Popular Woodworking 2007-11 № 165, страница 76

Shaker Oval Music Box

BY JOHN WILSON

A simple gift for the holidays.

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_wo Shaker accomplishments were prolific song writing (there are more than 10,000 extant songs) and gracefully fingered oval boxes. This music box combines both. The song "Simple Gifts" is familiar to many from Aaron Copelands "Appalachian Spring."

Shaker oval boxes were featured in the August 2003 issue (#135). A set of five nesting boxes was described there, and for those familiar with that set, this music box is the next-to-smallest size, called a #1. For those interested in looking at that article, it is on my web site ShakerOvalBox.com, along with the supply catalog and class schedule for The

A simple gift. This Shaker oval box is simple to make, and more than just pretty to look at. Inside is hidden a music works that plays the classic Shaker hymn, "Simple Gifts."

Home Shop, which specializes in materials and instruction in this traditional craft.

Making this particular oval box project has been simplified so that fewer wooden forms are needed to get it done. It is expected that first-time box makers will find this helpful. Certainly there is more than one way of doing things, and those familiar with alternatives should choose what suits you best.

Oval boxes are made in two stages: the bending of side bands, and the fitting of oval tops and bottoms. The bending requires an oval plug called a core for bending the hot, wet wood strips for the side of the box, and two oval shapers, or wood corks, to fit into each side to hold the bands while drying. This article describes using a piece of 1" foamboard (used for home insulation) as both the core and shaper. It is easy to make and use, and

scraps of this material are thrown away either from damaged boards at the lumberyard or from building sites. A full 4' x 8' sheet of foam-board costs about $12.

The bands and top and bottom boards are fairly accessible to those with a woodshop. The dimension of the bands are 1V2" x 15" and V2" x 15V2". Both are made from wood V16" thick or a little thicker (.062" to .068"). Thickness is important for both bending flexibility and clinching of the small copper tacks. Cherry is used in this project, but Shakers used hard maple for most of their boxes. Veneer is available in V16" thickness, and the hard maple is perhaps more likely to bend better than any other species when using commercially sliced veneer.

A band of the size used here that is 1V2" wide can be sawn on either a table saw or a

74 ■ Popular Woodworking November 2007

LEAD PHOTO BY AL PARRISH; STEP PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR