Money
Maker
Article
JAN/FEB
2005
Volume 48/Issue 1
IN
THIS ISSUE
Project
Articles
•
A Gift For Your Kitchen
• Outdoor Deck Chair
• Bandsaw Boxes
DEPARTMENTS
•
Ask Smitty
• Owner’s Gallery
• Letters from Owners
Academy Notes
Hardwood
Information You Should Know - Pt 4
Service Pointers
The
MARK V Vertical Drill Press & Horizontal Boring Machine
Woodworking
Technologies
Stepped
Dowels
Safety
Safety Lessons I've Learned
What's
New
Rip
Scale Upgrade Kit, Cabinets, & Lift-Assist
EDUCATION
• Find
A Shopsmith Woodworking Academy Near You
•
National
Woodworking Academy in Dayton, OH
ONLINE
CATALOGS
• Online Accessory Catalog
•
Request
Printed Accessory Catalog
• Online
Replacement Parts Catalog
MARK
V INFORMATION
•
Find
A Shopsmith
MARK V Demo Near You
•
Request
MARK V Information Package
LINKS
•
Links Worth Visiting
•
Free Woodworking
Tips
FEEDBACK
Contacting
Shopsmith
Copyright
2005.
Shopsmith, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Bandsaw Boxes
Bandsaw boxes are novel in their design, deceptively simple to build and make perfect jewelry, trinket or keepsake boxes. And the best part of all is that you don't need a bunch of fancy joinery tools to build them. Just a Bandsaw.
Their cleverness lies in the guaranteed snug fit of the drawers in the box. This is possible because the drawers are actually cut from the box carcase...so, naturally, they'll fit right back into the space they came from. Plus, you won't have to worry about miss-sizing any complex joinery, since the only gap between the drawer and its surrounding box will be the width of the kerf the bandsaw blade takes as it cuts out the drawers.
Just as the Bandsaw can cut practically any irregular shape, so can Bandsaw boxes be made in any shape. Drawers can be traditional rectangles...or circles, ovals or virtually any shape that suits your fancy.
A box can contain one drawer or several. In fact, you could almost go so far as to say that no two Bandsaw boxes are ever alike, since they are typically made out of small pieces of scrap wood in any shape. That's how the boxes pictured here were made. The small box is made from laminated cherry and the large box is laminated alder. There's only one limitation. Box sizes are restricted to the 6" capacity of the Bandsaw...and that's about it.
Although any Bandsaw blade may be used, you will obtain tighter fits between the drawers and the carcase by using smaller blades. The boxes shown here were cut with a 1/4" blade. Smooth cuts mean less sanding, which also contributes to tighter fits with the drawers.
The instructions and photos here describe the step-by-step procedure for cutting a two-drawer box. Build yours out of whatever size of solid wood or laminated pieces you can lay your hands on and enjoy designing your own one-of-a-kind creation.
Preparation
Start by cutting your wood block to size - or by laminating a series of
pieces together to create the size block you want. Remember not to exceed
your 6" Bandsaw limit on any one side or dimension of the box. Round your
corners with a Router
set-up or Belt
Sander and do any shaping at this time, then sand the box smooth with
220-grit sandpaper. The shaping and sanding are done now because the box
will be much more stable at this time than it will after it's cut.
Cutting the sides
Cut off both sides of the box. They'll be glued back on later, once you've
cut out the drawers. The sides of our box are 1/2" thick, but you could
safely go down to 1/4", if you prefer. You'll notice that we're using
our Miter Gauge (clamped to the Bandsaw Table) as a Fence. If you have
a newer model Shopsmith Bandsaw, just use your Bandsaw Rip Fence.(See
Fig. 1)
