Today, I’m taking you on a wild ride through my journey of making a wooden box from scratch using power drills, an orbital sander, and staining paint. Hold on tight because you’re about to see the good, the bad, and the ugly of my box making experience. I’ll discuss everything transparently, including some epic failures and how I would do better next time. Let’s dive in!
Step 1: Gathering Materials
To embark on this woodworking journey, I gathered various materials. Here’s the cost breakdown:
- 1×4 Board: $0.44 per foot, totaling $7.34 (minus bulk purchase savings) – Lowe’s.com.
- 2×2 Furring Strip: 44 inches at $0.42 per foot, costing $3.35 (minus bulk purchase savings) – Home Depot.
- Screws: 48 screws at $0.04 each, totaling $2.00 – Home Depot.
- Sand Paper: 2 units at $1.74 each, coming to $3.49 – Home Depot.
Step 2: Setting Up the Workspace
Before diving into the project, I ensured I had a well-equipped workspace with all my tools handy. Here are the overhead costs for facility use:
- Drill: I used it for 4 hours at $4 per hour, costing $16 – Home Depot.
- Orbital Sander: I used it for 3 hours at $3.25 per hour, coming to $9.75 – Home Depot.
Step 3: Woodworking Process
Next, I got my hands dirty by sanding and assembling the wooden pieces for my box. I spent almost an hour purely sanding the wood to ensure the surfaces were as smooth as possible.
After sanding, I began to assembled the cut pieces into my box shape using the beginners’ manual. I first assembled the 9 x 14.5” lumber to the 6 x 12” lumber to make 3 identical rectangular frames.
Next, I attached the last three 9 x 14.5” lumber onto the bottom of a rectangular frame to make the base of the box.
After getting the three frames assembled, I routed the sides of our frames. Then, I used extra pieces of 1×4 lumber as spacers, to make sure that the spaces are evenly distributed when drilling the frames to the 2×2 lumber to assemble the box.
While assembling, I faced some challenges. The wood cracked at many of the edges when I drilled in the screws, and the screws were not uniform along the edge of the bottom rectangular frame, which was an unexpected setback.
Step 4: Painting
Next came the finishing touch with painting, but sometimes, less is more. I made a mistake by applying too much paint to the box, resulting in unsightly drip marks. In hindsight, applying the paint before assembling the box might have yielded more even results as it was hard to paint the inside of the box when fully assembled.
Step 5: Quality Control
After completing the project, I took a step back and evaluated my work. I spent an hour inspecting my box to ensure it met my expectations. I had to make some touch-ups to hide the drip marks, as well as apply post painting sanding to cover the unevenness from the paint, which added an extra hour of labor at $21.
Cost Summary
Let’s tally up all the costs:
- Materials: $13.18
- Labor: $156.50
- Overhead: $105.75
- Quality Control: $21.00
- Iterations: $556.86
- Misc. (Waste and Scrap): $1.09
Grand Total: $886.88
Lessons Learned
In conclusion, crafting a wooden box involved careful planning and execution. I learned to be mindful of material usage to minimize waste. It’s essential to consider labor costs and overhead expenses in DIY projects.
I learned from my mistakes – applying paint before assembly for a more polished finish is a valuable lesson. Remember, DIY projects are not only about the final product but also about the skills and knowledge gained along the way. Happy woodworking!
