Thread: Bentwood box, the start of another journey

Now that other commitments have been fulfilled i can get back into my workshop and onto some unfinished projects, first being the "bentwood " box. Unfortunately it is now only a look alike bentwood as my bending did not go as planned and I ended up cutting through the mitres and joining in the traditional way (have to be honest) anyway it is an interesting exercise and I will complete the journey.
I slabbed another piece of "yellow jacaranda" to 45mm as I plan to bandsaw the handle into the lid ...it will need considerable drying via microwave before I start fitting/shaping etc...the rebated joint has been secured with tapered dowels in the traditional manner, the surface design has not been finally decided but I hope will resemble a rustic native interpretation....i will let the attached photos tell the rest...cheers Kerry

Looking really good Kerry!!

I really am intrigued by that Leopard Tree timber!

Originally Posted by Robson Valley

The kerf. For whatever "other-worldly" reasons, do you suppose that the kerf has to be 100+ degrees open? Does the wood look like it jammed together in the bottom? I ask that because I see in the diagrams that most of the carved kerfs are quite roomy in the bottom.
The Haida Repatriation project involved the construction of 500+ large boxes (ancestral remains stolen by museums) over the past 15 years. The Field Museum of Chicago alone had more than 150 sets of Haida remains. Guess I should ask the Haida about the corners.

RV I gave up trying to correct the kerf, the timber that I was using did not like being bent at right angles, next time i will choose a timber that has a proven track record for steam bending and I will try your suggestion of 100+ degrees......cheers kerry

Managed to get it finished although I am not too happy with the "dryness" of the lid and hope that it does not cup too much.....had fun deciding on the wall embellishments and went for two of my squiggles and two pinched from the net.
It has been a learning journey and although it did not finish up as a true bentwood box I discovered some techniques that can be adopted in future box designs......my thanks to Robson Valley for the inspiration/motivation and to RufflyRustic for the detail information. I will pick an easier timber to work with next time.
Here is the end result.......Cheers Kerry

You certainly got the style right! I like the contours of the walls and the way the grain pattern sweeps around the walls. The contoured shape of the walls and lid are very appealing. The best part is that the top/lid which flows into a handle is unique. No native Pac NW peoples do that. I'm really pleased that you didn't simply mimic the Haida style. Apparently, the boxes commonly doubled as places to sit (off the dirt floor). That handle would certainly punctuate the experience.

I suspect that hardwoods are far more difficult to steam bend due to the wood anatomy (vessels & fibers). The softwoods have a more simple anatomy and are, for the most part, quite homogeneous. Having said that, I know that the board is very thin in the corner/joint area.
I have the drawings on my 75cm red cedar blanks for a pair of Ravens, Each will be holding a small bent wood box in their beak (this is my reason for wanting to learn to make them.)
I've put most shop things on hold. It is a dreary wet summer but I'm determined to spend as much time outside as I can before freeze-up (eg one 20m fence rebuilt, just 2 more to go.) Daily drive to the waste center with all the shrapnel.
During rainstorms, I've been stockpiling wood with patterns,and a little rough cutting.
Most years, the first really wild winter blizzard sweeps through here in the second week of November.
In the meantime, it looks like we have a rare sunny day in the making. I must go out and feed the hordes of mosquitoes.