Introduction: "Flaming" Bandsaw Box

In this instructable, I will show you how to make a "flaming" bandsaw box. I am making this box for my dad. The reason I chose a flame is that he is a firefighter.

WARNING, if you don't like sanding small cracks and crevices, do not make this box.

Tools Needed:

Bandsaw

Belt/disc sander

Drill and drum sander

Orbital sander

Materials:

Wood

I am 15 and am planning to start an Etsy shop to sell my wood work. If I win the Epilog Laser, I will use it to customize my creations and make things I couldn't normally make to sell. For my career, want to eventually get a CNC router and start a custom woodworking business. I have experience running CNC routers from my high school shop classes. Winning this laser would provide a great start to a career for me.

Step 1: Prepare the Wood

First, print out your template and trim the paper. Find some pine board that is wide enough for the template and cut off four pieces as long as the template. Since my bandsaw's max cut thickness is 3 1/2 inches, I had to figure out a way to remove the back of the box without cutting it. The solution, glue three of the boards together and when they are dry, attach the fourth with a dab of glue on each corner. Since the glue is only on the corners, the back(fourth board) will come off once the box is cut out.

Note: If you have a small bench top bandsaw like me, don't use a hardwood like oak or poplar, use pine. For my first attempt at making this box I used poplar. My small saw didn't cut it (no pun intended) for such a thick piece of hardwood and stalled almost immediately.

Here is my flame template.

Step 2: Cut It Out

Using a glue stick or spray adhesive, glue the template to the wood. Cut out the shape of the box. DO NOT cut the drawers out yet. If you do, your box will not have a back. Once you are done, pry the back off with a putty knife. Be careful not to ding up the wood.

Step 3: Cut the Drawers Out

On the template, draw lines like the red ones on the first picture to mark your access cuts. Cut along the red lines to access the drawers. The order that you cut the drawers out doesn't matter. Make sure to cut the drawers in one piece and with a clean cut. Save the pieces you cut out for later.

Step 4: Glue the Back on the Box

Put a 1 inch drum sander on your drill press and sand the inside of where the drawers go. Once it is smooth enough, glue the back piece onto the rest of the box. Use spring clamps to close the gap left from cutting the drawers out.

Step 5: Make the Drawers

Take the drawer blanks and cut each end off of them. Draw the shape you want the inside of the drawer to look like on the middle pieces. Make sure the opening is on the top. With the drum sander, sand the inside of the drawer until it is smooth. Glue the fronts and backs onto the same ends you cut them off. Once the glue is dry, sand the outside of the drawers until they are smooth.

Step 6: Sand the Box

With your belt sander, sand the faces and any edges you can. Use an orbital sander to sand what you can't with the belt sander. Put the box in vice and use a strip of sand paper to sand in the cracks.

Step 7: Get a Handle on It

For the handles, just draw the shapes you want on a piece of thin scrap wood. Cut the rough handle shapes out and sand them down to the final shape on the disc sander. On one edge, make a divot. That will be the back. Glue the handles on to the fronts of the drawers. Make sure the divot is facing down, not up.

Step 8: Add Finish

I used Watco Danish Oil to finish mine. What ever you use, follow the instructions.

Step 9:

This is just a look at the drawer on the new version. The drawer front is padauk and the rest of the box is cherry.

Step 10: Done!

Congratulations! You've successfully created a "flaming" bandsaw box. Enjoy!