| Project by stefang | posted 164 days ago | 1212 views | 4 times favorited | 37 comments |  |
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WOOD CHARACTERISTICS
These baskets are in fact the only woodworking project that I have made more than one of. These are made of Linde wood which is the European version of Basswood. Fantastic for carving with very little grain showing and also pretty light weight, two characteristics which make this a great wood for basket making. Easy to pass around and the scroll sawn pattern shows up well.
CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
I started off with a plank about 3” thick which I cut into about 1/4” thick slabs and then handplaned smooth. The top rim is a flat frame with mitered corners reinforced with small butterfly inlays and with a 15 degree cut on the outside edges.
The sides are cut with compound miters to give them a 15 degree flair and the top and bottom edges are also cut at 15 degrees to make the top and base flat for gluing on the rim and the base frame. The bottom frame is cut to the same angle to mirror the sides while flaring in the opposite direction.
GLUE-UP
Pretty easy. I glue up the sides first using masking tape to clamp with. The top rim and base are cut to length (with miters) based on measurements from the glued up sides. The frames are glued up separately and the butterfly mortices are thru-cut on the corners of the rim. The frames are then glued to the sides after the glue is dry on the 3 components. I just use rub joints on these then I wrap masking tape around the whole thing just to be on the safe side. No real stress involved here.
The finish is just 3 coats of spray can lacquer (1 hour drying time with light sanding in between coats). I still have two more coats to go on these. They will be sent in the post tomorrow which is the deadline for packages to Sweden.
DESIGN
The design, including the scroll saw pattern, is my own (for better of worse). I’ve made 3 of these so far as Christmas gifts, and they are all used on a regular basis by various family members. These two are headed to our extended ‘new’ family in Sweden.
MITER CUTTING METHODOLOGY
Instead of cutting the compound miter angles with two settings on my miter saw, which is difficult to set accurately, I rip a 12” long piece of pine at 15 degrees on one edge to use as a utility fence with the 90 degree side against my MS fence so I can just place the workpieces against it to produce the 15 degree angle and then just cut a regular 45 degree miter with only one miter saw setting. The utility fence is placed with the narrow edge at the bottom for cutting the sides and the wide edge at the bottom for cutting the base.
HISTORY
I made the first basket of this type about 6 or 7 years ago in response to the woven baskets we normally used disintegrating after a year or two of use. We are still using it on a daily basis as a bread basket for breakfast and lunch. It’s easy to keep toast or buns warm when we use it with a decorative kitchen towel as show in one of the photos above. These would also be great as candy dishes, etc. I have posted the other baskets I made, but these have new patterns and I also wanted to remind everyone what great Christmas gifts these are.
MESSAGE TO MY LJ FRIENDS
I’ve been away from LJ for awhile now laid up with a bad back and knee. I found it frustrating to just read what my buddies and others were doing while I couldn’t actively participate myself.
I will be catching up on all the projects and blogs posted by all my buddies during my absence and commenting on them too. Meanwhile I’m glad to have something to post to get started up again and I’m looking forward to enjoying having a dialog with you once again.
-- Mike, American in Norway
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37 comments so far
Jonathan
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2568 posts in 1222 days
#1 posted 164 days ago
Mike,
Lots of little details here, and you executed them all nicely! I especially like the addition of the butterflies on top.
Glad to hear you’re back in the saddle and will be able to more actively participate in the LJ community.
-- Jonathan, Denver, CO "Constructive criticism is welcome and valued as it gives me new perspectives and helps me to advance as a woodworker."
grizzman
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5397 posts in 1475 days
#2 posted 164 days ago
all right mike, back in the saddle again, good to see you and your work, these are really nice, i like the little Dutchman on each corner..its a nice touch and good joinery..glad to see you up and around..i send my best wishes…grizz
-- GRIZZMAN ...[''''']
patron
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12071 posts in 1513 days
#3 posted 164 days ago
glad to see you back mike
and with another great project
you make this easy to follow
which i like
merry christmas to you and yours
-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle
HorizontalMike
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4933 posts in 1085 days
#4 posted 164 days ago
It looks like some great scrolling to me! Very nice indeed!
-- HorizontalMike -- "Woodpeckers understand..."
Brit
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4203 posts in 1014 days
#5 posted 164 days ago
Missed you Mike. I haven’t been posting much either due to work, but I hope to get a bit in around Christmas and New Year. Your baskets are amazing. Functional, beautiful and built to last. What more could you ask for?
-- Andy -- Old Chinese proverb say: If you think something can't be done, don't interrupt man who is doing it.
stefang
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9503 posts in 1506 days
#6 posted 164 days ago
Jonathan, Grizz, David, Mike, and Brit, good to hear from you all and the warm welcome back too! I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve all been up to the last couple of months.
-- Mike, American in Norway
a1Jim
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87318 posts in 1749 days
#7 posted 164 days ago
Hey Mike good to see you back we can all sing a couple verses of hello dolly (substituting Mike for Dolly)
Your great craftsmanship shines through once again with these extra fine baskets . I hope you and your family have a great holiday season.
Jim
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
MShort
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1379 posts in 1590 days
#8 posted 164 days ago
Sorry to hear about the back and knee Mike. Glad you making it back. Your project is WONDERFUL !!!!
-- Mike, Missouri --- “A positive life can not happen with a negative mind.” ---
Surfside
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2287 posts in 345 days
#9 posted 164 days ago
Excellently done!
www.bandsawblog.com
-- "someone has to be wounded for others to be saved, someone has to sacrifice for others to feel happiness, someone has to die so others could live"
John Ormsby
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1238 posts in 1908 days
#10 posted 164 days ago
Hi Mike,
Sorry to hear about your health problems. Hope you are feeling better.
You did a great job on the basket. I like those butterfly dovetails.
I just happen to have a commercial butterfly making machine and , with your permission, would like to have a try at your basic basket design. Without the scroll designs. I don’t have time right now to do all of the scrolling.
Take Care, John
-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca
Tokolosi
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616 posts in 527 days
#11 posted 164 days ago
Really beautifull. So intricate.
-- “There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.” ~ JRR Tolkien
SPalm
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4120 posts in 2053 days
#12 posted 164 days ago
Hey buddy, take care of yourself.
That basket looks just wonderful. Good job!
I agree with the compound miter solution. That is how I’d do it.
Steve
-- -- I'm no rocket surgeon
hunter71
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1268 posts in 1358 days
#13 posted 164 days ago
Wow, neat design.
-- A childs smile is payment enough.
stefang
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9503 posts in 1506 days
#14 posted 164 days ago
Thanks Jim, Mike, Surfside, John, Tololosi, and Steve.
John Please feel free to copy anything of mine you like. I don’t blame you for not wanting to use the time for the scrolling, I used 6 hours for each basket! I also found out what a difference blade quality can make. I used my usual blades on the first basket and got nice smooth easy to control cuts, then I used different brand on the 2nd basket and they were miserable to use!
My 1 hour lacquer took 6 hours to dry even though I had them in the house for the last 4 hours. I probably sprayed too thick a coat. I also found some glue spots that I missed so I sanded them out and just sprayed the 2nd coat. There is a good possibility that I might not get to the 3rd coat as they have to be mailed tomorrow! Wish me luck.
-- Mike, American in Norway
shipwright
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3400 posts in 969 days
#15 posted 164 days ago
Good to see you back Mike. We’ve missed you.
Rub joints…... are you using your new glue pot?
Very nice baskets. Have you tried stack cutting the sides?
-- Paul M ..............If God wanted us to have fiberglass boats he would have given us fiberglass trees. http://prmdesigns.com/
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