Scandinavian Shrink Boxes – For those of you who went to the AAW Symposium last June in St. Paul, you might have attended to a session with Jim Sannerud. Jim demonstrated how the shrink box is made from a hollowed tree branch with a small kerf in the bottom to fit a dry piece of wood. If all the steps are done correctly, the green wood will shrink around the dry base and create a water tight vessel. The Vikings used these open vessels for drinking or would make tight fitting lids creating containers for storing salt and spices. I was intrigued by what Jim made. Then in the February 2012 edition of American Woodturner there was an article about making the shrink boxes. Soon after the article, I acquired some green birch perfect for this project and decided to give it a try. My first attempt was a failure. I cut the bottom too big and when the wood shrank around the bottom, the sides cracked. I played around a little more and completed these two boxes. It was a fun project that I got to include some carving and painting. The finish is rattle can lacquer, which I think is a little too shiny and I might dull it up a bit with some steel wool. Comments please.
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