NEXT MEETING

Bob Satterlee's Shop
74030 Hwy 1077
Covington
985-845-7949

Demonstration: Bob Satterlee will demonstrate various aspects of furniture repair

Don McLaren was kind enough to re-do his bandsaw box demonstration that was cut short at last month's meeting because of a bandsaw problem at Harland Johnson's workshop.

The photo above right shows the object of the demo: to create a two-drawer mini cabinet similar to the one on the right, out of the 4"x4"x6" piece of mahogany shown on the left, using a bandsaw equipped, in this case, with a 1/8" blade (which, as a rule of thumb, will cut a dime-sized radius).

Bandsaw boxes, which have waxed and waned in popularity since the 1960's, can be made in a wide degree of complexity and beauty. Don showed one of his own "curved drawer" designs as an example of an attractive design variation. Similar examples of curved designs can be found here and here.

Don distributed three articles on bandsaw boxes from the Nov/Dec 1980 issue of Fine Woodworking: Bandsaw Boxes, by John Alcock-White, the Bandsaw Boxes of Arthur Carpenter, and Another Case of Box Fever, by Michael Graham. The basic sequence of construction is shown in Figure 1 from the Alcock-White article.

Following the steps shown in the Figure, Don first cut a curve on one of the corners of the box to give it some character. He then proceeded to cut 1/4" slices from the sides, and then turned the box on its side to cut out the drawer spaces, after which the sides could be glued back on to form the main "cabinet."

Each of the two solid pieces that had been cut out to make the drawer spaces were then put through a similar process to make drawers: the sides were cut off, then the piece turned on its side and the inside space of the drawer cut out, after which the sides were glued back on to form drawers.

As he was distracted with questions and kibitzing, Don erroneously cut a front from a drawer rather than a side, but that gave him an opportunity to demonstrate how to recover by gluing it back on before proceeding. (There was no shortage of helping hands, as evidenced by the photo at the beginning of this newsletter.)

The gluing steps, which were all similar, were impressive: Parts were clamped tightly together before gluing, which was done with carefully applied, water-thin, instant cyanoacrylate glue, which penetrates the tightest crack. A quick spray of accelerant made the glue cure almost instantly and the workpiece was ready for the next step.

(As an aside, Dick Gahn demonstrated a woodworking tip in which he repaired a hole by packing it with baking soda and then added instant glue. It foams up, then dries very quickly to a hard, sandable material.)

Once Don had completed the three individual pieces (case and two drawers) he used a Dremel tool to touch up corners. The final step, which was not on the program, would be to apply a finish suitable for the wood being used. Chic Dausch took the rough box home to apply the final finishing steps, and will presumably bring a thing of beauty to the next meeting.

It's easy to see why bandsaw boxes have been popular. The basic steps are very straightforward, and once they are mastered, the variations on design are limitless. Look for these types of boxes at the next craft show you attend, and try a few yourself. Several books are available if you wish to pursue more advanced techniques.