wtnhighlander Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 I wanted to use up some short stock in my stash, so I decided to make as many keepsake / jewelry boxes as I could manage. Most of my stock is rough 4/4, with some 2" x2" cherry, and a bunch of S4S, 3/4 white pine. Here is the pile during inital milling. There are also a bunch of odd sticks for another cutting board or two. A decent pile of shavings from my little jointer: Several days later I found time to resaw these boards to 1/2 & 3/8 slices. I find it helpful to scribe the cut line, since I don't have a proper resaw fence. Enter the "Little Bandsaw That Could". I have a 10" Craftsman benchtop bandsaw with a 1/3 hp motor. I split a couple pine boards at the max cutting depth of 4 1/2" before the blade snapped. Worked pretty well, but there was a lot of dust buildup in the cut. The only other blade I had on hand was a 3/8, 6 tpi band. It was ok on pine, but the first stick of hardwood was almost impossible. After seeing Matthias Wandel sharpen his band with a dremel, and John Heinz cut his band in half while running on the saw, I felt bold enough to try some modifications. I used my rotary tool to grind off half the teeth, and sharpen the rest. When I was done, it looked like this: And it worked incredibly well! I finished the stack, which included pine, poplar, mulberry, walnut and red oak, all at 4 1/2" width. It was starting to dull by the end, but it made it through this stack ... All taped up so I can keep track of the book matches. There was surprisingly little dust on the table, but the shop vac looked like this: So, a good deal of beating was in order to clean it out. By that time, I was ready to call it a day. It was 98* F all day, and my only A/C in the shop looks like this: Maybe I'll have an update by next weekend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 Awesome! How many boxes do you think you can get out of all that lumber? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 Fantastic Ross! I will be following intently. I like the way you work things out and do quality work with whatever the tools available. I'm in the process of some box making and I enjoy seeing your process. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 That, Ross, was a ballsy move. One I would never have thought of. But think about it, less teeth, more dust removal! Good job Dude! Ross and Dave, start threads on your box making. Well, I guess Ross already has started 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 Very cool!! Can't wait to see what turns out 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 Looks like a lot of boxes for Christmas! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 Awesome! How many boxes do you think you can get out of all that lumber? Hoping for a half-dozen, at least. Some of the boards only yielded one good slice after resaw, as there were defects on the off-cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 Fantastic Ross! I will be following intently. I like the way you work things out and do quality work with whatever the tools available. I'm in the process of some box making and I enjoy seeing your process. Thanks, Dave! Beggers can't be choosers, so improvisation is essential. I look forward to seeing some of your box designs, maybe I can steal some ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strasberry Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 As someone who makes a lot of different types of boxes, i'm always on the look for inspiration and others style! I also will be following your progress! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted July 20, 2015 Report Share Posted July 20, 2015 Very nice, I'll be tagging along to see how many you can make! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 I have at least 4 different styles in mind, hopefully the stock will carry me through all of them. I'm aiming at a 1 x 2 x 3 height, width, length ratio. What general size do you guys like for these kind of boxes? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strasberry Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 My boxes are made specifically to a chocolate company specifications, so I don't follow a certain ratio. I make Ovals, Octagons, hearts, and a couple different size rectangular. The rectangles are mostly with a box joint. One of the boxes is just about the 1 x 2 x 3 ratio the others are a bit different. They are made to hold 6 to 12 pieces of chocolate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 The boxes I've been making lately are intended to fit envelopes. Outside dimensions have been about 3 1/2" tall x 8" x 11" in ~3/4" stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strasberry Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 I have one that is 1/2 stock 1 1/4 x 5 x 9 then 1/4 stock x 1 x 4 x 5 and 1/4 stock x 1 x 5 x 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 I make a lot of small boxes also. I usually try to make them as large as possible depending on the piece of wood I have.I like to make four sides out of one board to get grain match all around the sides. Then either use a nice figured piece for the top and bottom or a contrasting wood for the top and bottom.I also like to make any knobs or splines or inlay out of the same woods. Kind of boring I guess but I like them most of the times. I guess I size them about 1 tall, 1-1/2 wide and 3 long. I really don't use any formula. I just use the SWAG method and what looks good to me. Rog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Is that top box walnut and maple? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strasberry Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Is that top box walnut and maple?No. It is maple and jacoba (I think) (Heck, I cant even pronounce it not to mention spell it.) Anyway it was some exotic wood that my son got me for birthday or something. It was a very hard wood as I remember.The bottom box is walnut and something else I can't remember. I'm old and built those boxes 6 or 7 years ago. Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinF Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Definitely a lot of inspiration here! Nice looking boxes guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Inspiration, indeed! I appreciate the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 Roger how did you shape the cove in that top box? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 Looks like a tablesaw cove to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 Need inspiration?Like box joints?Try this one and see if it does the trick.Cherry wood.Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted July 22, 2015 Report Share Posted July 22, 2015 Roger how did you shape the cove in that top box?Yes, it is a table saw cove..... after the box was built. That makes it easier to get the splines nice and uniform. Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted July 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2015 Nice work Roger! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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