13 hours ago, John Morris said:

Thanks for following along!

Thanks for posting. I just noticed this post which sent me to John Wilson web site. Just like that my morning slipped away from me. 

I noticed they offered classes in 2024, and wondering if they would offer some this year. I think it would be a blast to learn from a master in a group setting. Either way I may have to order the same starter kit as well. 

16 minutes ago, Gordon said:

Either way I may have to order the same starter kit as well. 

I think the starter set is a great way to go Gordon. It really cuts through the guess work of it all. 

Also as you peruse that website you'll find all of John Wilson's books on the subject are published live. 

He was a good man specially in the area of Open Source. In all his books he has a disclaimer and encourages readers to copy the contents of his book and use at will, accept for the purposes of profit. So it looks like he was a big Open Source guy, which doesn't surprise me as he seemed to be a very sharing and kind man in life, from what I've read. 

 

In addition to his kindness was his natural trust in humanity, he'd ship all his products without payment, once you were satisfied then you'd send a check back to him. I think it's still that way today with his assistant Eric carrying on the tradition.

 

Good luck in your Shaker oval box journey, as a fellow newbie myself, your in good company!

@John Morris I agree completely. Thanks

These are just flat out fun to make, no wonder many woodworkers are making these, there's a whole lot of satisfaction in this. 

So I got three with the first coat of Tried and Tru. 

And two in the forms. The finger on the lid band  split on me. That happened over night. 

I also gotta work on getting those tacks lined up at the top band with the box finger tacks. I also need to work on getting those fingers more slender for that elegant look, I almost succeeded on the Birch box far left. If you look at the Shaker made boxes they made the slender fingers and I like that look a lot.

Awesome! Don't forget to sign and date them boss.

7 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Awesome! Don't forget to sign and date them boss.

 

Here ya go Gramps!

Per my post above, I spoke of the slender fingers I'd like to duplicate in my own boxes, just as the original Shakers did, also John Wilson made his boxes with the slender fingers.

Anybody know where I can purchase maple and cherry bands?

John Wilson passed away and I don’t think the business is still working

47 minutes ago, JohnJ1 said:

Anybody know where I can purchase maple and cherry bands?

John Wilson passed away and I don’t think the business is still working

They still have an active website John, but I have tried to contact Eric, his right hand man who was continuing the business, and I never get a reply back. 

I purchased bands from Robert LeHays shop but as I peruse his site it doesn't look like he's selling right now.

 

That being said, are you sure John Wilsons shop is not selling anymore? It looks like they still have a shop up and running.

Online Store | Shaker Oval Box

WWW.SHAKEROVALBOX.COM

 

6 hours ago, JohnJ1 said:

Anybody know where I can purchase maple and cherry bands?

John Wilson passed away and I don’t think the business is still working

Welcome John to The Patriot Woodworker. Happy to know this thread brought you here. Looking forward to your participation with us.

 

Like John, I also thought Eric was keeping the business running and continuing to offer classes. The link below takes you to a .pdf file for the 2025 catalog of supplies. Hope it helps. Let us know how things work out.

 

https://www.shakerovalbox.com/catalogs

 

I had a little fun in the shop again with these boxes, I made the #4 for our oldest daughter already a few months ago, and now I am making the #0 thru #3.

Ready to cut an shape the tops and bottoms.

Using the horizontal setup for drilling the dowel holes to secure the tops and bottoms.

Now I have the rest for our daughter, the tops and bottoms are pegged, just need to sand flush and finish.

I still love my lil ol Shopsmith, it's working for me 😉