Projects & Related Things: Shaker Oval Box

With the drum project complete I took a more detailed look at what would be required to build one of these small boxes and decided to try my hand at building one. It’s small, does not use a lot of material and will give me some more experience in bending wood. I hope to end up with something similar to this.

Oval Shaker Box

First, a little history on The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing better known as the Shakers. They were a religious group that peaked in the mid 1800’s. Their guiding principles of honesty, utility, and simplicity found expression in various crafts: furniture, boxes. and textiles. These items are well-known for their minimalist design and meticulous quality. Rejecting excessive ornament because it encouraged the sin of pride, Shaker furniture makers focused on overall form and proportions, developing solutions such as asymmetrical drawer arrangements and multipurpose forms to add visual interest without resorting to pure decoration. Put another way, “Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.”

My first step is to open SketchUp and draw up the two sizes of boxes I plan on making, number 3 and 4 size boxes. The number 3 box is roughly 4 ½” by 7” and 2 ½” deep while the number 4 box is roughly 5 ½” by 8 ¼” and 3 ¹/₁₆” deep.

Plans for Boxes

With the drawing done I printed out a full scale plot of the box body and glued it to a blank I had laminated up out of scrap construction lumber. This will be the form used to wrap the body of the box around.

#4 Box Body Form Ready to Cut on Bandsaw

Next is to cut that blank out on the bandsaw to a close rough shape then use the disk sander to take it down to the finished size.

Cleaning up Bandsaw cut on Disk Sander

With the form complete I can move onto the plugs. These are tapered forms slightly larger than the body form and are used to hold the body in the oval shape while allowing air circulation during the time required for drying. I trace the body form onto a couple pieces of plywood then cut them out on the bandsaw. So they will act as a plug I put a 10-degree taper on the edges using the disk sander.

Tapering Edges of Plugs

When done I have a pair of plugs one for the bottom and one for the top.

Completed Top and Bottom Plugs

With the body form and the two plugs done I can go on to cutting the thin pieces that will form the sides of the box and its lid. From my research it seems like the two primary woods the Shakers used for the boxes are maple and cherry. Based on that I went into my stash of wood to see what I had in the right width and length in those two species. As luck would have it I came across a piece of cherry that was the right width and only a couple of inches longer that what I needed.

After checking to make sure the piece was straight and flat I used my marking gauge make a cut line 1/8” from the edge. This takes into account the saw kerf and the required extra thickness for flattening the cut surface in the thickness sander. When I am done the pieces will end up right at 1/16”.

Using Marking Gauge to Layout Cuts

Here I have set up the bandsaw and am ready to make the cut. The yellow and black gizmo on the right is a magnetic tool whose purpose is to apply constant pressure against the board holding it tight and square to the fence.

Once cut I smooth the bandsawn face and take the pieces down to just slightly thicker than the 1/16” I want them to end up using the thickness sander. I will let them set for a few days to see if they stay flat or if there is any warpage.