Andrew Wong 7T Mr Graham

Timber Box Project Report

Briefing: The aim of this project is to construct a wooden timber box. The intention to make the box was to store stationery equipment such as pencils, pens, rulers, erasers, sharpeners and scissors. Materials: Materials needed to make a timber include an acrylic sheet, timber wood, nails, wood putty, polyvinyl acetate (PVA) glue and linseed oil. Tools and Machines: Tools and machines used include a nail punch, a bandsaw, a disc sander, some steel wool, a clamp, a hammer, a ruler, a pencil, a bench hook, sand paper (180, 160, 100, 80 and 60 grit), a tenon saw, a metal putty stick, a drill press, and a plane. Process: 1) Firstly, a one-sided grooved piece of timber 900 mm long was marked out and drawn with a straight line in certain areas using a pencil and a try square.

2) Secondly, after the piece of timber was marked, a clamp was used to hold a benchook. The timber was placed on the bench hook and was cut into pieces between 2 of the drawn lines using a tenon saw.

Andrew Wong 7T Mr Graham 3) Next, each of the cut sides of the pieces of timber were sanded using a disc sander to make the edges smoother. The tenon saw may be used again to cut of excessive amounts of wood instead of sanding it, as it would take a very long time.

4) One of the shorter pieces of timber was horizontally locked in place using a clamp. A plane was used to cut off the groove of the shorter pieces, forming the entrance of the box lid. The planed piece was then removed from the clamp.

Andrew Wong 7T Mr Graham 5) 2 holes on each side, 15mm from the long edges and 6mm from the shorter edges were marked on the longer timber pieces on the non-grooved side with a pencil and a try square.

6) Each marked out pieces of timber were placed, one at a time, into a drill press to form a hole for a nail to go into. The drill press had to be positioned perfectly so that the drill would make a hole only into were the timber was marked out. This happened to all 8 marks.

Andrew Wong 7T Mr Graham 7) PVA glue was applied to the one of the sanded edges of the shorter piece and the glue was evenly spread around.

8) One of the longer pieces of timber was then placed sideways, having the groove facing downwards, on to the surface with the PVA glue.

9) 2 nails were placed into the holes made with the drill press in the longer timber piece.

Andrew Wong 7T Mr Graham 10) Each nail was hammered into the shorter piece of timber using a hammer, hammering through the PVA glue and into the shorter timber piece.

11) The same steps 8 to 12 were repeated on the other 2 pieces.

12) Next, either one of the 2 pieces were applied with PVA glue on the positions where the other timber piece would be placed.

Andrew Wong 7T Mr Graham 13) The second combined piece of timber was then placed upside-down on top of the other combined piece.

14) After the PVA glue dried, a hammer and a nail punch were used to punch each nail further into the timber. The gaps were filled with wood putty using a metal putty stick.

Andrew Wong 7T Mr Graham

15) When the wood putty was dried, the outline of the exterior timber edges was drawn onto another piece of timber. This other piece of timber was used as the base after it was cut out.

Andrew Wong 7T Mr Graham 16) This piece of timber was cut using a bandsaw.

Andrew Wong 7T Mr Graham 17) 12 holes were drilled into the piece of timber using the drill press with four holes near each edge.

18) PVA glue was applied to the bottom faces of the box.

Andrew Wong 7T Mr Graham

19) Next, the timber for the base was glued on and nailed into the box.

NOTE: Steps unknown for the process of making the lid as the lid was made by the teacher in charge of this project.
20) After the lid was made, sand paper was used to make the boxs faces and edges smoother. Sandpaper grits used include 60 grit, 80 grit, 100 grit, 160 grit and 180 grit respectively. The 60 and 80 grit were used to remove the excess wood putty and the 100, 160 and 180 grit were used to touch up.

Andrew Wong 7T Mr Graham

21) Finally as a varnish, steel wool was dipped into a cup of linseed oil and was distributed everywhere around the box.

22) The box was placed aside to dry.

--- FINISH --Evaluation: I personally think that by doing this project, I have learnt new skills and abilities, such as learning how to use a nail punch, a disc sander, a drill press and a plane. I have also learnt about different grits of sand paper and how to use each type of grit efficiently. (For example, I have learnt that 60 grit is very coarse and is good for removing blemishes and excess wood putty) Overall I am very pleased with my timber box although I would like to have learnt how the lid was made. If I was to do this project again, changes I would make include having compartments in my box, although the box would shrink in size. I would also be more careful when using the nail punch as I made a few dents when trying to hit the nail.