Carving a box from a solid piece of wood

[myxpykalix]

I have some walnut that is at least 4" thick and I have had thoughts of carving a jewelry box out of it. I have carved boxes before with limited success and nothing this deep. I have bits that i think will work but my question is do you think once you carve all the wood out of the center the box will warp?

I'm thinking maybe something in the 9"wide(front to back)X 12" long X 3-4" deep

What thickness of walls should i keep? I don't need it to be real thin but i don't want it to be like a crate either.

Is there anything I need to do to help stabilize the wood prior to carving? It has been kiln/air dried down to around 8%. I have tested it with a probe moisture meter in several locations.

I have a Bowl and tray plunge bit that i have never used. How would be the best way to program it to just carve the bottom and sides instead of having it aircut the whole piece till it got to the bottom?

Any pictures of your work would be appreciated.

[steve_g]

Jack,
I think you may be asking for trouble... the 8% MC is likely only skin deep. I have always wanted to try a bandsaw box. Your chunk of wood might be a likely contender for that type of box.
Steve

[knight_toolworks]

You can get down to 1/8" thick or so I have done this before with 3" deep boxes. The trick is to do a inside cout on the inside to full depth 1/4" pass depth 3ips works well using a 2.25" downcut 1/2" bit. The pocket it out using a offset of 1/4" so you don't hit those walls. I like to go cross grain to keep the splinter from plugging my dc then a cleanup pass on the bottom of .01 or so. I have made hundreds of boxes this way without problems.

[danhamm]

I used to produce a lot of birch boxes, 6x8x2 barrel hinges and magnetic keepers.

[danhamm]

Here is a cowboy laptop for your perusal...

[knight_toolworks]

this is almost 3" deep
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s266/knighttoolworks/ALO/ipodadaptor2.jpg

[feinddj]

Jack,

as a sometime bowl turner who works with wood that is everything from dry to throwing water off as it spins, I can say that wood moves when you cut out large pieces of it, wet or dry. If you want a super accurate box, cut it a bit less than your finished piece then let it warp to its new shape. then mill it out and it will be more likely to stay that way. Some woods, like maderone, will move to spite you no matter what and you just have to incorporate that as a feature, not a draw back.

[myxpykalix]

Would any of you recommend gluing thinner pieces together rather then cutting from one big hunk?

[steve_g]

Jack
If you look close at Dan's boxes I think they are glued up and that will work well... I'm just guessing, but Steve K's looks like an equipment case/box to which a face plate will be recessed and screwed on, and that will work well. My experience with box/lid combos is that they will have differential movement unless they are absolutely the same MC throughout, Very difficult in a 4" piece of Walnut. The attached photos are of a Business card holder I make with good success out of VERY DRY Cherry but total failure when made fresh kiln dried quarter sawn Oak.

Steve

[michael_schwartz]

I have made these and I have had some warp, and others do ok. The problem is usually with the lid, and making the part that fits into the box thicker helps.

Some degree of wood movement is to be expected, and is going to be inherent no matter what. That is unless you want to do this with aluminum, or plastic.

[danhamm]

Warpage, even the driest of wood pocketed will warp, I usually seal then leave for a day then flatten on a belt sander, then reseal..sealing before
Pocketing makes no difference, larger the area the more warpage...

[khaos]

Here is a cowboy laptop for your perusal...

Dis' I likey.

[khaos]

You could put bones in it. That would give you some forced stability.

[rebajm]

That's wood for ya, even when it's dead, it's alive! Ever have a piece of wood clamp down on your table-saw blade? Not fun!

[myxpykalix]

"You could put bones in it"
Joe,
a little more explanation please:confused:

[khaos]

"You could put bones in it"
Joe,
a little more explanation please:confused:

Sorry, A carvers trick is to drill holes into weaker parts of a carving and tap metal rods into the work. Rigidity and strength are gained by the 'bones'

:cool: