$100,000 Lazer Project / How to Make 1000 Boxes

Jeff and Rob of Greene Street Joinery are collaborating with 3 Dot Design, Kenji Lopez and Brad Leoni to make 1000 salt boxes. I thought this was a cool project and a great cause $25,000 generated from this project is being donated to No Kid Hungry.
No Kid Hungry www.nokidhungry.org/
Greene Street Joinery www.greenestreetjoinery.com/
3 Dot Design 3dotwood.com/
Brad Leone bradleone.com/
Kenji Lopez / @jkenjilopezalt
I started following Jeff and Rob on this project through Instagram and thought it would be nice to get a closer look.
In this video we get a good idea of how to troubleshoot a project of this size and see some of the problem-solving that will take place.
I hope you enjoy this video I know I enjoyed making it.
Have a great day, Jon
Project Design Plans: jonpeters.com/design-plans/
Instagram: / jonpeters_
Facebook: / 312021729836
Website: jonpeters.com/
#DIY, #woodworking,#homeimprovement

[@francstrever4331]

$100 for a mini box is madness

[@johnwayne2103]

Oh man making box's is cool! You should see Japanese made box's. I love box's!

[@overskills8175]

Just give me 10 for 1 and I will make it

[@FragmentOfInfinity]

It's got a charity

[@doonhamer252]

mad the right way , if he can get it .. People pay idiotic (subjective) prices for art , cars ... good luck to him..

[@FranktheDachshund]

At first glance I thought the same, but there is a lot of custom hand finishing involved. They are really nice boxes. The problem is China could knock them off for $2 a box for a really crappy copy that most people wouldn't notice the difference and would pay $19.99 for.

[@kyreem909]

It’s great! My shed has been completed and it turned out nice looking and sturdy and it is way better than the sheds that many of my neighbors had put up. Of course, I'm pleased with the outcome and this Ryan’s kzbin.infoUgkxGZedDTcDfgD7fG_uU4esfx_EgxzlY2_1 Plans was extremely useful to me as a guide.

[@SawdustmakerLori]

Enjoyed seeing the different jigs they "invented" to do various steps in the box making. I admire all the hard work they're doing for such a worthy cause! The boxes are very nice and will be treasured by those who get them!!!

[@ChadsCustomCreations]

Thank you for documenting this Jon, as someone who also does a lot of production work myself it was really cool seeing their thought processes and aiming for efficiency.

[@infocus-media]

That glue roller, we had the same thing going some 40 years ago, I did some designing back then for boxes that was used in the jewelry industry you know the small box you open for girlfriend and there is the diamond ring. We made rollers like that filled with pva glue so the workers would feed a roll of decorated paper on the top of the rollers and cover the whole paper in glue which they stuck onto the "naked" boxes. Worked very well.

[@mavigogun]

That was fantastic! Much thanks for taking the time- both off the task, and recording, editing, posting. Generous insight.

[@gryph01]

That gluing jig is pure genius! Excellent video.

[@davec3689]

Is someone really paying $100 per box? Wow, I wish I had customers like that! Well done. I am envious.

[@timmayvns]

I think they may have messed up big time on the math , maybe 10,000 but not 100 lmao

[@cristicioaba3029]

@@timmayvns actually he is saying that's the price that his client selling for.

[@Seedyrom247]

Good stuff. I have bee hives, and the “man made” panels are terrible to fit together … but Flowhive hives are laser cut, and they are a thing of beauty. Just perfect. Saves so much time at the assembly stage.

[@chocksaway100]

Totally fascinating video brilliantly explained I personally am useless at wood work of any time but I appreciate production technique and process ,also thanks for mentioning costs .

[@heyimamaker]

Love seeing the production setup, nice work!

[@SomeDumUsrName]

Wow! These guys are great. They're sharp..... and know what they're doin'. Amazing shop; amazing work ethic; amazing level of honesty, integrity, competency, and level of care about every detail. "....spread the love." Oh man..... RIGHT ON!

[@navi3see]

You just did the almost impossible. You just ran your nose all the way in this guy's ass and we all saw it. You ok?

[@henrikhjortshj6671]

Great video. Shows just how to work around a big project,- love it. Thanks for sharing.

[@kmwrites7456]

Beautiful boxes and loved watching this amazing process.

[@rbdono2]

Very nice. If you ever decide to upgrade that laser, you will be blown away by the Trotec. I just snagged by second Trotec. Massive difference in speed and quality. Nice work!

[@sangetube]

That guy just before 12 minutes 👍👍👍👍👍👍 smiles and pride in the work. F yes!

[@makingcrapwithscrap5701]

This was awesome to see. I just purchased a Thunder USA Laser and may try to make some of these or something similar. Great content Jon.

[@Wordsnwood]

Interesting to see a small run of production like this, thanks, Jon! Really good point on how prepping all that 3/8 stock would have been a huge time sink,

[@handyman1310]

awesome shop and build. great teamwork

[@dgb5820]

What a fantastic video of process and efficiency and the detail required, I just hope you guys can make money from this fine workmanship This was one the best walk through videos on KZbin. The most significant message here is the investment of machinery to make this very well made box.

[@navi3see]

The best on of the best on KZbin? If you gonna suck up do it bigger, don't say it's one of the best on KZbinsay it' is THE BEST walkthrough not only on KZbin but on planet Earth and if anyone else makes boxes they should watch this first and if it doesn't turn out this good, throw it away and start over. And if after 3 tries it's not even close, (which it won't be because this is the Michael Jordan of boxes) then either quit and find another job to do, or give up on everything because clearly failing hasn't taught you anything.

[@navi3see]

Just fucking with you. I am stoned, love sarcasm and fucking with people when Im high. You put it on the tee, I felt it was my duty to swing..

[@JimNichols]

When I ran huge amounts of parts the router I always made an inset in a disposable rear plate. Solid guide to the router bit and solid guide as soon as you exit the bit. Seems other wise you always stand a chance to clip the trailing corner.

[@grandmarnier3746]

Looks like my next project is building one by hand. Thanks for the tips.

[@RobbieBolog]

Love it when worlds collide. I’m a huge fan of Kenji’s channel and remember when he announced this project. Kinda forgot about it though and didn’t think I’d see it resurface on your channel. Very cool, Jon,

[@DavidrKun]

its a small world after all lol

[@MidnightMaker]

Love the GSJ guys so much that I'm a Patron. Thanks Jon for making this video. I've been hearing about these damn boxes for months. It was great to finally see you document them making them. Hell, I might even design one, cut it out on my laser and have one for my kitchen. P.S. I love the way you guys are collaborating. Hope to see you in 2023 at Maker Camp!

[@tokolosh6467]

Awesome process & great box!

[@massiminimakes]

I'm a big fan of Brad and Kenji, but I unfortunately missed out on the first 2 preorder runs. It was really cool to see the work that goes on behind the scenes to make them. And hopefully I will be able to get in on the next run.

[@JimHester]

This is very cool - all of it: the project, the cause, and the process. I love the scale-up-to-mass-production process. Like, I don't enjoy the mass production itself. Rather, I enjoy the figuring out a more efficient way to do the production. My biggest problem trying to do things like this (on a much smaller scale, obv) is not getting wrapped around the axle trying to make the process more efficient at every step. In fact, I had to take my iPad out of the keyboard folio and watch the video a second time because the first time thru, all I could think about was how would I try to do each of the steps, and I kept finding myself opening Notes to write something down. For example, in the block plane step, I'd have probably mounted the plane and a reference 90º board in the vise to save the time having to insert/tighten/loosen every piece getting planed.

[@kenc2257]

How interesting. A lovely box, and the way the guys are looking for efficiencies and ways to streamline the process is intriguing. Doing something for 'production' is certainly different than something custom, or one-off. [that laser makes nice cuts]

[@donutman3089]

Thank you for the help in solving a problem I was having with the hinged joint on my own box project.

[@floridalifestyleapparel5477]

Is it just me or was anyone else sad when the striking detail of the burn from the laser came off the joints of the boxes. Fantastic attention to detail in every aspect. Congratulations.

[@rootvalley2]

not me, laser wood stinks like a house fire, hopefully sanding it off will help

[@Christ_on_the_River]

What a beautiful contrast before the laser char was sanded off! Final product is still very nice.

[@maxhouseman3129]

@@rootvalley2 agree! There are also ways with water and soap. Works quite nice and don't stinks at all after that procedure.

[@bemccune7671]

For those who do a lot of laser work, it makes the final product look cheap, and it's smelly as well.

[@Christ_on_the_River]

@@bemccune7671 maybe ... I'm just a potential client stating a preference

[@eCitizen1]

Nice look at almost all the process. Very interesting video.

[@nperson]

Very interesting video. I'd like to see more of this type.

[@thehawkc]

Wow just wow , thanks.

[@johnwayne2103]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing!

[@fleuvion]

Very nice boxes. Cool is Bob.

[@andrewbrown8148]

Very cool, Jon~! I really like seeing the projects that Greene Street puts out. Very well devised process. Thanks for sharing this video~!

[@RPDawes207]

Fascinating to see the step-by-step process. And I’ll echo the praise of Ocooch Hardwoods- clean, clear lumber and plywood at a fair price.

[@josephmurray2234]

Poor Rob sounds like he's gone crazy 😂he made me laugh good work lads

[@pettigrewwoodworks]

Great to see how much thought you've put into the process. People think cutting parts using a laser takes the craftsmanship out of the process. Clearly not!

[@realpdm]

This was really neat to see the neat solutions they came up with to create a repeatable production run. . The idea of the back fence to prevent snipe is brilliant to me. I've had that problem but never really found a solution for it.

[@flamabl1]

Well most quality fences can be offset on the outfeed side to account for the snipe but his way is quicker to setup.

[@canadiangemstones7636]

Tight shop doing good work. Damned surprising there’s still people doing this in North America.

[@DMSparky]

Should be a good project for everyone involved. People get a nice bespoke hand made real wood salt box. Charity gets a sizeable amount. Good steady work for the company building them. Laser is a no brainer for this project.

[@jeremyspecce]

I wonder if the shaper bit can go high enough that you could run the boxes upright. I’d also consider using a cove bit so you don’t create that hard inside edge. This was really cool to see the process and kind of how it is evolving. Heard about this on Working Hands a little so it’s nice to see some visuals of what they were discussing.

[@henriksalvesen1078]

You mean having the shaper come from the top? Thats a way more unsafe method imo.

[@adampapanestor7494]

Great stuff! We’re stoked to have worked with Jeff and Rob on these.

[@erikslagter3231]

that's a lot of investment and process going into this project. Top Job!!! 🧠

[@kate7909]

Awesome video and project! It was really neat to see how you problem-solved for a project of this size. Do you think you will sell the laser cut files?

[@craftzars]

ok manufacturing part is easy and understandable, but hardest part is how do hell you can sell 10usd box for 100 usd

[@mattivirta]

only him dream sell 100$ max 20$ box

[@doroscnc]

Thanks for the information 👍 Awesome ❤️ Good luck ✌️

[@life_is_adventure]

Nice work on the details in the video for those watching. It goes to show the hard work it takes to make these things. Some people don’t understand the cost in equipment, time, material, and such. That $100,000 is not pure revenue either. Good work! I am curious why you all chose to go with a laser vs. a cnc router? A CNC router would use less power, machine may have cost less, could have cut more material all at once, not had the burn marks, etc.

[@biggybro4124]

It's a freaking laser, might have been a dr. Evil sort of decision. I can't blame him.

[@timmayvns]

Are you serious? , you think that these are worth 100 per box ? .. to store salt … give me a break

[@joegarza]

Inside corners of CNC routers are not going to be as crisp and square. That would have to be taken care of. The engraving on a CNC takes a bit longer. The size of the CNC would probably be a little bit bigger to accomplish the same amount of capacity. More capacity, bigger machine. CNC is much louder. More moving parts. Dust collection is a pain. More waste with a CNC. Also, their bottleneck is not the laser capacity. It's the manual labor going into each box. They don't need the extra capacity of a CNC. There are a lot of reasons why the laser makes sense. My ideal shop has a cnc and laser setup, but for this type of product the laser makes a lot of sense.

[@scubasteve4093]

Lot of interesting problem solving

[@victorrey37]

Made America! I love it🎉

[@nmopzzz]

QUestions. Why is system sealed up with tape? Is it to keep the airflow coming from outside? Also, is this a 130w or a 100w? Nice video showing the different tools and steps.

[@greenestreetjoinery1457]

Always great to have you in the shop, Jon!

[@backstageeffects]

Hello, Suggestion: For the finger groove, rather than the full long finger groove… make a jig to push the box into the knife on the router table so the result just a centered round groove. Your thoughts?

[@daithi1966]

I actually liked the boxes unsanded with the contrasting edges a lot more that the finished versions. I liked them a LOT more.

[@HeritageFarmsTexas]

New follower, great project. Thanks for sharing. Are you guys in Longview, Tx?

[@NicolasValentinScotland]

Very good , looks priceless ❤

[@RadWilly]

I'd LOVE to know how you made that dado in the end pieces with the laser.

[@cedarandsound]

Hey, I remember you from the video about Vesting LED Hardwax oil, which I still use to this day.

[@HoldYourSeahorses]

I'm wondering if there was any reason why they couldn't rotate half the pieces 180 degrees on the template to interlock the joints repeated pattern to save a lot of laser passes and time. Or why they couldn't get a little bit wider pieces of wood to template them all 90 degrees rotated so they share the flat sides to save on material and a bunch of passes for time.

[@stevewalsh5479]

One reason not to optimize the cuts in that manner (one pass cuts the fingers for the adjoining pieces) is that the kerf of the laser on thick material like that would make the joints very loose. If you notice when he assembles the box, the joints are perfectly snug. They would not be if the same cut was used for both sides.

[@denisruiz1068]

That's why I will say; God bless your country. 

[@billparco8072]

This was really interesting. As someone thinking of a mass production setup it was really great to see how this flows.

[@ScottyDrake]

Fascinating. Assembly of 1,000 boxes must be mind-numbing, though, so kudos to all involved.

[@briansimmons4607]

How many watts is your laser it's a nice machine I have it omtech 100 watt Right now I cut a lot of pine wasn't sure if I could do hardwood or not just curious on your power

[@mikeash7428]

Really Nice.

[@MCsCreations]

Pretty interesting indeed , Jon! 😃 Beautiful little boxes indeed! I really liked them!!! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@liamdonaldson6449]

For the lid opening just use a single biscuit "hole"? Right at the top of the front panel.

[@pmdinaz]

Very cool

[@bsdbryn]

This is awesome. Also a big fan of Kenji’s channel. Very interesting to see this being made.

[@klashnacovak47]

Looks great and they paid that bit extra to share the work around.

[@tobymaltby6036]

That laser.... ...is the sharpest tool in the box 😃

[@sapelesteve]

Awesome video Jon! Obviously a ton of work goes into making those small boxes. It's nice that a portion of the funds are being donated to that charity! On a side note, I would have made the top of the box 1/4" wider in order to negate having to cut out that channel which would save a lot of time. 👍👍

[@wombox1]

I agree, but extra 1/4" would made them harder to fit in shipping boxes.

[@malbrandow7382]

Should be using UV 3M Light Cure Adhesive for instant curing with no clamps! For $100 a box probably cheap to contract it out by the look of it, should be under $20 a box tops!

[@michaelbeckwith977]

I’m wondering if using a CNC router would be faster? It could cut the rabbits and round-over, and even engrave the names, saving the router / shaper steps.

[@hankbagrowski7356]

If you guys with all of the negative comments took this video as an incentive to get off your ass and use whatever tools at your disposal to create a niche business and make a few bucks then that's great! I'm happy for him because that means that any one of us could do the same thing! The people that are taking any bit of useful information from this or any other video are the ones that will benefit one way or another. In other words... You don't have to criticize. Be inspired and learn everyday! ✌🏼🌎👍🏼

[@JonPetersArtHome]

Thanks Hank👍

[@hankbagrowski7356]

@@JonPetersArtHome You're quite welcome! Keep doing your thing!

[@kevingaughan3170]

Extremely tedious and lots of work but the are beautiful. Good cause too !

[@SeaJay_Oceans]

VERY Nice !

[@cattleNhay]

Nothing to it but to do it…great mindset

[@stevewalsh5479]

People commenting on the $100/box need to understand that is the retail price people were paying for this celebrity-chef signed salt-box and $25 of that goes to the charity. Jeff doesn't say how much he was paid for the run of 1000, but look how much effort went into those boxes that tied up his shop for days on end.

[@JKWorkShop]

good job done!

[@JonPetersArtHome]

Thanks!

[@rowland.woodworks]

Great vid! Something incredibly satisfying about developing procedures and maximizing efficiency. How did they manage the glue squeeze out on the inside corners? Or did it even matter?

[@MrFsc911]

What make and model drill press is that?

[@BellaviaSigns]

Love It

[@fmaz1952]

Any reason you didn't cut the joints to be friction fit?

[@joshl90]

Does the burning from the laser affect the glue joint at all?

[@JonPetersArtHome]

I don’t think so

[@jeffreymidbon8214]

They should have run air to the nozzle so it don't burn

[@rychei5393]

100 per box!? That's nuts.

[@lasaucissemasquee4421]

I think it's cherry rather.

[@Mishrgy]

Great 👍🏻

[@lordpaxman]

Very cool! Why not make the lid a bit wider and forgo the rabetting step?

[@samsiryani9023]

Great stuff, love that shop set up they have.

[@quibblegaze]

0:00: ⚙️ Collaborative production of 1000 salt boxes using laser cutting technology for pre-finishing and assembly. 4:17: ⚙️ Efficient production process for making boxes using a specific stacking method to save time and steps. 8:43: ⚙️ In the woodworking project, a glue jig with silicon wheels is used to speed up the slow process of applying glue to the box joints. 12:51: 🔨 Crafting a precision box with fixed pins and free-moving lid using a custom jig, drill press, and brass pins. 17:49: 🔨 Woodworking process using various sanders and finishing techniques to create boxes. Recapped using Tammy AI

[@dankelly6027]

Keep craft alive!

[@skigdividerx4991]

Great work.

[@paulcsaszar5824]

Amazing process never knew it took this long to make something so small kudo's...

[@jasonbolstad6614]

This is a late question for this project, what are you doing with the waste from your laser cuts.

[@lancea9785]

Great video! Honest question: why not use a CNC?

[@isaackvasager9957]

Laser is way quicker and cleaner on a job like this. He also said they needed the laser for the engraving of the logo. The cutting was basically a bonus.

[@patrickmurray4418]

Fabulous! Been waiting for these to come back! Chee Hoo! ❤️😬🤙🏾

[@typeaboutit]

That was cool watching them scaling to mass produce a project. Thank you Jon.

[@Z-add]

Charity is best way to sell product. No one will buy this box for $75. But they will for $100 if $25 goes to a charity.

[@robertg5451]

To bad you have to sand off the burn on the ends of the boxes. I think it looks better that way. Regardless, a very cool process. Kudos to you, guys.

[@JChamberlin]

Wow. That's a lot of work. Cool video though, Jon. It's great to see someone's process like that.

[@JonPetersArtHome]

Thanks! Great guys and a fun video to make.