¿QuÉ tan dificil puede ser construir una simple caja?

Crafting a box out of wood is a great opportunity to get familiarized with basic woodworking techniques. Some considerations before starting out this project include proper wood selection, using the right tool for cutting and fastening, but more importantly, measuring twice to cut once.

The first step with any crafting project is to decide on the application, which leads to selecting the proper dimensions of the final product. For this particular project, I wanted to use the least amount of wood to make a simple box. The decided measurements were 6.5″x6.5″x6.5″, which is below the minimum established in the assignment and provides some “wiggle room” in case something wrong happens during the construction process.

The selected material was plywood, as it was readily available in the wood-shop and there were some scraps that were almost the perfect size of the target dimensions. The wood was marked and cut on a table saw to the right length and width.

After cutting all 5 pieces, I assembled them without the fasteners to see the fit. The box would have the bottom face with the side faces resting on top. Unsurprisingly, the side panels overlapped as I forgot to take into account the thickness of the wood (0.5″), which took up a total of an inch (1″). Fixing this issue was quite simple, it involved removing 1″ of material of two opposite panels of wood. The box was starting to take shape and was looking quite nicely.

A pro tip for anyone working on any project is to label the parts of an assembly so they align perfectly. It is quite difficult to create parts that are exactly identical (this is better achieved with serious calibration and years of practice). The next logical step was using the table router to round off the edges, this is much easier if done before installing the screws. The golden rule for routing is to use a round bit with a radius 1/2 the thickness of the working material. For my plywood (0.5″) I used a 1/4″ radius rounding bit (forgot to take a picture, it will be seen in the final images).

The final step of the process was to install the fastener hardware. In class we learned how to use a Kreg jig to make really nice joints without having any screws exposed. The material size was just right for the jig (I had to use the smallest setting on it). The only screws I found in the OEDK that were appropriate for my jig settings were flat head wood screws (the jig is designed for use with self-drilling pan head screws). This would mean I had to set the Kreg drill bit to a lower setting as the flatheads would go in deeper than pan heads. Additionally, I had a feeling the rounded edges would increase the probability of screw protrusion. The Kreg was set up at 1″ from the side (as recommended in the instructions) and drilling commenced.

Drilling was so fun that I stopped thinking about the assembly configuration. This led to excessive holes on two of the panels. The box acquired some birthmarks and character at this point.

To facilitate fastening, I used one of the Kreg self drilling screws as a pilot hole bit. My worst fears came just after installing the correct wood screws…some of the tips were protruding on the edges and most formed bumps on the routed edges (plywood is not so great in my opinion as it’s too soft). A decision was to be made: switch to a smaller screw and reduce the rigidity of the box, or file down the tip of every screw (16 total). I chose the latter since sturdiness was more important than ease of construction at this point.

The side panel edges were assembled and then screwed on to the base. This seemed easier than assembling all the sides and proceeding to fasten the 4 sided box to the base panel.

Silly me did not realize there is a jig in the OEDK that allows you to easily join two panels at a 90˚ angle, mine was done by clamping down one piece of wood to the table and holding the other one down in the appropriate position while drilling the holes. This could have contributed to the screw protrusion on the edges, and it definitely contributed to acute angles on the assembly. The L shape helped when installing the final screws.

To answer the question at the beginning, building a box is not complicated. It is not as simple as it sounds though, many things can go wrong if you don’t know what you are doing. The practice of measuring twice and cutting once should be practiced until it becomes second nature to avoid making easily avoidable mistakes. As for me, I’m just happy to have somewhere to store my fruit…