Emily Peña’s Rustic Box! | ENGI 210: Prototyping and Fabrication

Hello! This is my 16”x12”x12” (LWH) storage box with routed and finished sides! I worked alongside my partner Zion to create this beautiful stained crate.

While we both had some experience with cutting wood, this was our first time assembling something start to finish. Thus, we decided to opt for the beginners level to get familiar with new tools like the router and drills. I appreciated the doc as it was fairly straightforward to assemble. Our process for this box included cutting, preprocessing, assembling, post-processing, and final staining+touches. Cutting was easy as we were taught how to use the machine in class. One new skill I learned about was how to countersink a screw so it would sit flat on the wood (This would’ve helped my engi120 project).

[This is the corner clamp used to do the process of marking, pilot hole, countersink, and screwing in wood screws. ]

Routing was a very interesting experience. I was nervous at first, but there are features on the hand router to make sure you’re doing it right, which helped. After looking at finished boxes, we opted for a routed top edge of each level, while leaving the bottom edge unrouted. This felt and looked the most aesthetically pleasing to us.

We did have to do some troubleshooting as our 2×2 vertical supports were too long for our crate. We didn’t have access to the wood show due to lack of training on fabman, so we had to add maybe 3/8th in height to make sure the vertical supports were inside the crate without being in excess.

While assembling, I wish there was more consistency in the depth of the countersink. It was hard to determine how far I could get from the edge without splitting the wood on the other side. I think this is definitely a point for improvement in the future. To compensate for cuting the edge when I was countersink the pilot holes, I mixed my saw dust with wood glue to patch up the edges.

After fixing the edges, we post processed with more sanding with higher sandpaper and orbital sander. Finally, we used a test piece of wood to see which stain we liked best, and stained out box this rustic dark walnut with danish oil. This was our first time staining and pretty easy. This process definitely improved my wood working skills and craftsmanship.