PROCESS

Making this box was a real journey. I began by planning out the dimensions of the box and the lengths of wood I would need. I then went into the woodshop with Savannah and selected two large planks of 2 by 4 wood and two planks of 2 by 2 wood and measured twelve 15 ¼” segments and four 11 ¼” segments, respectively. I also selected one 16” by 16” piece of plywood for the base. An OEDK lab assistant helped us cut the planks along the measured lines.

When I came back a few days later to pick up where I left off, I realized the cuts were uneven—the twelve wall pieces ranged in size from 15” to 15 ¾”—so I measured 15” lines and a lab assistant helped me use the belt sander to shave down all pieces to more uniform 15”. I used the router to round the edges off the wall pieces, with help from Fernando and another lab assistant. Then, Douglas helped me use the table saw to shave ¼” off the plywood base.

I began by assembling the bottom section of the wall. I used two clamps to hold down the wood and made two pilot holes on each side with a 1/8” drill bit, followed that with a counter sink hole made using the 5/16” drill bit, and then drilled in two 2” screws. Once the bottom wall was assembled, I attached the four uprights to create the frame. I then assembled the upper section of the wall. Because we did not receive 1 by 3 pieces of wood and used 1 by 4 pieces instead, there would not have been large enough gaps between the wall sections for my liking if the height was kept as 12”. Therefore, I offset the sides of the wall pieces above the tops of the frame, increasing the height of the box by between 1-2 inches. Also, for the middle and upper sections of the wall, I drilled the holes from the inside, into the frame, rather than from the wall so that the screws would not be visible from the outside of the crate.

Finally, I flipped the crate upside-down and attached the plywood base. Assembly was complete!

I then sanded all sides and corners of the box, using 81 grit sandpaper and following it up with 250 grit paper. Finally, I used a paintbrush to apply an oil-based finish to the box, which helped preserve and bring out the natural color of the wood.

 

 

FAILURES AND EXCESS TIME SPENT

This project took much longer than I expected—cutting the wood, assembling the pieces, clamping everything down, drilling the holes, sanding, and finishing the wood was very time consuming, especially while trying to precisely line up the edges and account for differences in size and wood texture.

A major initial mistake was not being more careful and deliberate when making the initial miter saw cuts for the wall sections; it ended up taking more than double the amount of time to use the belt sander to shave down ten of the twelve pieces. This also changed the base dimensions from 16” by 16” to 15 ¾” by 15 ¾”. Another time-consuming aspect was adjusting and readjusting the clamps before drilling into each section of wood. The clamps would often be in the way of where I wanted to screw, so some of the screws are placed a little wonkily. Further, I had a few gaps in the wood caused by the back piece being pushed out when screwing; Krithika gave me tips on clamping so I wouldn’t repeat this mistake by ensuring the two pieces of wood that are being screwed together are clamped to each other.

Overall, I learned a lot about woodworking and got a lot of help from the OEDK lab assistants and classmates throughout this process, which I’m thankful for.

COST

• Machines/Equipment – There were too many tools involved in this project to determine this cost. I can’t envision this project taking place outside of a woodshop or location with many woodworking tools, so the equipment can be regarded as an initial investment that isn’t factored into individual costs.
• Materials
  • Wood: $20
  • Screws: $5
  • Finishing oil: $5
• Labor – 10 hours at $15/hour: $150

Total: $180

The materials were fairly inexpensive, the primary barriers would be access to a woodworking space and labor. Although, much of the labor cost could be reduced with practice and experience.