By this point we all know why we’re here.  I’m here to craft magical mystery objects and you’re here to get your questions answered.  Well, look no further.  Off we go.

I made this lovely wooden box all by myself.

Step 1: Admit that you are going to build something again

I went and got the pre-cut wood I needed for the conjuring.  Two days later, after accepting that I would be spending more build time in the OEDK, I got to work.  I think the sociocultural anthropologists could have a field day studying how communal resources are shared (drills and clamps) at the OEDK work tables.  It was nice to see how undergrads and grad students could unite in the process of crafting storage.  I feel like this says something about society but I’m not so sure what yet.

Anyway.

Step 2: sanding

I made heavy use of the orbital sander.  It may not look like it in this photo, but use increased as I realized I could bevel the corners, which I became a big fan of because the corners felt friendlier that way.  Entire impetus behind that process, by the way.

These corners were not particularly friendly.

They did become friendlier.

Step skip a few: Getting Jiggy with it

So I start drilling, right, and I’m getting a bit bothered by how janky my screws look going in.  No matter how obsessively I measure I am bound by the accursed truth of my own human error.  What’s worse, I learned in my measuring the cruel truth that anything in woodworking marked with round numbers, unless cut by yourself or someone you know, is lying to you!! Why!!!

 

So rather than employing a Replicant or something, I made a guide for myself, which I was later told is called a “jig” .  I took the measurements of the 1x4s and drew them on to a piece of tape so that I could stick it to a plank and stab through it with marks where I wanted the screws to end up (left photo).  I marked the margins of the planks as they would attach to each other, and divided the jig measurements into thirds so I could place the screws within those points (right photo).   This improved the distancing of the screws by a LOT.  

Before using the jig (top plank) and after (bottom plank). 

It also came in some handy on the addition of the baseboards.

As you can see in this picture as well, I started screwing the support boards into the box frame from the middle.  Researchers are divided as to why I did that, and so am I, to be honest.

Step 99: The Thwackening

After almost completely failing to document the addition of the baseboards, I added the support boards by using scrap 1x4s as spacers and layering the box frames on top of them.  This worked swimmingly, and it meant I got to use a rubber mallet for the last board frame.

Behold the face of pure joy.

I clamped the support 2x2s to both of the walls it would be screwed into and made sure they stayed there.  Soon enough I had a box of my own, bald and ready to be stained.  And look at how round those corners are!

Step 100: Now in color

I stained the now-assembled box with “Dark Walnut” stain, because I grew up around walnut wood and this was the closest I could see myself getting to that.  I got the requisite amount of stain on my sleeves, and left my newly moodier-looking box to dry.  A day later, it was all done!  I can now use it to store my bizarre assortment of letters, secrets, and mending supplies.

 

I enjoyed this process a lot, and might endeavor to make more wooden things for myself and my friends.  It is a fun thing, wood.

PRoduct cost

	Item	Quantity	Purchase Cost ($)	Source
Materials	1×4	202.5 in.	20.48 for 6 39″ planks	Home Depot
	2×2	44 in.	16.21 for 96″	Home Depot
	Screws	48	6.87 for 1 box	Home Depot
	Sandpaper	5 discs	11.97 for 10	Home Depot
	Stain	approx. 4oz.	12.98 for 1qt.	Home Depot
Labor	Assembly + Sanding	3 hours	150 for low-end cost	Fixr.com
	Staining	30 minutes	50 for low-end cost	Fixr.com
Machine Cost	Orbital Sander	1 for 4 hours	19	Home Depot
	Drill	1 for 4 hours	16	Home Depot
		Total Cost	303.51