Lipsense Showcase Box

Share

So my wife commissioned me to make a box for her to showcase her Lipsense products when she's going out on demo appointments.  She had another box that was the appropriate size for what she wanted, but there were a couple changes that needed made.  I grabbed the pencil and paper and got to work!  Below is what we came up with.

Lipsense box sketch up

---

She knew she wanted some dividers, which were going to challenge me.  I figured a half lap joint was going to be my best option.  

We ran off to Lowe's can grabbed some finish grade pine for the box itself and some strips of poplar to make the dividers.  Back home we went and the cutting started.  

I squared the ends of the box and had the sides of the box cut pretty quickly.  I used 1x material for the sides.  I decided to use my Kreg pocket hole tool to attach the sides of the box together.  Then, for the bottom, we bought some 1/2 inch pine, which I cut to size, and glued and clamped the bottom together. 

I started working on the dividers then.  I deviated from the sketched up design a bit due to some last minute changes in design plan.  I used 1/4 poplar for this, and it worked out really well.  I ran a couple long pieces, then cut a couple short pieces.  I cut the half lap joint in these short pieces, then cut it into one more long piece to allow everything to slide into place.  I wanted the divider system to be free and removable, and this ended up working really well.    

Half lap for divider system

Campbell Hausfeld pin nailer got the job done!

For the divider system, I secured it with some pin nails and some Titebond II, which worked like a charm.  I was really happy how it was held together in the end.  My Campbell Hausfeld worked really well in this situation!

I finish sanded everything down to a 220 grit using Gator Finishing products.  I'm always really happy with the performance of Gator stuff, it really gets the job done!

Next up was the stain choice.  My wife has fallen in love with the Rust-Oleum Kona stain, and we've had good luck with it before.  I rubbed a couple coats of the stain in with a rag, then allowed to dry overnight.  I came back the next day and hit it with some Minwax spray polyurethane, which I found really helpful getting the inside, corners, and edges.  

Finished Lipsense display box!

Learning lessons

As with every project, there are some things I learned from this.  The first and foremost thing I would have done differently, is I would have applied some wood conditioner before applying the stain.  I've heard, and recently read more about staining pine and the inconsistencies when doing so without using conditioner.  Hindsight, I would have gotten a more uniform and more "grainy" stain at the end.  

Lastly, I wouldn't have used pocket holes to secure the box together.  As you can see from some of the pictures, the holes are quite noticeable.  I could have used the plugs and filled them in, but I didn't think it was worth that.  When the Lipsense product is in the box, you won't be able to notice the holes anyways.  And, I think some finish nails would have sufficed and held the box together well.  That is, after all, how I secured the bottom of the box, to the sides.  

All in all, I was happy with the outcome of this box and ready for another challenge!