Replies

1. 
   elmaduro | Dec 14, 2024 11:20pm | #1

   We are prolly making differing bandsaw boxes but here goes:

   1. Semi-permanently installed 1/2” resaw blade
   2. Disc Sander
   3. None
   4. Bare wood finished with water based poly
   5. Freehand

   
2. 
   [email protected] | Dec 15, 2024 07:46am | #2

   Bob, from your questions it seems you may not have watched Michael Cullen’s bandsaw box video series. I watched the series a dozen times, took notes, stopped and got the oil stones Cullen recommended, stopped and got some leather finger protection to sharpen the gouges like Cullen recommended, made some test boxes and made mistakes. After a couple months I made a bandsaw box and was finally rewarded with the good feeling of an endorphin rush for a job properly done.
   Cullen did not touch on how he handled the box interior. I posted that question on the website and Ben Strano replied that Cullen leaves the interior unsanded. I was concerned about that detail and I appreciated Ben’s reply.
   r

3. 
   J_Erin1 | Dec 19, 2024 04:32pm | #3

   Rule of thumb when selecting the TPI of the saw blade is that we need to consider the size of the material that you are cutting. Say, you are cutting thin materials, you should go for fine tooth configuration. If you are cutting big one, you need to go coarse. Example, if you are cutting less than an inch thick, you can use 10-14 or 8-12 TPI.

4. 
   russ_rva | Feb 21, 2025 10:32am | #4

   I have also been inspired by Michael Cullen's videos. All of my work to date have been boxes made in conventional ways, some with convex or concave surfaces created on the bandsaw after the box itself was built.

   So, as I think about a "bandsaw box," I imagine Cullen's approach which involves using the bandsaw, and only the bandsaw, to create the complete box from a single block of wood.

   I am a hobbyist woodworker, so videos are valuable to a point until they’re not. I decided at the beginning of this month to take Michael's course on his method of creating bandsaw boxes at the Florida School of Woodworking in Tampa to see whether or not I could do this.

   I have no affiliation with the Florida School of Woodworking, just noting that Michael teaches this course there on occasion. He also teaches a two-day course preceding the box course focused entirely on surface carving of wood. A superb teacher and super nice guy (also no affiliation with Michael Cullen).

   For me, the existential leap was freehand drawing my own design idea directly on the wood block and cutting it freehand on the bandsaw. The opposite of working from plans and “measure twice, cut once.”

   What might be surprising is that while Michael is insistent on creating and executing pleasing designs freehand, the course demands focus on attention to detail and precision in putting the box together.

   The joints are irregular and the mating surfaces bear evidence of the bandsaw cut. So, the question of sanding is significant. The mating surfaces of joints are opposing faces separated only by the kerf of the blade. They fit together seamlessly because the facing surfaces have shallow micro-grooves from the bandsaw that register perfectly when they are dry-fit and then glued together.

   Michael uses milk paint for many of his boxes. But the painting and gluing steps are sequenced in a way that they optimize assembling the box without compromising the painting or the glue-up.

   For example, it is important to mark carefully where the bottom will settle when dropped inside the box when the sides are clamped together (see his videos to see how this works). Because the inside of the box is painted before the bottom is glued in, it important not to get paint on that glue surface as it would compromise the joint.

   Similarly for the sides of the box. The inside surfaces are painted before the sides are joined and glued. These surfaces must also be paint-free so as not to compromise the glue integrity.

   To BobE’s question, the recommended bandsaw blade in the course is a ¼” 3-4 tpi blade. This cuts through 4” basswood easily without loading. And, as one would expect, leaves a surface that is noticeably textured by the blade. Since the boxes are painted, the texture is muted. This is probably a matter of taste more than best practice.

   The boxes are made from basswood, which is relatively inexpensive and easy to work with. Basswood is a good wood as well for carving. I have sanded the sides and the top of the first boxes so that I can practice some carving on a smooth surface before painting. A picture of a box in progress is attached.

   Russ