# New banding experiment #1



## Joe Williams (Mar 15, 2018)

Hi all,

Just wanted to share, I am doing a dyed harlequin birds eye maple blue and silver diamonds surrounded by gabon ebony stringing box. It has a cool banding which I am trying to decide on. This is a copy of an Andrew Crawford box.

I made two moulder knives for my WH Moulder so I am able to crank out the bottoms and sides in one strip and miter them. I can make them all day now. The top I am working on right now, thinking I will use 1/16th plywood or something to form it. Still haven't decided. 

Anyway, the banding he used has a flaw in it to make it work and I didn't like it as much so I made a new one. I have two more in the press right now that are different than this one I may use so I'll post them too :)

let me know what you think! It's a cool looking box and I have wanted to make it for 10 years or more!

Reactions: Like 2 | Way Cool 5


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## JR Parks (Mar 15, 2018)

What's not to like Joe? !!!!!! Great looking box and very cool banding.


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## Tony (Mar 15, 2018)

That is Very, very cool! Can you post a side view, I'm curious to see that curve. Tony


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## Joe Williams (Mar 15, 2018)

JR Parks said:


> What's not to like Joe? !!!!!! Great looking box and very cool banding.



That is a photo from Andrew Crawford's site, the guy who makes these like crazy. I am copying it so here are two more images from his site which is the same box. I have the bottom made in poplar now, well running as a moulding so I have as many as I want and any size which I love. Once I get back to Chicago where we are working on it I will snap some photos of the poplar so you can see, it's awesome one pass through the WH moulder. That tool is amazing, I reproduced an entire 1870's queen anne house full of trim with it in one time and it's usually one pass for seriously wide stuff. The challenge now is the top. I could also use a moulder knife and have each side done and glue it up or I could run a board through the open end, I could use the legacy CNC mill or even a huge Baleigh CNC sheet cutter he has to make cauls and press it. I want to make it in a way where I can crank it out as easy as the sides though. My goal is to be able to ship friends and family 20 feet of the sides and top so they can have as many boxes as they want without any real nasty work! Any ideas on that would be appreciated! :)

He has this box all over his site in different colors and veneers and I have always wanted to make it, this year is it! I also heard that this thing sells for upwards of 7k euro when done which is kind of shocking. That could be completely untrue but I've read it multiple places now. Given how it is to make with hollows and rounds and all the parquetry I guess it's possible.

It has boxwood edging along with the banding and also a lesser banding on the sides, I figured out how to form it everywhere so I may continue it where he did not. He actually disassembles his banding to get the sweep done with hot water but I am using a form in that area before I skin it. At least with banding I am pretty good at making that and dealing with challenges.. the rest I am still green.









Oh also that is Dyed Koto and it's kind of fuzzy in my view. I have Sycamore and Poplar and they are both much more clear but the color options are not nearly as varied or vibrant. I can get so many neat colors in Koto that I can't get in Poplar so that is a challenge on the banding. Right now in the press I have some poplar I was able to find only on ebay of all places that had a really perfect crisp set of blue and gold which I think will blow away the stuff I have been working on.

Oddly enough the first 7 layers just for the first pack (takes 4 packs of 7 layers to make the banding and 7 more to skin all the blocks together) has been in the press for 30 hours and it's still not dry. I had a huge problem with it not drying in Chicago too, different glue, different veneer even. I think it's just the number of layers. It was wet after two days and I took it out and it cupped on me. Had to actually slice it down the middle to fix it. That is a new one for me.

Reactions: Way Cool 2


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## Wildthings (Mar 15, 2018)

I'm speechless!


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## Mike1950 (Mar 15, 2018)

Very cool


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## Texasstate (Mar 16, 2018)

Wow !!!! 
Awesome


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