how to make 10 boxes vs. 1?

[Adam Herman]

I am going to start making things and selling them. I am going to start with various sizes of wood boxes for desks, center pieces, etc.

I can build one box fairly efficiently but have never made more than one of a thing at a time.

box is 4 sides of 1/2 in thick pine, mitered corners, with a 1/2 by 1/2 reveal around the bottom so that it "floats" The bottom is dark stain and the whole thing is finished with tongue oil. On the first iteration I spray polyed the inside to seal it up. The prototype is blue stain pine with grain wrapping around and 1x poplar for the bottom. I used another 1/2 thick piece of pine for the "base" to create the revel. I was thinking of using a 1 in thick pine peice for the base to eliminate the extra piece. I can get the lumber relatively cheaply.

i used my miter saw and had to mess around to get the miters nice and the correct lengths.

i have available: table saw, scms, router table, lunchbox planer, good assortment of hand planes and chisels.

could i get more repeatable results if i build a crosscut sled and cut the miters/lengths on the table saw?

this is my first time trying to make and sell something from the woodshop.

other advise? I have some good ideas for products and the friends/family demand seems to be strong, and there are other similar products in stores that are not nearly as finely made as I strive for, for a price I believe I can compete with. I am going to start with a few sizes of this particular thing and see how that goes.

[John Lankers]

Most woodworkers achieve more precise cuts using a crosscut sled on the t/s and for small workpieces it's likely to be safer too (use clamps as support and not your fingers).
Mitered corners are probably ok for small boxes but larger ones need some form of enforcement, you will probably upgrade to more advanced joinery like box joints or dovetail joints down the road.
I find the choice of a pine bottom in a pine box good since it keeps the over all appearance more consistent, small boxes however won't benefit from a 1" thick bottom, more like 1/4" to keep it light weight and less clunky.
I'm not a fan of Tung Oil personally, spray laquer, shellac or oil/water based varnish is probably a better choice - this is just my opinion, others may vary.

[Adam Herman]

The thickness for the bottom is to facilitate the 1/2 x 1/2 revel around the bottom.

i was thinking of doing the corners with a lock miter to make it easier to assemble. (i have the bits) this could eliminate all fastener use for the corners as well. I want to stick to non-exposed joinery for now, i can expand on that later. I need to prove my concept before i make it more complicated or invest much in tooling.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6I5G2gWetbHWVV2Z1MzMEp6SnM/view?usp=sharing

[Charles P. Wright]

Do you have a way to fit a stop block on your miter saw to get repeatable cuts? I'd still think the table saw + sled would be quicker, but either way some kind of stop is going to be essential.

[Larry Frank]

I think there is nothing better for repeatable and accurate cuts than a sled. You may want to make a series of sleds or jigs to make multiple items.

[Jim Becker]

Sleds and jigs for "production" work of multiple items so you get repeatability and accuracy.

[Keith Westfall]

As was said, if you have an accurate jig/sled, and don't have to tweek each part to fit, it's just as easy to cut 10, 20 or more, as it is to cut one. But you want to make sure that they all fit as they are suppose to or you will have lots of trouble. Worth the time spent to get it right the first time!