Sharing a great link, and boxes in no time

[Bmac]

A super bandsaw box tutorial, watched this and was making boxes in a flash. Great technique if you haven't seen it before. 

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2016/06/07/episode-1-introduction-make-beautiful-bandsawn-boxes

I grabbed a few chunks of wood and instant boxes;

Thanks for looking.

 

[Mark J]

They look great.  Very pleasing shapes.

[RichardA]

Interesting.   Well done.

[Woodenskye]

Nice work!  What woods did you use in both of these?

[Coop]

Wow! Thanks for sharing! 

[Bmac]

9 hours ago, Woodenskye said:

Nice work!  What woods did you use in both of these?

The smaller box is Curly Hard Maple, left over from my rocker build last year. 

The other box is Norway Maple with a Black Walnut lid. 

[Dave S]

Good videos. Thanks for the tip.

[R Chandrasekar]

Thank you. Have added to my 'To read and do' projects list.

[Mark J]

@Bmac and friends,

After watching this video I have been wanting to give this a try.  I've got my motivation up and a block of ash squared, but as I begin to plan out the steps I have a question.  How do you sand the inside the box smooth? 

Cullen makes a lot of use of texturing, which I might try later, but I want to go smooth as in hyper-sanded so that when you pick it up your finger tips go "oooh".  Sanding the outside is relatively easy even though it will have to be done after glue up.  But how to do the inside?  Ideally you would sand before glue up when the inside surfaces are easily accessed, but in doing so you will alter mating surfaces for the four corners and the bottom and I don't think the parts will fit together well afterwards.  If you sand after the glue up it will be very difficult to get into inside space.  

What do folks typically do with these?

[Just Bob]

I took a class on these and then made several as gifts, a few years ago.  I did not sand the interior, or if I did I don't remember sanding.  I also don't remember there being an issue with the interior of the box.  I gave all of them away so I don't have one to look at.  But you could sand prior to glue up if you stay away from the mating surfaces.  I attached the pdf from the article, it is a little more detailed than the video.

bandsawbox.pdf

[Bmac]

@Mark J, I left the inside of the boxes unsanded, but like @Just Bob said you could do some sanding if you steer clear of the mating surfaces. But by staying away from mating surfaces, that also means staying away from the top of box to body of box junction. That is an area that you cannot sand and won't be hidden in a glue joint. 

I did some texturing on a few boxes and really enjoyed the process. Now I look at all my scrap wood completely different, esp after this video and doing some carved bowls last year. In fact I find myself admiring firewood chunks like never before. 

@Just Bob, thanks for the pdf to the article.

[Mark J]

Well here it is.  The mottling is because it's fresh from a wipe down with mineral spirits, no finish yet.    Just the same I can't say much for it.  The inside is rough sawn--literally.  I can't describe my bandsaw abilities as skilled.  The glue lines don't show, they glare, mostly because my bandsawing doesn't exactly result in a glue ready surface. 

First attempt, but I am unimpressed with myself.  I may never put on a finish coat; I'm certainly not going to open the can just for this.  

If I were doing this again I think I would modify Cullen's instructions a bit.  I'd treat the bottom the same way as the lid, only glue it on.  That way I would obviate the need for tapering the inside walls and the intial glue up would be four sided allowing easy access for sanding.   

The other thing I'd try is a box with two glue joints like Bmac showed on the left in his picture.

[Bmac]

Well that is definitely not a failure @Mark J, it would be nice to have those joints disappear a little better, but that is really not bad, you really hold yourself to high standards. The main joint that I see is the lid to body joint. 

Now I made a bunch of these since I originally started this post, most ready to be given out as Christmas gifts. I do have a few thoughts on these boxes after doing more of them.

First, I just live with the rough inside surface, it really doesn't bother me.

Secondly, I'm sure you did, but use the blade he recommended and get a new sharp one if you can. Your gluing surface is going to be rough, it's not your bandsaw skills, but it should mate up pretty well.

Thirdly, the 2 cut design is my favorite and I think it is simpler than the 4 sided box.

Fourthly, use a different species of wood for the lid. That way you can plane/joint the top of the box before cuttung and plan/joint the bottom of the lid, then you get a real nice lid to body joint. Of course you still use the top of the "plug" to make a keeper for the lid.

I would not treat the bottom like the top because then you are introducing another glue joint that will be visible. The beauty of using the plug is at least that glue joint is hidden. 

Here's a simple 2 sided box with a different species lid. You can see the joint on the end grain, it's not invisible. I think the light colored woods show the glue joint more. I do think these boxes are easier though;

Here's a 4 sided box, joints disappear pretty good with this one, the joint at the lid is slightly noticable, but I think the grain pattern helps to hide it;

The darker wood and the grain pattern do help hide the glue joints;

I hope I was able to encourage you enough to try another.

 

 

[Mark J]

It was fun and something different and I thank you for the suggestion.  So yes, I'll probably give this another go, but it may be a few projects down the road.  I'll have to find a source of wood that isn't a perfectly good turning blank.

[Gary Beasley]

You could do flocking on the inside of the box and nobody would be able to see the rough sawn wood, or care if it was. Its pretty easy to do and especially nice if the adhesive is colored to match the flocking.

[Mark J]

@Gary Beasley, I've no experience with flocking.  Is it done inside the assembled box, or on the components before assembly?

[Gary Beasley]

Its done after everything is finished. Adhesive is carefully painted on the desired surfaces then the flocking is blown or sifted into the box and shaken to distribute it. Excess is shaken out and adhesive allowed to dry.

 

[pkinneb]

15 hours ago, Gary Beasley said:

You could do flocking on the inside of the box and nobody would be able to see the rough sawn wood, or care if it was. Its pretty easy to do and especially nice if the adhesive is colored to match the flocking.

That's what I do as well. 

[wtnhighlander]

The secret to flocking is to not be stingy with the fiber. Blow it on super heavy, so as much as possible sticks to the adhesive. I use a large cardboard box, sealed inside with packing tape, as a "spray chamber". It collects the excess fiber for re-use later.

[Mark J]

Thanks, Gary, that was a cool video.  It's interesting to see how this is done.  I might just give this a try.

[Coop]

Thanks Gary for sharing. That was a neat video. I need to look this guy up for more of his projects. 

[Gary Beasley]

1 hour ago, Coop said:

Thanks Gary for sharing. That was a neat video. I need to look this guy up for more of his projects. 

He is quite skilled with a scrollsaw. I first found him on another woodworking forum that I had to desert because of insufferable popup activity. He would do scrollsaw pictures and show a little at a time and everyone would be guessing what it was. Then he would also do detailed wooden models that would blow you away.

[Bmac]

Yes, thank you Gary, this is a great solution for the interior of these boxes. Placing an order now!