I was trying to make a simple bandsaw box, but a blade break mid-project forced me to change the design.  Along with other things in life, woodworking can throw you a curveball or two.  I wanted to make a simple yet elegant bandsaw box with simple lines.  When I was cutting the smaller curves for the drawer the bandsaw blade snapped and it forced me to install a 1/4″ blade as a replacement.  This meant that I could no longer have the tight curves as I wanted.  A quick change in plans and I was back in business.


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I had some thin walnut left over from making splines on a picture frame.  That, along with some oak, I had I was going to cut the pieces down to a manageable size to glue up.

 

 

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When gluing it together I sandwiched two pieces of the walnut in-between the oak giving it a striped effect.  Plenty of glue and clamps makes for a nice tight seam at the joints.

 

 

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I planned on using a 1/8″ bandsaw blade so I could cut small curves on the corners of the drawer.

 

 

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When cutting the 3rd corner of the drawer the blade snapped.  I’m not sure if I was stressing the blade too much or it was just the blades time.  But I had to move onto plan “B”.  Please Note – I have never had much luck with any blade smaller than 1/4″

 

 

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With a 1/4″ blade now installed, I then began to remove the corners in which I had planned to put the small radii.

 

 

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Once you cut the pieces apart you can either plane or sand them smooth.  It is easier for me to sand them and a bit less intimidating with these shorter pieces.

 

 

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Once all the parts are cut and sanded, I like to mark them so I don’t get them mixed up.

 

 

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Them you can apply glue and clamp the drawer pieces together.

 

 

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Back to the sander to smooth out the joints.  Make sure when gluing to line up the walnut as best as possible to make sure everything looks uniform.

 

 

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Then you can glue up the outer shell.  I made mine just a hair smaller than the drawer so I could sand down the drawer for a nice tight fit.

 

 

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More smoothing and final sanding over at the belt sander.  This is not a project I would want to take on without a power sander.  A belt sander is preferred.

 

 

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Two light coats of lacquer, left to dry for 15-20 minutes, then a light sanding with 320 grit or above.  Then you can apply as many more coats to achieve the desired effect you are looking for.  I normally do 4-5 more coats.

 

 

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I just picked up a small drawer knob from my local hardware store and drilled a hole in the center for the screw.

 

 

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With such a small box, getting a screwdriver in there to tighten it would have been difficult.  These right angle screwdrivers come in real handy.  They come in both ratcheting and non-ratcheting models.

 

 

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I had a thin piece of black foam from another project that I glued into the bottom of the drawer to act as a liner.

 

 

(ep27) bandsaw box17 (ep27) bandsaw box18And before you know it, a bandsaw box.  Also listed below is a complete build video for this project.

 

 

 

2 Responses

  1. Isabella Martin

    Band saws are great for making an arc cut in wide planks of wood. I built a curved fence using the Jet Band Saw that my friend had. I have been curious about the other ones and appreciate good comprehensive reviews on the fine points of these various models.
    Thanks for sharing

    Reply

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