The Shakers were great craftsmen who made beautiful furniture, baskets, and more. One of the most famous basket styles is the oval basket made of wood. Rather than buy these baskets, you can make them yourself. This eHow can help.
Instructions
The Forms
1. Determine the size and thickness of the oval Shaker basket you wish to make.
2. Draw the oval Shaker basket onto a piece of cardboard and trace it onto a piece of wood or fiberboard of the proper thickness. If necessary, you can glue pieces of fiberboard or wood together to achieve the desired thickness.
3. Cut out the oval for the form of your Shaker basket.
4. Repeat the process to make the handle of the oval Shaker basket. Instead of a closed oval, the handle should have a curved, but open shape.
The Wood
5. Pick the wood you would like to use for your Shaker oval basket. The Shakers use cherry or maple for their oval baskets, but the choice is up to you.
6. Make sure that the wood, whatever your choice, is "quarter sawn". This means that the grain of the wood runs vertically on the ends and straight along the surface. This helps the wood to bend.
7. Choose to buy the wood pre-sawn, or cut it yourself with a thickness sander. Do not use planer to cut the wood for the Shaker oval basket as this could be dangerous. Pre-cut wood is available from specialty wood catalogues or online.
The Template
8. Create a template for the "swallowtail" pattern for the end of the piece of wood for your Shaker oval basket. The number of points will depend on the width of the wood.
9. Place the template on the end of the wood and trace around it. Make sure you mark where the holes of the copper tacks will be on the oval Shaker basket.
10. Use a utility knife to cut the swallowtail in the wood of the oval Shaker basket.
11. Remove any excess.
12. Drill the copper tack's holes with a bit that is 3/16th inch.
13. "Feather sand" one end of the wood for the oval Shaker basket so as to reduce the joint when assembled. Sand it with a belt disc sander as well as a sanding block, being careful to use a uniform pressure when sanding.
Heat the Wood
14. Find a box in which to heat the wood for the oval Shaker basket. The box should be large enough to accommodate the wood as well as have a lid.
15. Put water in the box, and place the box on a portable cook top. Heat the water until it boils.
16. Drop the wood into the water, and push it down with a tongs. Keep the wood of the oval Shaker basket in the water for 20 minutes.
17.Don gloves to protect yourself from the wood of the Shaker oval basket to remove it from the water.
Bend the Wood
18. Wrap the wood around the form for the oval Shaker basket. Make sure you support the swallowtails so they will not split.
19. Hold the wood in place for a minute or so until it cools.
20. Mark the position of the swallowtail's ends of the oval Shaker basket. This will help you bend the wood into the proper position after you remove it from the form.
Assembly of the Basket Side
21. Make a jig from a pipe that is supported at either end by 2 inch by 4 inch boards with notches cut in them.
22. Bend the wood into position and put one of the copper tacks into the pre-drilled holes.
23. Use a hammer to tap the tack into place. As it hits the pipe after going through the wood, the end of the tack will fold over and cinch the wood of the oval Shaker basket. Repeat the process with all the copper tacks.
24. Keep the shape of the oval Shaker box as it dries overnight by placing a curved plug inside it. This plug can be two curved pieces of wood. The fit should be pretty tight.
The Box's Bottom
25. Remove the plugs from the oval Shaker basket and draw around the basket to create the bottom.
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Cut the shape of the oval Shaker basket with a band saw.
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Fit the bottom inside the oval Shaker basket.
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Drill small holes around the perimeter of the oval Shaker basket, being careful to say away from the edge.
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Use toothpicks as dowels to secure the bottom in place, tap them firmly in place using a hammer, then cut the ends with wire cutters and sand any rough edges.
The Handle
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Cut the handle from 1/8th inch cherry.
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Heat the wood in the same manner as the sides of the oval Shaker basket.
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Bend the wood for the handle of the oval Shaker basket around the form you created. Clamp it in place.
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Allow it to dry overnight.
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Lay the oval Shaker basket on its side, and position one of the handle's ends. Hammer the copper tacks until they are in place.
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Rest the basket on the anvil and finish hammer the tacks, securing the handle end in place on the oval Shaker basket. Repeat the process for the other end of the handle.
Tags: oval Shaker, Shaker basket, oval Shaker basket, oval basket, wood oval, wood oval Shaker