Blake's CLAW BOX Challenge

Nifty little box.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Aha. I know how you made it…(as far as cutting the line to separate the bottom and top) but I have no idea how I’d go about doing it myself – oh wait, yes I do. – Brilliant design!... My wife may just see one this Christmas.

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

well now.. isn’t that the cutest darned thing ever… and the challenge doesn’t lie in opening it but in creating it.. hmmm

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

I’m thinking it involves the block standing on a corner as it makes contact with the bandsaw blade.

At any rate, quite nice!

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

ok then I admit it, whoever of you who have worked out how to create this box are wayyyyyy more intelligent than I am, this challenge is doin my head in. Will sleep on it, and think about it in the morning

-- Skinna - Australia... I won't stop at murder if that's what is necessary to get the job done

Even with a clue how, I doubt I could pull this off. Really sweet!

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

I’d like to see it without the blue felt on the bottom.

I’m guessing you could make the box like this;

- start with a milled square block
- stand the block on one face, cut the first arc completely. This gives a U shaped top and a half rounded bottom.
- turn the top 90 degrees and cut the other arc. This cut gives the top shape, the claw, all in one piece. And two side wings that will have to be reattached to the bottom. Kind of like cutting a puzzle box.
- cut the waste out of the big bottom center cut.
- reattach the cut off sides to the bottom.
- tape all the pieces back together and cut the outside profile. Sand and finish.

I think this works but it leaves the bottom in three pieces that have to be glued back together. One piece that looks like a U shape and the two side wings that have to be reattached.

So I’m wondering, are there cut lines under the felt? Or is the bottom one solid piece?

Just looking at the sharp edges on the inside felt at the front and the back bottom corners I’m guessing the front and back were the cut off pieces glued back on and the side to side the first cut. The side to side inside bottom profile has the more characteristic curve of a bandsaw cut that removed the waste.

You may be on to something, Colorado.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

By the way, I figure “the Claw” is appropriate for the spooky season… See if you can create it by Halloween and then use it to put candy it. And let me know how it goes!

Here is an idea, use cheap wood (since you may not get it right the first time… I didn’t) and then let your kids paint it like a claw.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

Yep, that’s neat

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

Blake,

I was so wrapped up in the puzzle I forgot to say what a cool box this is. Like you say, seems like the kind of box you’d want to make a few practice runs on before committing.

I’ve enjoyed seeing your work, thanks for taking the time to post.

Wow. Nice box. What a coincidence that I’ve been drawing some ideas for puzzle boxes (slider/rotator) when I saw the heading for your “challenge”. Though ColoradoClimber’s plan leaves the bottom in a couple pieces, I have (on paper at least) an idea on how to execute the design while leaving both halves intact. That includes hollowing the bottom, as complex and that may seem…

I’d love to try my hand at it before I post my sol’n though, but I’m still impressed with your bandsaw technique. Did you use a tight circle-jig to guarantee all your curves (left and right of any side) were identical, or did you freehand them? They look great!

[EDIT] Nope. I finished the paper design, and it does, unfortunately, mean there is some glueing involved. Damn, and I thought I was so clever! NOT

-- Dekker - http://www.WoodworkDetails.com/Blog/MNagy/

That’s a neat idea, Blake. Not only the box but the dueling banjo concept of woodworking. I really like the idea of an informal challenge like this. I’m a big fan of not doing the same thing over and over, but learning new skills by trying different things. I might have to give this a try tonight.

Cheers!

Tom

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Thanks for the comments, all.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

great box. request you detaila blog on how to make the thing. Sure you would have following, making it well worth your effort and besides, I’d like to make one too !! good job …

picture of the blueclaw I made in 1992.
not made of wood, but still it is a claw …

-- ..... art for lifes sake

I see the top and bottom being seperated by ONE cut. A jig will be required to hold the piece in the proper orientation. Which leaves the top all hollowed out, but the inside will need to be routed out of the bottom.

I’m sure there is a way to do this cut before the outside of the box is shaped, but I’m envisioning the outside is already formed before the two halves are seperated.

If this isn’t how you did it, I think it’ll work, and elaborate as necc. as I won’t have time to actually attempt this in the coming few days.

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

Oh, wait… nope… Charlie we’re wrong. I think it’s still possible the way we were thinking… but the inside of the claws have the wrong shape if this was cut on the diagonal.

Colorado Climber is on the right track. The flocking (and blurry first photo) doesn’t clue us in to any glue lines – if there are any.

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

Its easier than it looks but harder than it seems.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

Really nice

-- Carpe Lignum - Seize The Wood,

Follow up to my suggested solution:

I think you should make the first big cut, the curved cut of the bottom out of the top, with the grain, as opposed to across the grain. That way when you make the second cut, and get the two side wings for the bottom, the side wings that have to be glued back on, you get long grain to long grain for gluing them back.

It appears that is how you cut this box Blake. In the first picture I suggest the left and right of the bottom are part of the first cut, and indeed they appear to be with the grain. That leaves the front and back as the glued on wings, cut out across the grain, and glued back on with the grain.

By the way,

I tried this experiment for the first time with this nice but inexpensive piece of wood. It came out fine the first time. Then I decided to do the same thing on a wild chunk of maple burl that was like $50 bucks.

Couldn’t do it! I messed up the burl and really had a bad day. So good luck, even I couldn’t recreate it. So now the pressure is REALLY on.

But after the posting and all the interest, I am ready to attempt it again. Thanks for all the comments. I am having fun watching this blog. Can you recreate the CLAW before I do?

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

seven days and counting…. nothing yet? Anyone?

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

Its almost HALLOWEEN!

No takers on the Claw Challenge?! Have I really stumped the entire world of Lumberjocks? NOW THE CLAW WILL TAKE OVER THE UNIVERSE!!! HA HA HA!!! (Evil Laugh…)

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

Take your meds and get back in that workshop Blake ;-)

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

Sorry, I just sniffed a line of sawdust.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

Sorry I didn’t see this earlier, but I haven’t done it yet.

Still thinking.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Waiting for you to cough of the secret of the claw! ;) Spill the beans man! this is still haunting me!

-- I've cut that board three times and it's still too short!

I’ve been out of touch for a while… thought this might have been solved by now…. but then, no one has figured out my puzzle box either. (at least if they have, they’ve kept it to themselves)

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Vincent Van Gogh -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

yah… we don’t do puzzles really well, do we?? !

and Scott can keep a secret for a VERY long time!!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

It’s been a busy month. When I get a chance I will post some instructions.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

Blake – I have an idea how to do this. I’ve been looking for the right piece of wood. Maybe I should just do a practice piece first, rather than muck up a thick chunk of something pretty.

-- Coffee is best with a fine layer of sawdust on top. -- http://www.north40custom.com

Ok, Halloween is over and the cat is out of the bag by now anyway. ColoradoClimber’s original explanation is correct except for one thing… The first time I did it I actually cut the outside shape first. Then I taped parts of it back together with carpet tape to make the inside cuts. This way I could follow the outside shape when cutting the claw.

I thought it would be easier to cut the inside first so when I tried to reproduce the Claw I tried doing it that way on the second try. That’s when I couldn’t do it. So against your better judgment, cut the outsides first. It makes things very awkward, in fact I had to tape one of the pieces to another block of wood to make some of the cuts on the bandsaw because it had to almost hover over the table.

I hope this helps, good luck. Maybe you can come up with a better way. Whoever tries this next should have a video camera on a trypod running.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.theeasellife.com

Tough little box Blake! I may have to tackle this soon…

-- --Chuck