Shaker box...almost

[Donnie Raines]

I made this over the weekend. I had always wanted to try one of the oval boxes you see every where...but I had a hard time getting the oval shape to stay without breaking the cherry. So...I went with a circle. I used garnet shellac on the outside and left the inside unfinished. It was a very fun project.

[Jim Becker]

Beautiful job, Donnie. I've always liked those boxes, but have never tried them. I have a friend in the Denver area who makes these every year for gifts. I'll have to ask him what the "secret" is to get them to stay oval.

[Tim Leo]

Circles are nice too. Just because the Shakers prefered the oval shape doesn't mean you can't try something different. I like the circle, and I might borrow your idea myself.

Thanks for posting.

[Steve Clardy]

I've made several sets of ovals over the years. Did the steaming bending and all. You have to jig up for the ovals.
Works real well that way.
I bought patterns and tacks from a guy that specializes in shaker boxes and materials.
Can't remember his name now. John something. I could probably find it if you need me too. Now I remember. John Wilson.
He bought the last remaining machines for making the tacks that are in the country.
He carries instructions, patterns, materials, etc.

Steve:)

[Donnie Raines]

I've made several sets of ovals over the years. Did the steaming bending and all. You have to jig up for the ovals.
Works real well that way.
I bought patterns and tacks from a guy that specializes in shaker boxes and materials.
Can't remember his name now. John something. I could probably find it if you need me too. Now I remember. John Wilson.
He bought the last remaining machines for making the tacks that are in the country.
He carries instructions, patterns, materials, etc.

Steve:)
Thats who I bought mine from, too. He is in Charlotte Mich.

[Christine Tiede]

Donnie-

I love that box, esp. the cherry wood! .... the work you guys do astounds me every time!

Christine

[Steve Clardy]

Thats who I bought mine from, too. He is in Charlotte Mich.
Yep. That's him. Great guy to deal with.
When I first started my boxes, I bought material and patterns.
On the cherry material, I had LOTS of breakage. So I started resawing my own,[making it thinner] due to the breakage and also me being on the cheap side sometimes.:eek:
Never had much breakage after that. I even did ovals in walnut.
Somewhere in the house there's a set of 7 stashed somewhere, made out of walnut.
I used to mix the wood also. Walnut sides, cherry tops, etc.
Due to lack of time I quite building them. Last year all my patterns and jigs went in the wood stove.
Steve

[Jeremy Niemann]

I'll have to ask him what the "secret" is to get them to stay oval.

You have to use shapers to get them to stay oval during drying. I boil the bands for at least 20 minutes, and the trick is to go slow when wrapping them around the form, supporting and shaping the bend with your hand gently. I usually only have problems with breakage on the extremely small sizes, like the '0' size, due to the smaller the size the sharper the oval bend becomes. However so far so good this year (4 stacked sets so far this month).

I just finished up tonight the two stacked sets I made yesterday. One set of cherry with camphor burl tops and another set in maple with sapele pomele tops.

John Wilson is definitely the 'man' when it comes to oval box supplies, especially the tacks. He's got a website at http://www.shakerovalbox.com/

While his prices on bands/tops/bottoms are quite reasonable, the selection is limited to maple and cherry (plus 1/4 sawn sycamore for tops/bottoms). It can save time though (when using those species at least) since they come pre-sized to thickness, height, and length, as well as being already sanded.

[Steve Cox]

Don't forget that just because the Shakers preferred them oval that they didn't make round ones too. I've always had better luck boiling the bands rather than steaming them BTW.

[Christopher Pine]

Anyone made the largest shaker box? it is a number 20. It is listed in the specification sheet on the website previously mentioned. The band is-
14.5 inches wide by 114 inches long! Now that I would like to see go together! I guess you would need to use your hot tub to boil it! :)
Chris

[Donnie Raines]

Yep. That's him. Great guy to deal with.
When I first started my boxes, I bought material and patterns.
On the cherry material, I had LOTS of breakage. So I started resawing my own,[making it thinner] due to the breakage and also me being on the cheap side sometimes.:eek:
Never had much breakage after that. I even did ovals in walnut.
Somewhere in the house there's a set of 7 stashed somewhere, made out of walnut.
I used to mix the wood also. Walnut sides, cherry tops, etc.
Due to lack of time I quite building them. Last year all my patterns and jigs went in the wood stove.
Steve
I resawed my own material as well....I simply bought the "rivots" from him.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Donnie, it looks great. I've made several sets of these as well. John Wilson is the man's name from MI, but he also has an employee who man's the phone and does the orders whose name is John as well - at least that's what I remember (it's been awhile :rolleyes: ) My favorite combination was the cherry box with birds eye tops. Anyway, thanks for sharing. You did a nice job.

[Jeremy Niemann]

Anyone made the largest shaker box? it is a number 20. It is listed in the specification sheet on the website previously mentioned. The band is-
14.5 inches wide by 114 inches long! Now that I would like to see go together! I guess you would need to use your hot tub to boil it! :)
Chris

The Pleasant Hill Shaker Village in Lexington KY has a stack in their gift shop that goes up to size #20 (from floor to ceiling). It's pretty impressive to see. I too have wondered just how you would boil/steam such a long band (maybe a long gutter rail perhaps). Not to mention having to purchase the stock and resaw it down.

There was a guy on ebay that made boxes in what he said was a norwegian style, which where a bit more retangular oval than the shaker method. They were drilled with lines of holes at the seams and then stitched together.