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It's a good idea to start by getting all the wood stock to a standard thickness.
If you have a planer, it's a great tool for this. I sized the thickness of all
the red cherry boards to 3/4-inch.
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BOX04901
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The basketweave top for this box is made of thin, flexible strips cut from the
3/4-inch boards. The thickness of these strips isn't critical as long as they
are flexible enough to be woven while still being strong enough to support any
weight you may want to put on the box top. 1/8-inch strips work well.
A band saw with a fence set on the table to contol the wood thickness works well
for this. I've made these slats on a table saw, but I don't recommend it.
Cutting small pieces on a table saw really doesn't work well.
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BOX04902
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Make sure your wood slats are thin enough to be flexible. Once you have the
thickness right, cut enough slats to fit side by side across the full width of
the box and make sure they're long enough to span the boxes length plus the half
inch needed to hold them in the side wall channels. That added length should be
based on the depth of the channel and the lost length due to the rise and fall
of the weave.
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BOX04903
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Test the slats to be sure you have the right number ready to go and cut the
additional slats to make up the warp of the basket weave. (Note: warp and weft
are fabric weaving terms, but they can be used to describe the way the longer
weft slats are woven between the shorter warp slats.)
The picture on the left shows two warp slats and twelve weft slats woven between
them.
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BOX04904
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Cut the box sides to 1/2-inch thickness, saving the thinner remainder to be used
as the inside box dividers.
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BOX04905
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I'm missing some pretty important steps here, but I'll try to describe them:
>>Cut the box bottom from 1/4-inch plywood
>>Cut grooves/channels in the boxes side walls to insert the bottom and the top
slats into. (The bottom channel is best done using a router with a 1/4-inch bit.
The upper channel can be cut using the table saw. The table saw blade kerf makes
a good channel for the slats.
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BOX04906
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Sand the slats smooth and generally get them ready for finishing. It's best to
finish the slats before the box is assembled to assure that there are no missed
spots or sloppy spots that can't be reached after the box is assembled.
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BOX04907
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Set up a jig with a braced right angle, so that you can position two sides
securely with the bottom in place in the channel. Then place the third side and
clamp a support to keep that in place. With three sides secured, but not glued
in, test the top slats and final side for fit.
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BOX04908
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Once you're sure the fit is right, you can remove the slats and glue bottom and
three sides making sure that the fit stays right by positioning the last side in
place without glueing it in.
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BOX04909
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Once the glue-up of the three sides and bottom are dry, insert the side by side
slats (the weft). Once those are all in place, weave in the cross pieces (the
warp) by pushing the slat up or down and pushing the cross piece into the gap
row by row,
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BOX04910
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With all the slats in place, position and glue in the last side. Clamp the side
on while drying.
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BOX04911
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I thought this box might be better with feet, a sort of Chinese twist. To make
those I drew the basic shape on a board with 8 similar shapes laid out to make
efficient use of the 3/4-inch thick board. (Note: the board needs to be 3/4-inch
to allow you to route out the 1/2-inch channel needed to fit correctly on the
side boards.)
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BOX04912
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I thought this box might be better with feet, a sort of Chinese twist. To make
those I drew the basic shape on a board with 8 similar shapes laid out to make
efficient use of the 3/4-inch thick board. (Note: the board needs to be 3/4-inch
to allow you to route out the 1/2-inch channel needed to fit correctly on the
side boards.)
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BOX04913
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Drill holes in the board and then cut the feet out with a band saw.
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BOX04914
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Cut each foot
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BOX04915
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BOX04916
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BOX04917
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BOX04918
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BOX04919
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BOX04920
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BOX04921
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BOX04922
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BOX04923
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BOX04924
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BOX04925
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BOX04926
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BOX04927
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BOX04928
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BOX04929
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BOX04930
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BOX04931
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BOX04932
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BOX04933
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BOX04934
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BOX04935
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BOX04936
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BOX04937
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BOX04938
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BOX04939
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BOX04940
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BOX04941
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BOX04942
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BOX04943
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BOX04944
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BOX04945
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BOX04946
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BOX04947
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BOX04948
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BOX04949
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BOX04950
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BOX04951
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BOX04952
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BOX04953
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BOX04954
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BOX04955
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BOX04956
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BOX04957
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BOX04958
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