Tips for a first time box builder..

[EpicMango 10+ year member]

Yea. You heard it right. Epicmango might be building his own box....

Its ridiculously simple it looks like.....so simple that me and my dad want to conquor building our own box. I mean $35-40 go into the materials, and most box builders charge $150 so that means a profit margin of $110-$115...my builder does $100 boxes, but its still a profit.

So. I am a first time box builder! Yea! So. What would I need? What glue would you recommend? Tools? how much wood, how big a sheet. Basically any knowledge I would need to build a box for the first time by my self...

Yes, I want my box to be wrapped, so where would I get that too??

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[speakerdude123 10+ year member]

I wouldn't say that box building is simple at all. It is more of an art then anything. And just like in art you can have 4th graders make a painting look "simple" and then you can have Claude Monet paint something that no one else can and make it look "simple". Your first box might not turn out the way you would think, I know mine was a sight for sore eyes. But it did the job. Point being, this is something that takes time and effort to develop and it sounds like a father son project so what better thing to do? Sounds like you'll have a lot of fun!

For glue, I use the cheap Titebond with the red label. Wood glue is wood glue....that's my opinion. Your not building bridges from glue, so don't sweat it over the glue. I know I did my first time.

As for wood, I assume you know to use MDF 3/4". They sell it at any lowes/homedepot in 4'x8' sections just like all other plywood. And the **** aint cheap or light for that matter so grab a heavy duty cart other wise you'll look like a fool. I'll assume you can do the math to figure out how much wood you need, if not, you shouldn't be building a box in the 1st place.

As for screws this can be a debatable subject. I personally like to put screws in while gluing, some don't. If you do use screws make sure you drill pilot holes.

And here comes the big one. Tools. It all depends on what you already have and what your willing to spend to get. Ideally you'd want a large table saw with a router and circle jig for cutting. And A LOT of clamps for gluing. You can get away with a skill saw and jigsaw or (though I wouldn't recommend) a sawzall. Like I said you could put thousands into your tools or you could do it the cavemans way and do it all with a $29.99 sawsall from harbor freight.

As for wrapping, it can get quite expensive depending on the size of your box, just like the wood, that **** aint cheap. I'll assume you want to wrap it with carpet and you can find that at the same place you buy your wood. Technically you should be able to buy everything at lowes/homedepot, at least I can when I do mine.

Last and most important thing you'll need...TIME! That glue takes a while to dry.

Have fun!

P.S. The $35-$40 material cost is assuming you already have everything you need. When I did my first box my bill was ~$100. But my second box only ran me $30.