Introducing the String Box

What an Idea, Very nice

-- http://www.mahadevwood.com

Very cool box super cool look and design.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

Very nice, and elegant.
Best thoughts,
MaFe

-- Mad F, the fanatical rhykenologist and vintage architect. Democraticwoodworking.

Good Looking Boxes, Tim!!
Great idea and novel approach to the “Inlay” work too… Did you steam the strips to shape or just “convince” them with serious clamping?
Well done, in any event, my Friend!!

-- Mike in Concord, NH---Unpleasant tasks are simply worthy challenges to improve skills.

Very cool boxes, Tim.
Love the interesting lines.

-- Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

That is a super idea! Thanks for the Blog!

-- Larry "Work like a Captain but Play like a Pirate!"

This has plenty of potential Tim, I really like the ideas and so simple…thanks for sharing your creative ideas with all of us….BC

Sweet. That is really nice looking.
As Mike asked, are the bands cut to size or convinced into place?

Goo job,
Steve

-- -- I'm no rocket surgeon

Very cool stuff Tim. I’m very interested in learning more about this… Thanks for sharing!

-- Dan ~ Texarkana, Tx.

Fantastic idea and execution!

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

Great looking box.
Nice job with the stripes

-- Safety first because someone needs you.

Great job

I love the concept

-- She thought I hung the moon--now she just thinks I did it wrong

Thanks all… I’ll go over the steps in the blog but the short answer is I use the sides of the box as a bending form and clamp the strips to accept the curve. Actually I just rip a gentle, random curve on the bandsaw then glue a strip between the two parts and clamp them together. Try to make sure the bottom of the two pieces are flat as can be. When it dries I just cut another curve then glue those two parts together and just keep adding strips until I have all the strips (lines) that I want. Steam bending would be a good option. Another is to just use double or triple up on thinner strips. If you use the same color wood you’d get a thicker line, but you could also use contrasting colors.

The easiest way is to use 6/4 or 8/4 wood, although you can also use 4/4 stock, cut it to lenght with square ends, then resaw it in half to get two bookmatched parts from which you then cut the ends and sides in a way that they match all the way around. Then you cut each edge 45 degrees while keeping as much of the face of each part as you can. When you make your crosscuts to make the sides and ends of the box, it is helpful to use the thinnest blade you can while keeping the cut as square as possible. A 1/8” kerf removes 1/16” from each side of the corner so depending on the steepness of the curve at that point, it is possible for the lines to be off slightly at each corner. A thin blade minimizes the error.

Save the left over corner pieces (cut offs) as you can glue these to the inside corners to reinforce the joint and as legs to support a tray. They can also be lined up in a way that the lines match on the inside of the box.

-- tim hill www.newcalshop.com

A unique approach to giving the look of string inlay. Very attractive boxes. Just curious since the boxes are lined and the stringing is covered on the inside, what’s the advantage over actually just inlaying stringing.

-- Randy, Oakdale, Ca.

Thanks for the post, clever ideas to use later.

Erwin, Jacksonville, FL

-- Erwin, Jacksonville, FL