A few shaker boxes for Christmas

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Oliver Springs, TN
I showed my SIL a couple of the boxes I'd made earlier. A few weeks ago she asked if I'd make her six for the woman she works with and how much I'd charge. I told her I would and I couldn't charge her. We haggled for a while back and forth about cost and she finally said if you help I'll make them. I agreed and this weekend we began the task. It was a lot of fun having someone else in the shop to work with. She's really shape and did nearly everything herself. I had some walnut with the sap wood still showing so she used that for the tops and sides of a couple of the boxes. I also liked the contrast. Here's a few shots of the progress. I need to put a couple more coats of finish on before we call them finished.
 

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hey john did yu cut the veneer on that walnut? those look great with the sapwood showing. normally i am one to cut it out or hide it but yu made it look great on these.
 
hey john did yu cut the veneer on that walnut? those look great with the sapwood showing. normally i am one to cut it out or hide it but yu made it look great on these.


No I didn't cut the veneer Larry. A guy I know that sales lumber, grades logs, buys wood lots etc. gave me a bundle of walnut that had about 20 pieces 6 inches wide by around 20 inches long by 1/4 thick. I ran them through the planer to take them down to the final thickness. He has some cherry and maple that's the same except it's 48 inches long. I need to get with him and get a couple bundles of that.

Thanks for the comments everyone.:thumb:
 
Those are nice John:thumb: Good wood combination. I am a fan of mixing in sapwood on walnut when it works and it works on those:thumb:. They are still on my must make list:)
 
Those look great John.

Did you steam the veneer to bend them around the molds?

No Toni, I used a hot water bath. The water was around 190ish for around 20 min.

I made one a couple of weeks ago and forgot the band was in the water. It cooked for around an hour before I remembered:eek: It bent fine and I couldn't tell a difference between the 20 min soak or the hour soak. I guess the 20 min soak is fine.


Here's a question. I've been using toothpicks for the plugs that hold the top and bottom on the bands. I've been thinking about stripping some #14 copper wire and using that in place of the toothpicks, do you think that will work?
 
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aAlways wanted to make Shaker boxes but my Round2it didn'y comealong untill after I have lost use of my paws. Don't put off those projects you always wanted to try... never know when it is not an option... :(

What did you use to form the sides? steam box?, boiler pan? :wave:

thanks for posting
 
aAlways wanted to make Shaker boxes but my Round2it didn'y comealong untill after I have lost use of my paws. Don't put off those projects you always wanted to try... never know when it is not an option... :(

What did you use to form the sides? steam box?, boiler pan? :wave:

thanks for posting


I got the oval forms and formers from John Wilson http://www.shakerovalbox.com/
The oval forms are solid wood that are used to form the sides The formers are used to hold the shape of the wet bands till they dry. I also got the box/trough for heating the bands from him also. I could have made them but sometimes is cheaper in the long run to just buy. I have made several sets of the formers using the ones I bought as patterns though.
 
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