Band Saw Boxes

[JoeyGee]

This year I finally tuned up my band saw and started some band saw boxes. I have the Craftsman 10" BS, so it's a little small and underpowered, but with the right blade, it does OK. I have some work to do to get better and cut better with it, but it's a lot of fun.

I used two plans from David Picciuto, the Drunken Woodworker:

http://www.drunkenwoodshop.com/

I made the Austin and Omaha. I use a lot of DW plans. He's a local guy and I like his projects. I made these over the summer and the kids really like them, so they are a little beat up.

I need to work on disguising the kerf entry cuts as well as just following a line without wavering. Overall I am happy with them. The drawers are loose, but that will improve with technique. The one on the left was my first and I used scrap bin cherry (didn't even realize the front was a glueup until I finished it, LOL) and laminated 1/2" ply and the right one is walnut and maple.

Both are finished with simple spray lacquer.

[Bill in Buena Park]

Joe,
Those look great. What is the drawer capacity on them?

About the entry kerf - since this gets glued closed, I find it best to pick a place of entry to cut with the grain, where grain direction hides the cut.

Well done!

[JoeyGee]

Bill, you should never ask to see the inside of another man's drawers, LOL.

Not huge. On the maple/walnut box I miscut it and made the opening too small and uneven. I also did not sand them on the inside. I was (am?) thinking about trying to flock them. I have also seen people flock the inside of the box opening, which helps shrink the gap so the drawer fits more snug. I've never used flocking, but can't see it helping that much, especially on mine with huge gaps.

These are just "practice" so I may continue the experiment with flocking.

[Bill in Buena Park]

Those have pretty good depth, even the one you say you cut too small. I haven't tried the flocking myself, but although I've heard of it for lining the drawers, hadn't heard of it for lining the openings.

Some of the kerf size can be caused by teeth set, blade width, and blade thickness. Assuming your already working with a blade that is 1/4 inch or less in width, and not too aggressive in teeth set, one thing you might investigate is a thinner blade, such as these:

http://timberwolfblades.com/proddetail.php?prod=31610RK

http://timberwolfblades.com/proddetail.php?prod=1408RK

And for the record... I asked about capacity, not a look... But thanks for a peek!

[poolhound]

Nice job Joe. BS boxes are always fun projects and relatively quick.

I have "flocked" (got to be careful there...) quite a few boxes. Its really pretty simple and amazingly effective.

[mpc]

Flocking the drawers is really simple. A tad messy, but simple. I have a large cardboard box, maybe 20 x 20 inches, and 6 inches deep that I stand on end to make a "flocking booth." This catches the "overspray" so it can be recovered. That stuff isn't cheap.

As for gaps between the drawer and carcass... my lessons learned with the handful of boxes I've made:
* Sanding widens the gap so do the minimum you can get away with. Being very careful while sawing helps since there is less to correct via sanding. I learned that curved edges in the pattern are your friend... if you drift off the pattern line a little - such as making a slightly too-tight radius - keep sawing to that new radius as much as possible rather than trying to quickly recover the line. Recovering quickly just introduces a hump or wave that stands out... or needs to be sanded a ton.

* Is the drawer riding on anything? I glue some felt strips inside my bandsaw boxes for the drawer to ride on. Does 2 things: makes the drawer feel smoother when opening/closing, and it "lifts" the drawer - increasing the gap below the drawer and reducing the gap above it. Done right, you can equalize the gap all the way around with a little felt (or flocking) which makes everything look better.

* bigger gap? A larger radius roundover may help hide it.

I have the first bandsaw box I made on a shelf above the fireplace. When I view it, my eyes jump to the "oops" cut that I corrected with sandpaper - got back to the pattern shape that way but with too large a gap now. It screams at me. Nobody else seems to notice it though - I've had several compliments on the box.

Another trick is a little carving - by hand or with a router. Imagine cutting a small v-notch all the way around a box, near the base... as a way to hide the blade kerf.

mpc

[LCHIEN]

I've cut and glued felt to put in small drawers and boxes... is it easier to flock it?

[mpc]

I would think so. Cutting felt to fit and getting it glued in without smudging glue seems like it'd be harder than flocking in general.

Flocking starter kits typically come with:
* a bag of flocking particles - the raw stuff looks like iron filings used in kid's science fair magnet field demos. It's available in several colors.
* A thick brush-on glue for the flocking material. Generally this glue is available in the same colors as the flocking particles.
* A flocking spray gun - typically two cardboard tubes that fit one inside the other (think pirate's telescope) with small holes at one end.

You start by dumping the flocking material into the spray gun. Then you brush the glue onto the workpiece, it wipes up/cleans up easily from areas that shouldn't get glue. Stand the workpiece so you can aim the gun horizontally or slightly upwards; shooting straight down isn't the best. Aim the small holes at the workpiece and pump the tubes. It takes only a few seconds to blast a typical bandsaw box drawer.

mpc

[JoeyGee]

Where is the best place for flocking supplies? I have seem them at Woodcraft, but seem awfully spendy. Is that normal, or are there better sources?