Popular Woodworking 2003-08 № 135, страница 37

a table listing wood behavior as moisture changes in R. Bruce Hoadley's "Understanding Wood" (Taunton). Based on variation in species movement, I opt for plywood when maple tops and bottoms reach 7" wide, cherry at 8" wide and pine at 12" wide.

Whatever your species and growth orientation, be sure the moisture content of the tops and bottoms are similar to the inside environment of your home. If you are uncertain of that, and do not own a moisture meter, never fear. Boards ^1/4" thick will adjust to your home's humidity level in a few days. Bring the top and bottom boards inside before you make your box and expose all the surfaces equally for a few days to allow this to happen.

Setting up Your Bench

To dimension bending stock and top and bottom boards takes the resources of a full shop. Many craftsmen choose to purchase dimensioned materials and thus simplify their operation. The equipment and shop space to do the actual box making is quite modest. Even those without access to a wood shop can do it.

I always have used a combination of hand and power tools. Standard floor-model sized machines are fine, but smaller ones work well. A 10" band saw and a 4" x 36" belt sander with 6" disc, both benchtop machines, are suited to box making. An electric drill rounds out the power equip-

#5 lid band

Full-size patterns of fingers on box and lid bands

#4 lid band

ment. If you wish to do the cutting, shaping and drilling all by hand, that should not be too much of a challenge either. After all, original boxes predate these mod-

ern conveniences.

To set up your shop for this project you need a few jigs that are easy to make or find. You need a tray for soaking the bands. Normally, it needs to be long enough to fully immerse the largest size, 32" for the #5 box.

However, alternating ends for soaking can allow you to get by with something shorter. Box makers traditionally use hot water for this process. The alternatives to hot water are cool water and steam. All three methods work,

#1 lid band

#0 lid band

#1 box band

#0 box band

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1^V/16"

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#3 box band

#2 box band

4-¹⁵/16"-±

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