Week 1

This week, the project was introduced. Immediately, I wanted to make a unique box. At first, I
thought I wanted it to be some kind of plant holder.

After class I sketched this out:

Week 2
We started practicing with the wood this week. I still liked my design and used the smaller band
saw to start making my puzzle pieces.

I realized it was going to be a lot harder than I thought to make round puzzle pieces. Over the
next week, I thought of different solutions for the outside of my box. I wasn’t sure how I could
secure the pieces without wood glue.

Week 3
The project instructions were changed this week. Now, we are able to use wood glue, nails, stain,
etc. We all started with a new piece of wood.
I cut 4.5” of the wood off by using the Mitter Saw. The piece became 42” in length. Here’s the
4.5” inches we cut off and discarded.

Then, using the larger Band Saw I split the piece into two pieces. The larger piece became 1” in
depth while the other piece became >0.5” in depth.

Then, I used the Planer to make my piece ⅞” x 3-¼”.

I spent the rest of class planning my box. I decided I wanted to use different sizes of rectangular
pieces to create the outside of my box. I was originally envisioning a crate.

Week 4
My goal this week was to get all of my pieces for the outside of my box. I needed 16 pieces that
were 6” long and 1” wide. I used the planer to go from 3-¼” to 3”. Then, I used the larger Band
Saw to cut the 24” off. After that, I used the larger Band Saw again to cut the 3” piece of wood
into 3 1” pieces of wood.
Then, I divided each of these pieces into three parts (all 6” in length). I used the Mitter Saw to
cut them.
Week 5
I was absent this week from class, but I came into the fabrication lab on my own a few days
before with a new idea. I didn’t want my pieces to overlap like a crate would but to fit together
with different stains.
This was my inspiration:

I cut some of my pieces different sizes and ended up with this for the two longer sides of my
box:

Additionally, I ordered some hinges online, so I would be able to attach a lid on my box.
Week 6
I started with drawing a sketch for my final design.

I started by cutting the smaller sides, top, and bottom of my box. I don’t have any pictures, but I
used the Mitter Saw. This was the easiest process so far. I started working on my butterfly, but I
quickly became frustrated and decided to bevel the edges. I used the Mitter Saw to bevel each
edge to 45 degrees in hopes of making 90 degree angles. The pieces didn’t fit together and the
sides of my box kept getting smaller and smaller. Finally, I decided I wasn’t going to bevel my
pieces. I had a few minutes left in class, so I started staining my pieces. Over the weekend, I
glued all of my stained pieces together.
Week 7
I had a lot to do. I came into class with a plan.

First, I asked Professor Lima to help bevel my edges. I wasn’t going to give up on the idea. He
couldn’t figure out how to make the pieces fit together either. Instead I used the Mitter Saw to cut
off the beveled pieces. Then I glued the top, bottom, and sides of my box together. I was working
extremely quickly, so I didn’t get any pictures. Then, I cut out my butterfly. I used the smaller
Band Saw. Next, I used one of the mechanical sanders to round the pieces of my butterfly and to
create the beveled cut on the body of my butterfly. Then I stained my butterfly. After that, I used
a screwdriver to drill my hinges onto my box. Along with the hinges, I screwed in a lock to hold
my top piece down and to add a finishing touch. I was so excited to see how my box turned out!