| Project by Blake | posted 96 days ago | 638 views | 17 times favorited | 46 comments | ![]() |
This box is the result of some successful experimenting with my new Ridgid Oscillating Spindle Sander. I have really wanted to incorporate more curves into my work for a more natural feel, and the Ridgid is such a cool machine for doing that. I love how you can use it to slowly “nibble” away at a line until the curves are perfectly smooth.
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I started by laminating two pieces of 3/4” curly maple together. Then I used a forstner bit, scroll saw, and Ridgid O.S.S to cut out and shape the inside (I didn’t want the entry cut of a bandsawn box).
Then I cut the bottom off, added the thin walnut “floor” and glued the bottom back on. Next I rough cut the outside shape with the bandsaw and finished shaping the curves on the Ridgid O.S.S.
The edges of the walnut “floor” show up as a thin line around the outside of the box near the bottom.
To make the lid I used Zebra wood and oriented the grain of the two halves to resemble leaf veins. I cut the curve on the bandsaw and refined it on the Ridgid O.S.S. until they fit together perfectly. Then I glued them together with epoxy (which adheres well to endgrain and fills the small gaps) with a thin strip of maple cold-bent between them.
I shaped another piece of maple for the underside “insert” to keep the lid snugly in place. This maple lid insert (seen in the last photo) also strengthens the lid since it is under stress from the maple strip.
I rough cut the lid to shape on the bandsaw. Then, with the lid on the box and the box upside-down, I smoothed the edges of the lid on the Ridgid O.S.S. until it was a perfect match to the box sides.
It is about 8” long, 3” across and 2” tall. Oiled with boiled linseed oil. It is very light and has a delicate feel.
This box was so much fun to make. It represents the first time for a long time that I did something in the shop just for fun, and just for me (the kitchen cabinets are finally done!)
-- Dust collectors suck.
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46 comments so far
Douglas Bordner
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2256 posts in 452 days
posted 96 days ago
That’s one handsome little box. Great work, Blake.
-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.
Jeff
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941 posts in 482 days
posted 96 days ago
Sweet box Blake. Very clever use of the Zebra wood for the lid.
-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN
USCJeff
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749 posts in 457 days
posted 96 days ago
Love it. I’ve eyeballed the Rigid ever since my Brother in Law got one. He swears by it and Rigid has a great warranty. So many tools . . .
-- Jeff, South Carolina
Damian Penney
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592 posts in 380 days
posted 96 days ago
That’s really nice Blake, great contrasts.
-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso
GaryK
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8183 posts in 377 days
posted 96 days ago
That is a fantastic box Blake. I’m jealous.
I just picked up one of those Rigid OSS’s last week. I like it so far.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Dorje
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1694 posts in 385 days
posted 96 days ago
What a gorgeous box! Great choices in wood…
I had the urge to run out and get one of those sanders this last weekend, but was able to restrain myself.
-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA
Grumpy
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3804 posts in 240 days
posted 95 days ago
Thats a beautiful job Blake. Very clever use of machinery & tools & great design.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
Douglas Krueger
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80 posts in 112 days
posted 95 days ago
Beautiful woods and thinking ‘outside the box’, the idea of natural curves has always appealed to me as well, now if I can only find a Ridgid OSS in Asia.
-- I can so I wood but why are my learning curves always circles
Scott Bryan
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7771 posts in 211 days
posted 95 days ago
Blake,
This is a beautiful box. Your choice of woods is excellent and thanks for the description of the process. I really appreciate seeing that in a post. It takes a little more effort but it gives a clearer view of the construction process.
Thanks for the post.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
Colin
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92 posts in 309 days
posted 95 days ago
Very nice Blake, I like the way the grain flows from the centre curve like a real leaf. excellent work.
-- Colin, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. "Every craftsman was once an amateur"
MsDebbieP
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10975 posts in 549 days
posted 95 days ago
well thought out box and gorgeous results.
Love the lines (curves) the design of the lid, the extra “wow” on the bottom..
awesome job.
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
rikkor
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6465 posts in 263 days
posted 95 days ago
Blake, that is an absolute beauty. Nice work. Now I have tool envy again.
-- Maplewood, MN
dlcarver
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227 posts in 119 days
posted 95 days ago
Fantastic job Blake. I guessed the Zebra wood before I read the write up. I love it…. and I love boxes. Funny how design works….. here , your design matches the machine. A lot of times my design matches my scrap wood….... just so I can use it up and not waste it. Thanks for posting !
GREAT JOB !!!
Dave
PS. What does one of these babies run $$$$$ ? There is times I could use one myself.
-- Dave Leitem,Butler,Pa.,http://dlcarver.etsy.com
shiney5757
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65 posts in 160 days
posted 95 days ago
Nice shape good use of the wood,also you must be a dab hand @ the photography, very clear pics.
thanks for the story too.
-- I cut it twice & it was still too short
Thos. Angle
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3246 posts in 351 days
posted 95 days ago
I am absolutely impressed, Blake. The design should be award winning. Excellent story to go with it. Ya done good, Bud.
-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon
brunob
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1115 posts in 558 days
posted 95 days ago
Beautiful. I’m going to add that to my favorites.
-- Bruce from Central New York
Paul D
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1493 posts in 137 days
posted 95 days ago
Cool box Blake. I really like the Zebrawood top.
-- Paul D, Atlanta GA
CharlieM1958
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3510 posts in 607 days
posted 95 days ago
Gorgeous, Blake! And best of all, I have the same sander so I can try this myself.
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
fredf
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98 posts in 99 days
posted 95 days ago
Thanks for sharing, is a mighty pretty box!
I am adding to my idea list
fred
-- Fred, Springfield, Ma
Peter O
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624 posts in 263 days
posted 95 days ago
Wow, that is really cool and beautiful!
-- What exactly is "The Move" and who are you calling a "Quirky Jerk"? -- http://www.north40custom.com
Marco Cecala
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36 posts in 422 days
posted 95 days ago
Great execution, very natural lines. I also have a Ridgid sander, but my model is different. You got the artisan version, my “wood hack” model won’t cut curves like that.
-- Peoria, AZ where the wood is always dry...
SteveKorz
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596 posts in 103 days
posted 95 days ago
Blake, That’s awesome… very creative…
-- As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
trifern
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1836 posts in 156 days
posted 95 days ago
Absolutely beautiful.
-- Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember it didn't work for the rabbit.
DannyBoy
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200 posts in 254 days
posted 95 days ago
I need to get me one of those band saws and a nice shaper… Very nice project, bu the way. The leaf’s grain is spectacular.
-- Happy Ripping!!!
blackcherry
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168 posts in 212 days
posted 95 days ago
Nice design and craftmanship…Blkcherry
bfd
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155 posts in 196 days
posted 95 days ago
Blake, this is incredible. Absolutely beautiful. Functional art at its best!
-- bfd, Folsom, CA
jude
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128 posts in 338 days
posted 95 days ago
nice job – it’s really beautiful and creative.
-- life can always be weaved into a song.
CedarFreakCarl
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280 posts in 442 days
posted 95 days ago
Excellent, Blake! as usual….....
-- Carl Rast, Pelion, SC
RobS
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1000 posts in 695 days
posted 95 days ago
Nice work Blake, in fact, it’s almost unbe-leaf-able. Ha LOL. Seriously though, beautiful box.
-- Rob (A) Waxahachie,TX
DAN
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2584 posts in 372 days
posted 95 days ago
top shelf !
-- a legend in my own mind ...
Blake
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1802 posts in 263 days
posted 95 days ago
Wow! I couldn’t believe it, I posted this late last night and when I woke up this morning there were 29 comments! Thanks everyone! I appreciate the feedback.
dlcarver: they are about $200 bones.
-- Dust collectors suck.
GMoney
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88 posts in 192 days
posted 95 days ago
Blake,
That is absolutely beautiful. Great job with the photography as well. It’s a fantastic idea very well executed.
-- Greg, CT
SPalm
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654 posts in 271 days
posted 95 days ago
Yea Blake. Good Job!
I was just wondering when you were going to post again. Now I see.
-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon
kenn
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57 posts in 109 days
posted 95 days ago
Really nice work. It even impressed my son, who is sick of his Dad’s lumberjocks “hey, look at this cool project”. He and I wanted to look at this more. Thanks.
-- Every cloud has a silver lining
Nils
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99 posts in 253 days
posted 95 days ago
Wow! Your box is just beautiful. Fantastic shape, and beautiful combination of woods. And a beautiful finish to boot.
-- Nils Davis, Menlo Park, CA
mrtrim
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1484 posts in 269 days
posted 95 days ago
great looking box blake
-- if you aint the lead dog the scenery never changes
Bradford
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506 posts in 211 days
posted 95 days ago
it’ll do blake, it’ll do… fantastic job.
-- so much wood, so little time. Bradford.
Copperjock
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88 posts in 187 days
posted 95 days ago
Great project Blake, did you use your new sander for the finish sanding also?
-- It's not that a craftsman never makes mistakes, he just makes it look like it.
davidtheboxmaker
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248 posts in 194 days
posted 94 days ago
Blake
That is a great box. The maple centre piece to the leaf really is an outstanding piece of design and workmanship well done.
I’m currently hollowing boxes from the solid using templates and a router, which works fine, but the noise levels and vibration are pretty high. The sander seems a better way to go.
Blake
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1802 posts in 263 days
posted 94 days ago
Copper: most of the finish sanding but the last time around was by hand. It does get pretty smooth with the O.S.S.
David: I thought about using a router and template but this just seemed easier. They are good if you are going to make a lot of them, though. I will use a router and template next time for the curves in the top leaf to get them dead on. There are small gaps which filled up with epoxy in this one (you can barely notice.)
-- Dust collectors suck.
Gary
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285 posts in 713 days
posted 93 days ago
That’s one lovely box Blake. The fun is easy to see in this one!
Todd A. Clippinger
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2447 posts in 488 days
posted 90 days ago
Blake,
I truly think that this piece is breath taking. I feel privileged to see you grow as a technician and artist.
Very well done.
My wife just caught a look at it while I had it on the screen and immediately wanted one.
MAN YOU ARE GOOD!
-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com
Blake
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1802 posts in 263 days
posted 87 days ago
Thanks so much, Todd! I will be making more of these to possibly sell at a local gallery. Let me know if you want me to send you one.
-- Dust collectors suck.
WoodRx
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19 posts in 87 days
posted 87 days ago
Very elegant design… Zebrawood really gave it a natural look… my wife also LOVED it… GREAT JOB!!!
-- Learn something everyday!
Don
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2585 posts in 566 days
posted 78 days ago
Blake, it’s been quite some time since I’ve looked at all the beautiful small boxes that have found their way to this site.
But this one is just exquisite! As you all know – I just love small boxes and Blakes offering makes it obvious why!
-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/
gator9t9
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278 posts in 93 days
posted 74 days ago
Yes that is very pretty …..Great job ..
so what does she put in that little leaf box ?
-- Mike in Bonney Lake " If you are real real real good your whole life, You 'll be buried in a curly maple coffin when you die."