Popular Woodworking 2003-08 № 135, страница 38

Profile the finger design to rough dimension before final My preference for trimming is a utility knife with a fixed, not

trimming with a utility knife.The locations for copper tacks retractable, blade. This gives the necessary control. Use heavy-are drilled at this time, too. duty blades, not the lighter ones that come with a new knife.

but there are some differences in technique that go with each.

If you are already set up for steam bending, then by all means use it. If you can obtain a metal tray at least 4" x 32", then you are ideally set for hot water soaking. Set the tray on a stove or electric hot plate with stabilizer blocks under each end (photo 7). A

length of steel gutter (the modern flat-bottom style) with end caps attached together with a ³/4" plywood cover will serve for this.

When hot water is used, soaking takes 15 minutes. The wrap itself goes quickly with a few motions around the core.

Cool water will be the option when neither of the above is avail

able, as you can co-opt the bathtub. Understand that flexibility comes from both soaking and heat, and when only one condition is involved, as in cool water soaking, you must allow 12 to 24 hours of soaking and use more finesse when bending. A forward then back motion to bending in small increments as you go

The inside end of a band is feathered back 1" to 1V2" depending on its thickness. This will provide a fair curve to the inside of the box.

around the tight end of the oval will flex the wood under circumstances such as this.

When tacking the lap, you will need an anvil for clinching the points of the tacks. This can be made from an 8" length of 1" or 1¹/4" galvanized pipe bolted to a wood cradle and clamped to your bench (photo 9).

Cores and Shapers

In addition to a soaking tray you need a set of cores and a set of shapers. The core is a wood plug the size of the inside of a box. The hot, wet band is bent around it (photo 8). Made from soft wood (2" foam board also can be used), they are created using the oval patterns at right.

The shapers are the key to the Shakers' box production (photo 10). You will need a pair for each box made at one soaking. If you wish to make five of one sized box, then 10 shapers are needed. The alternative is to bend on five successive occasions, which is a lot more work than making a few extra shapers. They are made to the same oval pattern as the cores, only they have a 10° beveled edge to act as corks in the oval opening. Cut them slightly oversized by cutting ¹/16" outside your pattern line. Drill holes for ventilation and to allow you to grab them for removal after the band is dry. The wood for shapers can be solid

The 4" x 36" bench sander sees a lot of use when I make a nesting set of five boxes. Here feathering the end of the band is controlled by a wood block to ensure a gradual taper.

The band has been feathered on one end and the fingers are trimmed and drilled on the other.The hot water tray has an electric hot plate with wood blocks under each end for stability.While a full boil is not necessary, water more than 180° will effect a softening of the lignin.

36 Popular Woodworking August 2003