A client who has me make unfinished pieces for her is interested in a small box that has those sort of bulgy sides, like a bombe chest I guess you could say. Can those be made in a timely way without using a shaper?? Sorry, I don’t have a picture, but kinda like this, but not that curvey.
NOTE: The inside of the box is flat, not concave. Sorry I forgot to mention that!
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forestgirl — you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl 😉
Another proud member of the “I Rocked With ToolDoc Club” …. :>)
Edited 10/18/2005 12:55 pm by forestgirl
Edited 10/18/2005 12:56 pm by forestgirl
Replies
forestgirl,
Bandsaw would be easiest. If you don't have one then you could use the table saw set up for cove cutting. Cut the cove on the top and then rip an angle on the bottom and finish shaping by hand.
Or you could use all hand tools. Either use a core box plane, if you have one lying around, or a round bottom moulding plane to again shape the cove then plane the round bottom.
Another way to shape the cove would be to use a series of cross cuts about 1/2" apart and 1/8" away from the finished dimension, then whack out the pieces with a chisel and finish shaping with a spokeshave.
I could probably come up with a few more ways to do this but this might help you get going.
By the way, what are the dimensions?
J.P.
I forgot to mention that the inside of the box is flat, not curved to correspond to the bulge, as it were.
This would be a production thing, not a "fine woodworking" take-all-the-time-you-need thing. I need a quick and dirty way of getting it done. Bandsaw would be fine.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Starting with stock thick enough to *contain* the curved shape, draw the shape on the edges and cut kerfs with your tablesaw at varing depths to rough out the shape. Remove the waste between the kerfs with a chisel/gouge and scrape the sides to smoothness and finished form. You can stick the sides to your crosscut sled using double-stick tape to make this a safe TS operation. You obviously have to reposition several times so you might use more than one piece of tape.
This is typically how one roughs out the sides on a real Bombe form except cuts are made from both sides since the inside is curved as well as the outside.
A project like this is an excellent dry-run before building the real thing (should you ever choose to) which obviously cannot be made using a bandsaw due to size constraints.
Edited 10/19/2005 2:57 pm ET by charlesstanford
Thanks, Charles, that's helpful -- especially the tip about how to use the cross-cut sled in the operation, and the suggestion of using a scraper. Sounds like an opportunity to make my first custom scraper!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
You don't really need a custom scraper. The thin L-N scraper ought to do fine. Just constantly monitor where you are on your layout lines and you should be fine.
Regarding the tablesaw - you could also simply kerf the workpieces with a backsaw on a project this small. Obviously, this would be very safe.
Edited 10/18/2005 9:06 pm ET by charlesstanford
The trick is going to be figuring out how to make a bunch of these fairly quickly. The place that sells them retail (unfinished) sells 'em really cheap, but they're not made in a factory, overseas or otherwise, so I'm having trouble figuring out how he does it. I'll try and find the link later.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
He's probably losing money on them if the truth be told.
"He's probably losing money on them if the truth be told. " I'd be surprised if he was. My understanding is, he makes his living making various unfinished pieces for this painting thing.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Hi, Forestgirl.
I think Mcaine probably has the right idea for your box. The original 'bombe' furniture was a set of shaped blocks, glued together and veneered (I haven't got a clue how they managed to veneer them!)
Good luck, and stay in touch.
Ozzy
Jamie -
I read the title, and was immediately thinking about a shape like the city in India. What you mean is generally spelled "bombe". You may get more readers if you post with that spelling.
With the tools I have available, I'd probably cut the concave part of the curve with a table saw, like I was making crown molding. Then I'd do the convex part with a handplane. I'd form one long piece of wood and then cut it into four pieces to make the box. I'd leave the inside flat, so I had a good reference surface for cutting the miter joints at the corners.
Jamie
Edited 10/18/2005 11:05 am ET by Buxton
Oooops! How embarassing! Unfortunately, can't change the title, but I can edit the 1st post.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Scott Phillips (pbs tv) has a project where he makes a "bombe'" jewelry box completely on the bandsaw - Basically draw the shape on a couple sheets of paper, glue one to the front of a block and bandsaw the shape, then glue the same shape to the side and bandsaw just the "front" edge...
I just did this. figured out the curve, drew it on in pencil and then angled the TS blade. Ran it through on all sides then used the belt sander to do the final shaping. client loved it. was really, really easy. just a thought.
How about cutting a round piece of stock in two or turning one to size & spliting it??
Just a thought. Tink
Forest.. Finewood workin' has something on that on their CD..
I post it but sure FW would send Lawyers!
(______)
My ladies butt after 4 kids? It still looked good to me!
Edited 10/19/2005 3:30 pm ET by charlesstanford
Wow! I had no idea how they are made. That's amazing.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
You might want to take a look at these ...
http://www.journalofantiques.com/images26/f-7.jpg
http://www.custommade.com/gallery/furniture-CO/Bombe-Chest.html
http://www.tomhannah.com/bombe.php
Please go to sapfm.org to read the online interview and view the pictorial of the piece being made - the real deal not the hideously stylized version somebody else posted a picture of above.
Look down the bottom left of the home page for the "E Interviews".
Edited 10/20/2005 4:46 am ET by charlesstanford
Forestgirl.
do you want a thru bombe box with compound curves or as in your post with a simple bulge? If simple bulge, glue up 4 boards in a pipe like shape (like a post) and turn and you have 4 sides. If no lathe , make a Jig to the curves put board inside and use a Router. One board at a time.
Hilmar
FG,
Inorder to produce many of these items you'll need a production jig. After reading all the post I'd cut the sides to a rough dimension then make a sanding jig to finish. If you have a 48" belt sander, the jig would be a spinning circle (disc, lazy susan) that you could fit your peice into and sand to finish.
Post a pic once you have finished.
Joe
Is it really saw dust or wood dust?
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