The Ultimate Band Saw Box Book

The Ultimate
Band Saw Box Book
by Donna LaChance Menke

Softcover
220 x 255mm
224pp

Published by Sterling Publishing, NY USA

R.R.P.$29.90

ISBN 1-4027-2193-5

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Basic Bangle Box

Star Box

Texas Box

Man in the Moon Box

Tea Boxes

Earth Boxes

Bamboo Boxes

Teacher's Pet Box

Poker Boxes

Bread Box

Chickie Box

Guppy Box

As reviewed in The Australian Woodworker Issue 135

The bandsaw is one of the most versatile of all woodworking machines but in most workshops - professional or recreational - it is rarely employed anywhere near to the limits of its ability.

As The Ultimate Band Saw Box Book shows, this is far from true in the workshop of author, Donna LaChance Menke.

In the Introduction to her book, Menke relates that it was while working at a store for woodworkers that she first discovered "a technique for making wooden boxes that I could handle... (using) tools with which I was comfortable: the bandsaw and the belt sander."

She says that as her work progressed she filled a notebook with design ideas until she found that she had the makings of this book on her favourite subject.

The first chapter deals with the Basics - the tools used and the principal techniques. The chapter covers a lot of ground in only a few pages and it's interesting that the emphasis is on machines and tools available at the lower priced end of the market.

The second Chapter goes on to discuss Design Considerations, mainly the practical factors that may influence design such as size and choice of wood.

Construction Techniques introduces the reader to the real work of making boxes on a bandsaw. The chapter begins with notes on safety issues, then delves into methods of cutting: Exterior Cuts, Interior Cuts, Angled Cuts... before moving onto Sanding, Gluing and Clamping.

There is a brief but informative Chapter on Finishing and then the Projects which absorb the remaining two-thirds of the book. Some of the project designs are simple and straightforward and some are more complicated in both form and construction. There is a strong element of innovation so that many appear surprisingly different from the general run of boxes (whether bandsawn or not).

There is a star-shaped Star Box, cubic form Tea Boxes, Earth Boxes with free-flowing shapes, as well as sliding top boxes such as the Teacher’s Pet Box, Poker Boxes and a remarkable Bread Box. A whole chapter is devoted to Pivoting Top Boxes - a Chickie Box, a Guppy Box, and Yin Yang Boxes - and another chapter consists of instructions for making Hinged Boxes - a Sea Shell Box, Butterfly Box, Celtic Knot Box, Flower Box, Double Cross Box and an Ambrosia Box.

The final chapter, Drawered Boxes, contains three boxes, a ScrollBox, the Infinity Box and, lastly, the Ultimate Box which appears on the cover. A two-page Gallery provides a quick glimpse of some of the work of other makers of bandsawn boxes.

The easily understandable text is well illustrated with a host of colour photos and there's little doubt that this book should give many, many hours of pleasure to those who wish to explore the making of boxes on their bandsaw.

Photos: Colour

Units of Measurement: Imperial

Contents

Introduction

Basics

The Tools
- Band Saws
- Sanding Tools
- Other Tools and Shop Equipment

Design Consideration
- Design Basics
- Choose Your Wood

Construction Techniques
- Safety is No Accident
- Cutting: Start Smart
- Sanding: The Path to perfection
- Gluing, Clamping and Repairs

Finishing
- Surface Treatments
- Colourants
- Topcoats
- Flocking

Projects

Basic Boxes
- Basic Bangle Box
- Star Box
- Texas Box
- Man in the Moon Box

Nesting Boxes
- Tea Boxes
- Earth Boxes
- Bamboo Boxes