Small Kind Bandsaw box

[Hawaiilad]

I made a delivery to one of the Galleries I sell Bandsaw boxes and trivets to and they ask if I would make a bunch of smaller boxes (about the size of a dollar bill). I wanted to ask if any one here has tried that. I have made many smaller boxes before, but always on the Scroll saw not Band saw.

[DWSudekum]

Would you use a 1/8 in blade or 1/4 in blade for something that small when cutting them on the bandsaw?

DW

[Hawaiilad]

That's a good question DW. I use a 3/16" now and there are some turns that I have a pretty hard time with. I'm thinking I might use the band saw to cut the back and draw fronts and back off, but if the boxes are smaller, I might be able to use the scroll saw to cut out the drawers and the out side of the box itself.

[Wood Dog]

This may be of some help to you Larry.....I do not have any experience with the stabilizer YET.
Stabilizer Demo Videos by Carter Products

[jim_mex]

Hi Larry - try sending a pm to my good friend hobbyhorse aka Rhys and see if he can advise you - mention my name if you wish. He's been making bandsaw boxes for a number of years and he can advise you on what brand to buy as I remember him once telling me that he'd tried a number of brands and some weren't so good.

[wood-n-things]

I got the 1/8" blade recently from timberwolf and I love it!

Suffolk Machinery - Timber Wolf Bandsaw Blades

[Hawaiilad]

I cut down several pieces of wood this morning and then reduced two patterns to fit a dollar bill size. I was using a 3/16" blade and the boxes had one drawer in them. It cut very easy and everything is waiting for the glue to dry before I sand it. Very easy to cut. Not sure this blade will work for boxes with several drawers, but I will try. Should be able to do several of them in a day. My ISP is really slow today and I can't watch YouTube right now.

[Hobbyhorse]

Larry, I have been using a 3/16th 6tpi blade for a number of years with good outcomes on my full sized boxes and I have tried using a No12 blade in the scroll saw but of course the boxes are restricted in size by the maximum cut of the scroll saw at 2". The standard boxes I make are 3 1/2" deep whereas the smaller boxes worked out at 2 3/8.

The 6tpi blade in 3/16th is apparantly not a common blade, and therefore more expensive, and they seem to be more common in 4tpi and 10tpi. Unfortunately my blades have doubled in price over the past few years and it ends up costing me $2 per box for blades to cut them out which is rapidly becoming uneconomic. The 10tpi is too fine and ends up clogging and burning and the 4tpi is too coarse and leaves a poor finish inside the drawer openings. I am going to try the 1/8th blades when next I need to buy blades.

Incidentally, I can not get the 3/16th blades resharpened here (they are too small to hold in the sharpening machine) and I use them until they break before replacing them. I do get about 20 boxes out of one blade but at $40 per blade, I am a little careful.

Cheers,

Rhys

[Hawaiilad]

I made a couple dollar sized boxes yesterday. I have not added a finish to the Koa as yet, but here they are. A couple friends saw them last night and wanted them.

Rhys, I ended up using a 3/16" 10 TPI blade that worked just fine without burning. If I were to make smaller boxes I think the 1/8" blade would be the one to go with.

[MikeDingas]

Like 'em! I've got a 14" Grizzly and several books with patterns like those. I need to try this kind of project soon.

[Hawaiilad]

Mike, once you start making band saw or scroll saw boxes like these you will soon find out how much fun they are. I know that Rhys has been making them for a long time...I think I started about 8 months ago and have made allot of them. Coming up with new designs seem to keep me as busy as making them.

[Greenbo]

A couple of very nice boxes, and a nice size. I have just started using a 1/8" blade and with the test cuts I've done I'm pleased with it. Also using a blade stabilizer since some (most) of my projects are about 4" thick. And again they look great.

glenn