For this project, I chose to do the intermediate level so that I could make my own box. It took a lot more time than I had expected, but I honestly enjoyed the process and am proud of the final product.

To start, I measured and cut all the required wood pieces using the miter saw. In order to account for the kerf, I measured and then cut each piece separately, instead of measuring all of the pieces at once and then cutting them all after. In total, I cut 9 x 14.5” and 6 x 12” out of 1×4 wood and 4 x11” in pieces out of 2×2 wood. After I finished cutting, I lined up all the pieces of each dimension to ensure they were the same length. Later on, when I assembled my box, I didn’t encounter any issues with pieces being too long or short, confirming that the pieces were relatively even.

Next, it was time to route my wood. I had never routed before, so I decided to practice on some spare wood. This turned out to be a very good decision because my first few routes were definitely rough. I struggled with positioning the router and with keeping my cuts smooth and defined. Eventually, I found that increasing the router speed made routing a lot easier. Since I chose intermediate level, I used two different routing patterns. For the shorter pieces, I used a simple rounded profile, and for the longer pieces, I used a more complex Ogee bit. Although the actual routing process was the same for each bit, I found the simpler, rounded profile to be more forgiving in hiding discontinuities in my routing.

After I finished routing, I sanded all the pieces with the orbital sander. I started off with the 60 grit sandpaper, followed by 120 grit, and then finished with 320 grit sandpaper. The sanding process helped me to smooth out my wood and clean up my routing.

To actually construct the box, I first made 3 rectangles. To make each rectangle, I used a corner clamp to hold a 14.5” and a 12” piece of wood together. After drilling a pilot hole, I made a countersink and then finally used 1-1/4” screws to hold the wood together. I struggled a bit with getting the right countersink depth and splitting the wood in some places, but, overall, my rectangles felt securely held together.

After I finished making the rectangles, I placed the remaining 3 14.5” pieces into one of the rectangles to make the base of the box. I was very happy with how well they fit. Next, I secured the 4 2×2” pieces to the corners of the base, countersinking the screws like I did with the rectangles. Then I attached the next two frames to the vertical pieces, using extra 1×4” wood pieces as spacers. Unfortunately, one of the pieces of wood that I used to space my layers must have been thinner, because my middle frame ended up getting attached at an angle. To fix this, I unscrewed the frame and then reattached it to the 4 vertical pieces using pieces of wood that I made sure were the same thickness.

After I finished constructing the box, I sanded it again with 120 grit and then 320 grit sandpaper to smooth out areas that had been splintered by screws.

To finish my box, I alternated between applying beeswax and a walnut stain to create a stripe across my crate. I really enjoyed using the beeswax because it had a really nice orange scent. I did forget to wipe off the excess walnut stain on one of the 4 vertical pieces, making it a bit darker than the rest. Luckily, since the piece is inside the crate, it’s not too noticeable. After the stain and wax were both set, I covered the entire box with a clear coat to give it a glossier finish.

And now I have a box!

 

Cost Breakdown:

• ~4ft of 2×2″ wood, costing $4.98/8ft = $2.49
• ~18ft of 1×4” wood, costing $3.32/8ft = $7.47
• 3 sandpaper discs (60, 120, 320), costing $9.97/15 pack = $1.99
• 60 1 1/4 screws, costing $10.76/100 pack = $6.45
• ~ 1/5 bottle of beeswax wood polish, costing $9.98/16 oz = $1.87
• ~ 3 oz of walnut wood stain, costing $16.48/1qt = $1.55
• ~ 5 oz of clear wood finish, costing $24.48/1qt = $3.83
• 11 hrs of labor, costing $17/hr = $187
• Membership to a makerspace with a woodshop is $60/month (https://dallasmakerspace.org/join/)

Total Cost = $272.65

* material cost info from The Home Depot