[ Back To Main ]
6/4/2007

Bombe Jewelry Band Saw Box

Bombe Jewelry Band Saw Box
by Scott Phillips

Download This Plan Now »

Acrobat Reader is required to view this PDF document. Download Acrobat here.

One pattern sheet is full size while the second sheet needs to be doubled in size prior to use. Follow the labels. I use the Delta 14" with the riser block. It has a 12" thickness capacity and a 14" throat. I always upgrade my band saw with cool blocks that give excellent support to the blade. Always remember to read, understand and follow all instructions that come with the tools and products that you use. Work safely!

First glue up a work piece of dry wood so the finished glue up can net a solid bland 5" thick by 8" tall by 10" wide. The wood grain must run up and down the front of the finished box for best look. The grain must run the same way on all the wood laminations in the glue up.

Once the glue up is dry use a 1/2" premium quality band saw blade to sculpt the outside shape of the box. Use the patterns as labeled to create the curved profiles on the two sides and the bulging front.

Cut the back off the roughed in bombe blank. The backboard should be 1/2" thick.

The optional front bow profile that creates the serpentine shaped front requires a 1/2" premium quality band saw blade that is supported by cool blocks instead of the traditional metal guide blocks. The metal guide blocks will dull the fine blades very quickly. The optional front bow profile pattern is to the right of the half scale pattern of the bombe chest. The band saw table is tilted and locked at 9-degrees to create the front bulge. This requires free style sculpting techniques and will take a bit of practice to master. You might want to start on a practice piece before using the good work piece. Work safely!

Next use the full size pattern of the drawers to cut out the four drawers. I recommend using spray mount temporary bonding spray adhesive to fix the drawer pattern onto the front of the bombe work piece. Start at the arrow marked entry cut and carefully cut out the four drawers. Cut out the bottom drawer first then progress up to the top drawer. Finally, back out of the entry cut (with the band saw turned off) and gently remove and save the four drawers.

Use thick viscosity super glue and a curing accelerator to glue the drawer case entry cut shut then glue the back of the bombe chest to the drawer case. Carefully sand all surfaces.

Carefully cut the drawer blands to form the hollowed out drawers. The steps are: mark the top side on all drawers, cut off the drawer fronts (save), cut off a 1/4" thick drawer bottom, then cut out the "u" shaped sides of the drawer. Glue the drawer together using the same glue as above. Sand, finish, and apply hardware as desired. And have fun!