Forever Boxes Build Video

[Shiraz Balolia]

Hi Guys,

I know that woodworking obviously interests most of you so I thought I would share this build video. It has many tricks and techniques that some of you may find interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiGJHXTK5U8&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3GvpA87WdZv_dJt1uIKpV_NSstvepgSyfaDMARc 1KTiEeF9ikz0cjfJEM

Thanks,

Shiraz.

[Von Bickley]

Great Looking Boxes. Enjoyed the video.

[Alex Zeller]

Must be nice to have unlimited tools to choose from. This looks like a South Bend wide belt sander. Didn't know they existed.
446808

[David Powell]

Very nice, Shiraz. Great tip on using the spoon for the inlay.

[Bob Potter]

Great work, enjoyed watching you work.
Bob

[Ronald Blue]

Amazing work. Makes me realize my skills are beginner compared to yours Shiraz. Regardless of what tools you have at your disposal you are an expert in the execution of the project. So good to see someone that knows how to use their tools they sell. A rarity indeed. Thank you for taking the time to make and share the video.

[Bruce King]

Amazing work and amazing shop, all clean too.
Check out this video on the history of Grizzly and success story of Shiraz.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eBQk1WmXpm4

[Von Bickley]

Amazing work and amazing shop, all clean too.
Check out this video on the history of Grizzly and success story of Shiraz.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eBQk1WmXpm4

Thanks for posting this. Amazing story...

[Earl McLain]

Thanks for a great show--those boxes are stunning. And...the spoon for the abalone inlay was a great tip!!
earl

[Eugene Dixon]

Thank your sharing. Very informative. Great execution.

[Jim Becker]

Very well made video....and also very instructive! The layered approach to building the panels is great!


That panel gluing setup is brilliant! I'm definitely going to consider creating one, especially for my new guitar building hobby.

[Ronald Blue]

Very well made video....and also very instructive! The layered approach to building the panels is great!


That panel gluing setup is brilliant! I'm definitely going to consider creating one, especially for my new guitar building hobby.

Agreed Jim. I saw that and thought "geesh" why didn't I think of that. How simple and effective!

[Rick Potter]

Always nice to see you enjoying the fruits of your labor. Great family heirlooms.

[Brian Tymchak]

Agreed Jim. I saw that and thought "geesh" why didn't I think of that. How simple and effective!

Yep, caught my eye too. Elegant solution.

[Brian Tymchak]

Beautiful work Shiraz! An instant classic. Thank you for taking the time and considerable effort to document the build in a high quality video.

With so much detail, I bet it took a while to get to a final design. Using the stamped red leather as a finish surface is very unique. Curious as to how you came to that decision?

Thanks!

[Shiraz Balolia]

Beautiful work Shiraz! An instant classic. Thank you for taking the time and considerable effort to document the build in a high quality video.

With so much detail, I bet it took a while to get to a final design. Using the stamped red leather as a finish surface is very unique. Curious as to how you came to that decision?

Thanks!


Thanks everyone for watching the video and your great comments.

To answer the question about the leather and design - I was visiting our Springfield plant and went to Springfield Leather, a great store in town which has a huge selection of leather of all kinds. Thick, thin, stamped, different color hides etc. I saw the edge of this large roll that had a "crocodile" pattern on it and asked the lady to show it to me. She took it to the table and unrolled these two large sections that actually made up a whole hide. It was beautiful glossy red and she commented how it was rare to find hides without defect holes in them. I purchased both of them. Now, what to do with this leather? So, I came up with box idea where I could have large sections of leather without the edges being exposed. After that the design kept evolving as I was building the boxes. Turned into a rather long and detailed project that involved use of a lot of different machines and techniques.

The video turned out good, but we had to crunch over 6 hours of tape into less than one hour. This could have been broken into series, but I would call down to the video studio guys and say "taping in 15 minutes" and they would drop what they were doing and come tape whatever I was working on. Nothing was scripted and I just worked on it at leisure. I did not plan certain jobs and just went to the shop when I had some extra time. However, I think they did a great job of editing and grasping the main parts of the project. All of it was done in-house (taping, editing etc.).

I still have a lot of that leather left so might end up making unique benches with backs on them for the grandkids again. I have literally tons of figured woods that I have accumulated over the years so I better start using some of it up.

[Bruce King]

Shiraz,
please show us pictures of all your projects and videos if possible. I was wondering if all that was in your home shop or do you also have one at work?

[Justin Rapp]

Very impressive and inspiring. Your home shop is a dream for so many of us, let alone the access you have to the shop where the video started.

[Andrew Hughes]

Thanks everyone for watching the video and your great comments.

I have literally tons of figured woods that I have accumulated over the years so I better start using some of it up.

I would like to suggest some furniture design or Regular design courses. It’s very easy to take a great idea and over do it with highly figured wood. A little bit goes a long way mixing up too many design elements creates Chaos.
Good Luck

[Shiraz Balolia]

I would like to suggest some furniture design or Regular design courses. It’s very easy to take a great idea and over do it with highly figured wood. A little bit goes a long way mixing up too many design elements creates Chaos.
Good Luck

My stuff is one of a kind and not for sale. There is nothing "regular" about my stuff that I should take "Regular Design courses".

I try to build what inspires me and not what you can buy at a furniture store. The boxes that I have posted a video of have a lot of different elements, but there is nothing chaotic about them. Not for everyone, either from a design or skill level - perhaps explains a couple of thumbs down on the video. :)

[Shiraz Balolia]

Shiraz,
please show us pictures of all your projects and videos if possible. I was wondering if all that was in your home shop or do you also have one at work?

Hi Bruce - I have two large personal shops. One at home that I have had for over twenty years and one at work where I have been able to add large 3 phase machines as well. Obviously, I have an advantage of owning large machinery companies, and also being fluid in both metal working and wood-working.

[Jim Becker]

It's truly fortunate that you enjoy both woodworking and metalworking...and I'm sure it's really enhanced your personal enjoyment of the business you're in because you can personally understand the customers' needs and desires.

[Peter Kelly]

The video came out great. I'd dial back on the handheld cameras and mix the shots with some fixed-position ones.

[Bruce King]

Shiraz, please check notifications tab at the top for a message.

[richard poitras]

My thoughts are , All the great works in art, style, and design were not standard. They were individuals that were inspired to design things the way they see them and experiment with new ideas thru their design thoughts, inspirations and materials. That’s how one grows as an artist, craftsman, and visionary.

[Ron Selzer]

I like what you made and would like to see more of your work as you get a chance
Ron

[richard poitras]

Shiraz, you have had few positive comments on your panel glue up jig and I must agree it looks like it is a great idea on how to get flat panels. I was just wondering if you by chance could show the panel glue up cabinet better? Especially the under side of one of the clamps shelfs to see how the pipe clamps are attached and in place or just a little more insite on how they and the cabinet are assembled. As I can see most of how it is, but not the clamp shelf itself?

Thanks Richard

[Shiraz Balolia]

What?!! you want all my secrets? :)

Actually - it is very simple and will post pictures when I can. I also have another one I made that is low profile for gluing two 1/8" thick pieces of material together for acoustic guitar tops and bottoms. Then after gluing, I would run them through the wide-belt sander to .90" thick. Pretty finicky stuff, so the gluing had to be dead on.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks in advance for detailing that panel glue-up clamp setup, Shiraz. Suggest you do a separate thread for that so that it's embedded in the search function easier for future reference! I know I want to make one for both my guitar work (caps for electrics) and other projects that will benefit from it.

[Tim Andrews]

Shiraz, that’s some beautiful work with lots of attention to detail, and a well made video. It’s great to see the owner/CEO of a company that makes woodworking tools who is passionate about the craft.

And don’t worry about any thumbs down, that happens to almost every video on Youtube. There are always people who seem to enjoy that, just ignore them.

[richard poitras]

What?!! you want all my secrets? :)

Actually - it is very simple and will post pictures when I can. I also have another one I made that is low profile for gluing two 1/8" thick pieces of material together for acoustic guitar tops and bottoms. Then after gluing, I would run them through the wide-belt sander to .90" thick. Pretty finicky stuff, so the gluing had to be dead on.

Shiraz, that would be great I look forward to seeing the pictures on the jigs when you can. And I appreciate any insite on them.

Thanks Richard

[Michael W. Clark]

Thanks for posting the video Shiraz and really enjoyed it! I"m interested in your panel glue up jig as well.

One of my first major WW tools was a Grizzly 1023 tablesaw purchased from the Springfield location about 15 years ago when we lived in Springdale AR.

I am in sales for work and still cover the area. I visit the Springfield store anytime I get the chance!

Mike

[Charles P. Wright]

Shiraz,

You have amazing attention to detail and forethought. The panel glue-up jig is very nifty. I very much enjoyed the box and also the anvil stand video.

Charles

[Shiraz Balolia]

Shiraz,

You have amazing attention to detail and forethought. The panel glue-up jig is very nifty. I very much enjoyed the box and also the anvil stand video.

Charles

Thank you!

I have started a new thread with photos of the jig.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?288133-Gluing-Jig-By-popular-requests

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Beautiful work. I especially appreciated your detailed explanations and unhurried presentations of the various steps in creating the heirloom boxes. Thanks!

[Bob Riefer]

Thank you for making and posting that video Shiraz! You explain things so nicely, and I really learned a lot. Heck, I feel like we're buddies after spending all this time "together" :-)

Near the end, I started wondering what will happen if another grandchild joins the ranks... another box?


(PS, and I'm very much enjoying my Grizzly bandsaw and table saw!)

[Shiraz Balolia]

Near the end, I started wondering what will happen if another grandchild joins the ranks... another box?

If another Grandchild joins the ranks I sure as heck am not going to make another one of those boxes! :) Maybe another unique "something" and another video.

Thanks.

[Keith Outten]

The boxes are stunning and the tour of your Dream Shop is eye candy to those of us who enjoy the craft. I kept stopping the video to look around your shop, can't say I have ever seen a facility as impressive.

Thanks for spending the time to share your Heirloom Box project, the video will also be a treasure for your grand children. It's one thing to tell people that my Grandfather built this for me, its another to be able to see the process unfold. The memory will be as cherished as the box.

[Jeff Monson]

Really nice on every angle, your shop, the craftsmanship and the boxes are all outstanding. I really like that you list a lot of the tool numbers listed in your video. Can you tell me what material you are using for some of your holding fixtures and your router fence?

[Shiraz Balolia]

Can you tell me what material you are using for some of your holding fixtures and your router fence?

My material of choice for jigs is generally Eastern hard rock maple. We have some damaged maple bench tops that I re-purpose for jigs. Sometimes I will get old shipping tables that were made of maple, but look like railroad ties after many years of dirt, grime and dents. I remove all staples and then run through the wide-belt sander to get the original beautiful white maple finish. These end up looking like new. Also have been known to use Bubinga since I have so much of it.

For the router fence I use Phenolic. Hard as a rock and perfectly flat. Expensive, but worth it.

[Shiraz Balolia]

The boxes are stunning and the tour of your Dream Shop is eye candy to those of us who enjoy the craft. I kept stopping the video to look around your shop, can't say I have ever seen a facility as impressive.

Thanks for spending the time to share your Heirloom Box project, the video will also be a treasure for your grand children. It's one thing to tell people that my Grandfather built this for me, its another to be able to see the process unfold. The memory will be as cherished as the box.

Thank you Keith!

I have the advantage of having access to all the machines as well as space. I should probably do a short video walking through the space briefly talking about the machines and why I have them. As a matter of interest - all those machines are my personal machines that I bought from the company at a nice discount, and also paid sales tax to keep the accounting clean. Having plenty of space for multiple benches is a real boon. Currently setting up a 4 axis CNC and then may do some projects/videos for CNC users.