STARTING OFF
I have been working on my crate late because of my week-long research trip to Mozambique. I enjoyed my time in Maputo: I learned a lot, I helped my team with the cervical cancer study and training of local clinicians, and I experienced Africa for the first time. However, it slowed me down with my research, classes, and other commitments. Right after I came in, I was swamped by everything I have missed; there was a lot of catching up on multiple fronts. Juggling work during the week and assembling a crate was quite a challenge, but it paid off. I appreciate Dr. Wettergreen, Hayden, and Luke for help and understanding!
FRAMES
The first step to build up a crate was to make three frames with 12” and 14.5” planks. It was a good practice to master screwing and playing with clamps. Initially it took me a while to assemble just two planks together, but overtime I became pretty efficient with my work. I learned the importance of countersinking and drilling deep enough to avoid screws sticking out of the final product. A challenge was to push and hold two, often uneven, warped planks close enough to minimize the gap. Clamping was not always helpful in this case, nor was adding more screws in the middle. What did work for me was a manual push of planks together as I was screwing them together. I guess, a good evening exercise never hurts!
ROUTING AND SANDING
Routing process didn’t begin smoothly. I have attempted to use the stand router, but the lab assistant wasn’t able to replace the bit for me. The resulting product was far from what I wanted. Yikes!
Fortunately, it was just one side of only one of my frames. From now on, I have used a hand router, which was much more convenient and controllable. I have routed all sides of my frames, the bottom planks, and 2×2 vertical stands. I noticed how important it was to have a firm grip of the router, choose appropriate depth, and make single, consistent, swift, and unidirectional movements with the instrument.
ASSEMBLY
Next step was the assembly of the bottom and supporting 2×2 stand with the frames. I would say this part was the most satisfying – I could finally see the product coming together! Bottom and stands were not too hard to put in, just screwing them as I did before with the frames. What was slightly more challenging is to ensure the consistency of the gaps between the frames. After a couple attempts, I was able to achieve a more or less presentable crate.
Post-processING and painting
The final touch is to paint the crate. I used true orange paint + primer, which was easy to handle. The weather (even the notorious Houston humidity somewhat moderated) was good enough for painting. I applied a couple layers per instruction. Voilà, and the crate is ready.
DONE!
It doesn’t look as good and I spent a lot more time on it than I anticipated, but I’m still proud!
Clean space
After work:
Cost analysis
| Cost Type | Cost | Price | Source | Quantity | Total |
| Materials | 1×4 Board | $6/14ft | HomeDepot | 2 | $12 |
| 2×2 Board | $9/3ft | HomeDepot | 1 | $9 | |
| Screws | $45/box | Amazon | 60 used, but one container | $45 | |
| Sand Paper | $16/pack | Amazon | 3, but a pack of 100 | $16 | |
| Labor | Woodworking Operator | $21/hr | ZipRecruiter.com | 10 hrs | $210 |
| Prototyping Engineer (You!) | $36/hr | ZipRecruiter.com | 5 hrs | $180 | |
| Overhead | Facility Cost (Machine Time) | $25 (router)
$19 (sander) $23 (drill) = $67 per day |
HomeDepot | 2 days | $134 |
| Quality Control | $500/license | AWI-QCP | 1 project | $500 | |
| Design | Engineering and Development | $45/hr | Cad Crowd | 1 hr, 1 project | $45 |
| Iterations | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Misc. | Waste and Scrap | $140 | Load Up | 1 day | $140 |
| Total: | $1291 |
