Ok, my daughter wants a Lois Keener bandsaw box made from dogwood.  The tree we had in the yard was full of holes created by wood borers.  So, that all landed in the landfill.  But, a neighbor had a 40 year old dogwood that the wood bores tried to make home.  When he cut it down, I asked for the trunk.  This is the last piece of it that I had.  Yea, it doesn't look like much, but let's give it a try.  

 

 

This does not look promising.  I'll check one end.  

 

 

 

Still not looking good and the test cut indicates that this wood is very soft.

 

 

 

And, this end looks rather punky.  So, we'll plunge in the blade to see what reveals.  

 

 

 

Brought out old trusty with shrub trimming blade.  Cuts quickly and easily.  You need some vision here to imagine if there may be something salvagable and usable.  If I can get 5" X 5" I'll be very happy.  The target project is 10" L X 5" H X 6" D.  I can patch in some pecan or cedar.  We'll see.....

 

 

 

Looks better inside than out, but not much.  Have to make another cut or two to get it down to size to fit the Shopsmith bandsaw.  It has a limit of 6" high.  So, on to the next cut to see what is in there.  

 

Cut number 2 reveals some very beautiful wood.  Still some problems.  On to cut number 3......

 

 

 

 

 

Rather pretty and much better than before.  It still feels very dry and porous.  Don't know what I'll have to do to keep the sealer, varnish to lay on the surface rather than permeate the wood.  The next picture will show the result of all this sawing and guessing.  

 

 

 

 

 

With a little help from my friends, (got that playing in your head, didn't I), it will now fit the bandsaw.  As you can see, it is almost 5 inches  so I may get enough to work with.  I am going to use some cedar to make it 6" deep.  Don't touch that dial.......

Edited May 20, 20205 yr by FlGatorwood

Here is another board from the cedar tree that grew in the back yard of Ann's childhood home.  We purchased the property after her mother died.  So, when hurricane Ivan came by, he decided he didn't like the tree so he blew it down.  Out came the chain saw and trimmed it sufficiently to load into the pickup truck.  A man had a Woodmaster sawmill, so he cut up this tree for $80.  I have about $500 worth of cedar.  So, I just as well use some of this for her box.  

 

 

 

This is the same cedar tree that I made the other cedar box.  Oh, yes, I have learned to use a power saw.  It is powered by blood, sweat and tears.  It is a finishing saw at 14 tpi.  And, it is waxed with Johnson's paste wax.  It slides through wood like butter.  Results are next......

 

 

 

I plan to put the crotch on the front.  I think with the curves of the box, it will make for an interesting piece to look at.  It needs to be sanded in preparation for lamination.  

 

 

 

Surely, you knew that this is where I was going.  Yes, this is a 12 disk of 80 grit.  It smoothes and sizes sufficiently to make the sides smooth enough to adhere to each other.  Now, to the clamps.  

 

 

 

Will leave in clamps overnight.  Will remove the clamps tomorrow and mark for cutting on the bandsaw.  Yep, we are that far along.  Will be back.  

Edited May 20, 20205 yr by FlGatorwood

Lookin' good, Gator. 

Looks great so far.

Got a few minutes today.  The question now is how to transfer the pattern to the wood.  A few ways to do this. 

 

You can make a second paper copy and tape it down with double sided tape.

 

Or, you can draw this onto some very soft wood or cardboard which you tape to the face of the box with double sided tape 

 

Or, you can do an old transfer method that I learned in 1973 in my apprenticeship in Graphic Arts.  It has been used long before the founding of our dear country.  So, I'll show my training.  First, put some children's sidewalkl chalk on the back side of the pattern.  You want a color that will show up on the wood.  Here is the pattern.

 

 

 

Turn it over and mark the major areas with the contrasting color chalk.

 

 

 

Here it is transferred to the wood.

 

 

 

Now, I'll trace this with a pencil so it will show during sawing.  Ready for the bandsaw.  

 

 

 

Maybe, the rain will play nice tomorrow and I'll show some progress.  I hope that this encourages you to give this a try.  

Edited May 20, 20205 yr by FlGatorwood

Now we got two Steve’s putting on a show for us, entertaining us during these trying times. Gonna make some more popcorn. Looking good Steve!

Really gotta give you credit Steve, working with the reciprocating saw to cut the log has really got to be a challenge. My 14" bandsaw really makes things a lot easier all around. I found that using a spray glue to attach the paper pattern works for me as long as I'm working with a flat surface If it doesn't want to pull off later I sand it off with a ROS. When I print the patterns I normally print 3 copies, just for insurance. Looks like you salvaged a nice piece of the dogwood.

That 3M 77 is good stuff, ain't it?

I use a 3M double sided tape, but I have no idea which one.  And, for sticking wood together, I simply use carpet tape since it is what I have on hand.  Thanks everyone.  I hope to have more pictures tomorrow.  

WOW! Gonna be a fantastic project.

 

We have a dogwood tree in our back yard that I transplanted in 1969, from my parents mountain property. I hope that it will last as long as I do. Never realized they were susceptible to borers. I'll need to keep an eye on it just in case. Thanks for the warning. 

Really gotta give you credit Steve, working with the reciprocating saw to cut the log has really got to be a challenge. My 14" bandsaw really makes things a lot easier all around. I found that using a spray glue to attach the paper pattern works for me as long as I'm working with a flat surface If it doesn't want to pull off later I sand it off with a ROS. When I print the patterns I normally print 3 copies, just for insurance. Looks like you salvaged a nice piece of the dogwood.

40 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

That 3M 77 is good stuff, ain't it?

Works great Gene, and a can lasts and lasts.

Ok, got a couple hours yesterday.  Drats, foiled again.  It is too big to fit the Shopsmith bandsaw.  I had to remove 1/4" from the back, but how?  So, I set up the sanding disk that you have seen already.  So, we'll skip any boring pictures.  Gotta get a picture or two up.   

 

And, now for the magical mystery tour.  Yep, it fits.  So, this will be a very slow cut so as not to break a blade.  We'll see.......

 

 

Will be back in a few days.  Have a palm tree downed in the back yard.  It needs to be pruned and moved to the front for garbage pickup.  

Edited May 23, 20205 yr by FlGatorwood

Have run into that before and just changed blades.  Always fun.  For a long term fix I bought a 10 inch Rikon Bandsaw and put a smaller blade on it for such work.  Downside, the circle cutting jig I made for the Jet 14 inch Bandsaw in no way shape of form will fit to the 10 inch Rikon, so still have to change blades once and awhile.  Guess I need a another full size one.

 

Yeah right and where am I going to put that?????? Says the other half of my mind.  Never mind pay for it.  

I can here the squealing, squeaking, groaning and moaning already. Not to mention the sounds from the bandsaw.

Time to show a couple more pictures of the procedure.  Got the bandsaw blades and they are Olson blades.  I mis read the label and was thinking of returning the blades.  Looked again and they are exactly what I requested.  Got out the paste wax and waxed the table and the bandsaw blade sides and back.  So, cut out the outline.  

 

 

Will need sanding on the bottom, too, to ensure it is level.

 

 

At this juncture, it is critical to stop the design and cut 1/4" off the back.  That is tomorrow's photo.  Will be back.  

 

Oh, Gene, these blades cut wonderfully.  Yes, there is lots of groaning and I have lots of sanding to do.  

Edited June 3, 20205 yr by FlGatorwood

Glad you like the Olsen blade. I've never had a problem with them. 

It's a hassle but, switching to a wide blade to cut the back off saves lots of sanding. 

5 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

It's a hassle

A Hassle?  Lets be real here, its like wrestling an octopus with swords.  

Gents, and ladies, I cheat.  Yep.  I have 2 machines and each came with a bandsaw.  I had to rework one, but it works great enough to do the work I need to do.  First one is the machine I got that was in excellent condition, barely used.  The second one had been mistreated.  Notice the tables and guards and you can tell these are 2 different machines.  Swap out, 10 seconds.  It takes almost that long to apply the tension to the band.  I always relax the tension on the blades as a weakness of the Shopsmith bandsaw is if the tension remains on the blade over a long period of time, the top tire gets a bit twisted and it won't apply the tension sufficiently.  

 

 

 

Also, notice the blade sizes.  I used the bottom one for the next step.

 

 

 

Al, I am sorry that I forgot to make a comment about the recip saw.  I use it so that the point/end of the blade never or rarely goes into the wood.  After angling it, the uncut wood is down to a diamond shape and then you can normally put the blade all the way in and get a nice cut.  Thank you for your support.  

 

 

 

Back is off.  1/4" thickness for the back board.  Now, it is time to change out the band saw again to the smaller blade.  In just a few seconds, I'll be back in business.  

 

 

 

 

Another adventure in this magical mystery tour.  Here you have to ensure that the blade is lined up accurately for cutting out the drawers now that the back is removed.  

Edited June 5, 20205 yr by FlGatorwood

The cedar has been drying for 16 years and the dogwood has been drying for 3 or 4 years.  I thought that most of the stress would be gone by now, but take a look at the kerf.  

 

 

It closed so tightly on this little saw blade that I could not get it out.  You can see on the dogwood that I tried to pry it apart to ease the tension on the blade.  Not going to happen.  

 

 

 

Blade removed and finally got the blade back from the box.  It takes less time to put on a blade than to get this out.  Blade checked and still looks good.  Going to buy a couple more for back up.  

 

 

 

Carcass after the drawers are cut out and removed.  Yep, we made it together.  

 

 

 

Next up will be sanding and putting the back onto the carcase.  After that we will play with drawers.  Then it will be sanding for a couple of days.  Hope this is not too boring.  

Edited June 5, 20205 yr by FlGatorwood