52 Boxes in 52 Weeks...

[Marshall Harrison]

Does anyone have 52 Boxes in 52 Weeks by Matt Kenney?

I would love to hear your thoughts on the book. It sounds like an interesting project to take on. But I have a question about what tools are used or needed. I only have the table saw, a 9" band saw and the usual assortment of drills and routers etc. I don't really have the means to do any serious resawing.

I'm thinking about attempting the challenge. I've never had a huge interest in boxes but boxes are really a key component of just about any large furniture piece. They are mostly just a series of big boxes put together to make a furniture piece. So I 'm thinking this could be a good learning experience though with me it may be more like 52 boxes in 52 months...

[Lee Schierer]

Box building can sharpen your skills in many ways. You need more precision when making boxes and the planning can be more difficult. There is always a place to use or get rid of boxes. Many charities love hand made items to use as fund raisers.

If you go for it be sure to post all your boxes in the Projects forum so we can watch your progress.

[Marshall Harrison]

Thanks Lee,

I'll be sure to post them in the Projects forum. My main concern is the resawing to get the wood proportionally correct for the small boxes. Need to experiment with doing that on my bandsaw. Its not optimal for resawing but its all I have. I guess I could also buy small pieces from my local Woodcraft store.

[Dave Richards]

Matt uses a variety of hand and power tools. I followed Matt as he was building the boxes for his book. Most of the work was done with hand tools but I'm sure he resawed stock at the bandsaw.

My suggestion to you is to do what you can with the tools you have. Resaw what you can on your bandsaw. It is possible to resaw on the table saw but it can be wasteful. Maybe there are some woodworking classes offered in your local community education program. They might have a larger bandsaw you could use. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

[Marshall Harrison]

Matt uses a variety of hand and power tools. I followed Matt as he was building the boxes for his book. Most of the work was done with hand tools but I'm sure he resawed stock at the bandsaw.

My suggestion to you is to do what you can with the tools you have. Resaw what you can on your bandsaw. It is possible to resaw on the table saw but it can be wasteful. Maybe there are some woodworking classes offered in your local community education program. They might have a larger bandsaw you could use. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Thanks Matt.

I'll be picking up a used Delta planer today or tomorrow from an old friend so that should help with cleaning up and dimensioning the stock.

[glenn bradley]

You may already be aware that you can see all the boxes and read his maker's notes here. One of the great things about boxes is that you do not have to make them exactly like the examples.

My local yard carries "Drawer Milled Stock" which is basically a few species in 1/2" thickness. This is still too thick for some boxes but, would get you close. Certainly lacking the tools to make blanks the size you want can be limiting. But, like crossing the blue line before the puck, this can just be one of the rules or parameters that makes the challenge fun.

Certainly purchasing thin stock at a premium is a way to go. Resawing small pieces as John G. suggests is also an option if you have a good handsaw and have used it a bit to become proficient. It may also be true that there is a Creeker near enough to you that you could get in a visit and get help milling some stock to boot. I have done this for people, people have done this for me and I'd do it again.

[Marshall Harrison]

You may already be aware that you can see all the boxes and read his maker's notes here. One of the great things about boxes is that you do not have to make them exactly like the examples.

My local yard carries "Drawer Milled Stock" which is basically a few species in 1/2" thickness. This is still too thick for some boxes but, would get you close. Certainly lacking the tools to make blanks the size you want can be limiting. But, like crossing the blue line before the puck, this can just be one of the rules or parameters that makes the challenge fun.

Certainly purchasing thin stock at a premium is a way to go. Resawing small pieces as John G. suggests is also an option if you have a good handsaw and have used it a bit to become proficient. It may also be true that there is a Creeker near enough to you that you could get in a visit and get help milling some stock to boot. I have done this for people, people have done this for me and I'd do it again.

Thanks Glenn, I never thought to check out his website.

after doing some more looking around I don't think his book is available until sometime ext month. Guess I'll have to wait some.

[Mike Henderson]

You can resaw on your table saw. A 10 inch saw will cut about 3 1/3 inches so you can resaw close to a 7 inch piece by sawing half and then turning the board over and sawing the other half. I use a thin kerf blade to waste the minimum amount of material.

If you need boards wider than that, cut your board into pieces about 7 inches wide, resaw, then glue two pieces together. I do it all the time because I can resaw more accurately on my table saw than on my bandsaw. (I've just never been able to set up my bandsaw to resaw as accurately as I'd like).

You'll need to sand the resawan pieces but you'd have to do that if you used a bandsaw. When you do the resaw, make it a bit wide to account for the loss during sanding.

Mike

[Prashun Patel]

I think you'd learn a lot doing this. I suspect you'll get the joinery and techniques down quickly. The sublime learning will be the design sense that comes from doing variations on the theme.

If you do it, post progress pix here.

[Rick Potter]

I'm with Mike,

Most of the boxes don't look like you would need to resaw more than 4", and for the larger ones glue pieces together.

I have been teaching a friend to make simple boxes, and I found him a 9" Ryobi bandsaw for $20. It resaws 4" better than I thought it would, and that would be fine for you, especially if you get that planer.

A bigger problem is finding 52 friends to gift them to.

[Marshall Harrison]

I'm with Mike,

Most of the boxes don't look like you would need to resaw more than 4", and for the larger ones glue pieces together.

I have been teaching a friend to make simple boxes, and I found him a 9" Ryobi bandsaw for $20. It resaws 4" better than I thought it would, and that would be fine for you, especially if you get that planer.

A bigger problem is finding 52 friends to gift them to.

THanks Rick

Maybe for small boxes the 9" Delta would work out alright with a little practice. It will give me something to do while I wait for my table saw to arrive (it should ship on or before 4/21).

I'm picking up the planer tomorrow. Its a Delta TP305. I'll fire it up and if all goes well I'll take it. For $85 It sounds like a good deal providing it works well.

[Mike Henderson]

I'll offer one more piece of advice/encouragement, Marshall. No matter how complex the piece, it actually consists of a bunch of individual processes, or steps. As long as you can do the process for each step, and you take your time, you can complete the most complex piece of furniture.

Mike

[Marshall Harrison]

I'll offer one more piece of advice/encouragement, Marshall. No matter how complex the piece, it actually consists of a bunch of individual processes, or steps. As long as you can do the process for each step, and you take your time, you can complete the most complex piece of furniture.

Mike

Thanks Mike.

I've been out of woodworking for probably 10 years so even the things and skills I had back then are rusty. Its not quite like starting out new but a lot of the muscle memory and the fine details will have to be learned or at least practiced again.

On the positive side, building boxes would give me something to show for all the money I'm spending. And that should make SWMBO happy. Plus I'll have lots of gifts to give out. It should make it look like I'm a real woodworker instead of someone struggling to finish some large furniture piece.

[Rick Potter]

More advice. Even a small bandsaw can do wonders with the right blade. Do not use hardware store blades, get a lennox, or some other name brand. It won't cost much, but will make a difference. Get the widest one that fits your saw, with 3-4 teeth per inch.

[lowell holmes]

You can get the book for $17.11 on Amazon. Why quibble, I would order it.