide because this was my first time working with wood.

Process

First, I measured out all the individual pieces required on three large 1×4 planks and one large 2×2 plank. I then used the miter saw to cut all of our pieces to the correct length. Next, I used the router to round the edges of the 1×4 pieces as shown in figure 1. I made sure to clean up all the sawdust after!

Figure 1: Routing Technique

I then proceeded to meticulously sand all the pieces because the wood was covered in jagged edges. I used sandpaper, a belt sander, and a disk sander. I began with rough sandpaper and then moved to more fine sandpaper. After sanding for what felt like forever (at least an hour) I decided to move on to building the three rectangular levels of the box. To do this I used a 90-degree angle clamp and two table clamps to do as shown in figure 2.

Figure 2: Building Rectangle Using Clamps

When working on the final rectangle it was getting pretty late at night and I ended up making a stupid mistake! I misaligned the pieces which resulted in holes in the wood that were not filled with wood screws. To fix my mistake I decided to use a wood glue and sawdust mixture to fill the holes as shown in figure 3. This idea was recommended to me by Rafe (thank you Rafe!).  

Figure 3: Fixing My Mistake

The rest of the project went relatively smoothly.  After I assembled the rectangles, I assembled the base by screwing in two wood screws through both ends of the plank. Then I attached the four pillars with wood screws and finally attached all the rectangular planks together. I used an extra wooden plank to space out the wooden rectangles. With the entire box assembled, I resanded it. I got rid of a lot of all the sharp edges and attempted to file down all the blemishes in the wood. The final step was to stain the box. I used the basic wood stain as shown in figure 4. our final product is shown in figure 5.

Figure 4: Staining Technique

Figure 5: Finished Product

 

 

Reflection

This project was fun but disappointing. I loved constructing the box and using the drill and sanding tools. I also loved working with a partner because it made the whole process fun (we worked together at every step). I was overall unhappy with the final product because I wished it looked better. Many of the issues my box were due to the low quality of the wood. This caused the box to lack smoothness and look unpolished. My partner and I spent a lot of time trying to smooth out the wood, but more blemishes kept appearing as we did. If I were to change a part of our process it would be how we finished our box. I think painting or spray painting could have covered a lot of the blemishes that were still exposed after we stained the wood. I also think we could improve on our final product by paying closer attention to the width of the saw blade because ultimately our box was smaller than it should have been. Finally, I would have made sure the base of the box was level. Our box base is slightly unlevel causing it to shift when pressure is applied to two corners. Overall, I would be super happy to work with wood again because I really liked the process!

Cost Analysis

• 202.5 inches of 1×4 wood: ~$19.5 (Home Depot)
• 40 inches 2×2 wood: ~$2.98 (Home Depot)
• about 52 1.5″ wood screws: ~$6.87 (Lowes)
• Labor ($10/hr for 10 hr, for two people): $200

Total: $229.35