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16K views 49 replies 32 participants last post by  antkn33 
#1 ·
Making Candy Intro

I am starting a simple blog on how I made my candies for the box called "Eye Candy"
This will work as a blanket answer to all the questions I have recieved on this. Its pretty obvious that they are no more than glued up woods of contrasting colors, but this will give insight on how I did it.
I am working on pictures at this point and some will be posted in the next chapter, hopefully tonight. So follow along if you are interested.
Also, I want to thank everyone again for voting and getting me a third place :)

I just entered it in FWW magazines contest " The Most Scraptacular" and it was selected for the final voting phase which is done by the public. Below is a link if you are interested in looking at all the entries, many are from our fellow Jocks.
http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/25419/cast-your-vote-for-the-most-scraptacular-project

So put this on your Watch list,
Thanks
Andy
 
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#10 ·
Hi Andy;

I just visited the link and was forced to vote for your entry!

It was a hands down, no brainer, which for me is fortunate. LOL

A box is not really what I picture when I hear eye candy, though.

Lee
 
#12 ·
Bits and Pieces

When I started out to make the candy, I thought I would just simply cut up my scraps and sand them smooth.
This worked for some pieces, but I soon found that a more systematic approach was needed for consistancy.
I wasted half a day making pretty pieces, shaped all willy nilly that were impossible to fit into the tray without leaving gaps everywhere. I did think about bedding the pieces in a liquid resin, but figured it would either set up before all the pieces were in, or flow over the rim when full, so I passed on that idea.

So, I figured the best approach was to have a plan.

I wanted a mix of colors, sizes and shapes, yet they all needed to fit in the tray pretty snuggly.
I decided it was best to make up "Bars" of candy and then cut them into bite sized pieces.
I would start with the largest and place them in the tray and work around them until I found a pattern I liked.
I also needed to safely work with smaller pieces, so much of the cutting was done on the bandsaw, or using double stick tape or super glue to hold them.

On with the show.
This first photo shows the cutoff mitered ends from making the sides of my boxes. I alternated colors and glued them together, then sanded them flat afterwards, then sliced off strips to make the pieces shown below. Flipping them onto the edge gives a new look to the same pieces.

Making Candy 014

I also glued up 4 pieces to make a bar and then sliced off thick pieces then drilled a 3/8 hole to insert contrasting plugs.
Making Candy 003

This photo shows some strips of various woods and thicknesses I glued together. I used some of this for candy but also for the Fat Boy corner spline.
Making Candy 008

top-right-corner-detail

Thats all for now, I need to get to the gym and then work. I was hoping to get all the photos on this page but Flickr no longer allows embeded frames, so using the mini browser is out. I found away around it, but its slower.
One more chapter should do it. Stay tuned.
Thanks for reading, hope this makes sense. Sorry about any typos, I am rushed this morning :)
Andy
 
#24 ·
Bent Inlays

I couldnt find any info that explained how to make bent inlays without using a router and a template, which is time consuming and limiting. I thought about using the bandsaw to make S shaped cuts and inserting pliable strips, but thought that the rough cuts made by the course teeth would show up, but I was encouraged after reading Blogs by Patron and Degoose on making double curve lazy susans. The cuts were made on the bandsaw and the pieces mated up just fine. So, I made a test piece. I tried cutting curves in a fluid smooth pass, no hiccups and then slipped in a thin piece of contrasting wood, glued it up and clamped it overnight and it worked great. The trick is to keep moving smoothly through the blade, but not too fast or the cut will be too rough. I used a 3/8 skip 6 tooth, but try what you have on the machine, it may work very well.
Use plenty of glue and hard clamping.Here are a few pictures to illustrate this.

A maple board and strips 3/4''.
Making Candy 019

I made pencil marks across the face to aid realignment after cutting.
Making Candy 020

This shows the maple board with various thin strips sandwiched in between, ready for glue up.
Making Candy 025

Carefull alignment and several clamps.
Making Candy 028

The finished blank trimmed. If you look close you will see that some of the lines arent as fair as others. These areas can be cut around when making candy, corner splines or handles.
Making Candy 031

Another blank glued and clamped.
Candy 028

Some samples.

Making Candy 030

Making Candy 016

I cut the discs using plug cutters, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, and 3/4. The larger ones were cut using a 1 1/4'' hole saw with the drill bit removed. This can be done on the Lennox style and a few others, which still have a shank to slip into the drill chuck.
To shape the dome on the discs shown here on the front of the box, I simply attached them to the end of a dowel using CA, trying to keep the centered, and hit them with the accelerant spray. Then I turned them against the edge of the inflatable drum sander. After getting the shape about right I turned them on the other arbor that has a #150 grit flap sander, and polished them up. No further sanding was needed. I polished all the candies this way. I could not have safely, nor consistantly made the candy without this tool. I dont have the stand, it sits on the counter and is so heavy it doesnt need to be bolted down. I also use this for making spoons, propellors, etc. You can adjust the drums ability to contour by adding or realeasing air. You can put a drum or flap sander or buffing wheels of assorted grits on either end.
Here is a picture.
Buffer

Candy 5 006

And here is how to make an M&M looking candy or border or inlay strip. Simply cut plugs of various woods and drill corresponding holes, insert plugs, and rebore directly through part of the new plug, in effect overlapping the circles or plugs randomly or in a distinct pattern as you wish. To speed up the process you may want to try super glue (Ca) and spray accelerant. (This will cause some woods to bleed pretty badly, such as bloodwood, so try this on a scrap first.) Also, these finished strips are very fragile because there really isnt any long continous grain left, so cut them to size using a fine tooth hand saw.
Candy 5 008

Thats about it I guess, though I am sure there are many other ways to make inlays and candies.
I hope this answers your questions and encourages you to try these for yourselves.
I look forward to seeing what you come up with,
Andy

p.s. Please let me know of any glaring mistakes or voids in my thinking process so I can correct them.
 
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