Making the Smile Bandsaw Box

Website: www.parillaworks.com
Instagram: / parillaworks
The Smile box is one of my more popular bandsaw box designs. I've made a ton of them in the last few years and want to share how it's made. Check out my website for a free template.
This box is made of mahogany and walnut. The size is about 8" x 5" x 4.5". I used danish oil for the finish.
The bandsaw blade I typically use for boxes like this is a 1/4" 6 tpi blade. For a box with all straight cuts I may use a 3/8" or 1/2" blade as well, usually 3 or 4tpi.
Thanks for watching!
Here are products I like to use often in the shop. These are affiliate links. Purchasing through these links helps support the parillaworks channel. Thanks!
Dowelmax Dowelling Jig: amzn.to/2VCNRW9
Flat Bottom Grind Blade: amzn.to/2vo44Ec
Makita Trim Router: amzn.to/2IbBYOW
Dewalt Trim Router: amzn.to/2I9rEqO
Makita Track Saw: amzn.to/38dwyO5
Double Sided Tape: amzn.to/32Nxd82
¼” Spiral Flush Trim Bit: amzn.to/2uS2ZUQ
Narex Chisels: amzn.to/38fP3l7
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Mahoney’s Walnut Oil: amzn.to/2VETNy8

[@gpdoyon]

There are many, MANY bandsaw build videos out there but yours is the best for two big reasons: #1: You present the build process in a very understandable way and #2: the build quality (attention to detail and finishing) looks "professional". That makes ALL the difference to me. Thank you!

[@parillaworks]

Hey Gerry. I really appreciate the comment! I got started in woodworking making these bandsaw boxes so it was all I was focused on at the time. I kinda miss making them!

[@gpdoyon]

@@parillaworks You're most welcome! I also bought all of your patterns, which will be very helpful for me. As for missing making bandsaw boxes, sometimes you just have to "go back home for a quick visit" and make a new one. :)

[@elviawilus7366]

What a nice person you are sharing your templates ; God bless your soul

[@3x3CustomTamar]

Awesome tip about cutting the entry and exit points like that. I can imagine how frustrating that would be if they slipped during glue up! Looks great!

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Tamar!

[@heyimamaker]

Agreed, I don't think I have scene anyone else do that!

[@KSFWG]

Nice bandsaw boxes! And that's a great tip on cutting the entry/exits... Thanks for the video!

[@sadiepaws4063]

Amazing. Shows a love for woodworking. I'm getting started.

[@JonnyBuilds]

Super cool bandsaw boxes, and great tutorial with some helpful tips. Nice work!

[@Dragon-Slay3r]

Box not mirror 🤣

[@AMB-rj7vi]

So cool how creative ppl are, wonderful how much box like that would cost

[@Elyyfz450]

Thanks for sharing, I bought a bandsaw not too long ago and need to practice, plus my daughter will love this bandsaw box. Thanks.

[@DustyKorpse]

Cool design, like the contrast of your first one. 👍

[@alasdairmackenzie515]

Great boxes and video - AND very kind of you. Thank you.

[@petermarsh4993]

Dear John, thanks for sharing your clever techniques with making bandsaw boxes. You have come up with a great way to handle your blade entries / exits with a set of stable joint lines. I’m looking forward to getting a ¼” blade and having a go. Cheers.

[@birdsadventuresinwoodandmusic]

Very nice job my friend! I actually bought my bandsaw to do bandsaw boxes since I fell in love with the concept upon seeing them built on youtube. That saw has since become one of the most "go to" tools in my shop. I will indeed have to try one of these. I especially like the way you "key" the entry cuts thus making the glue up much easier. Gonna' steal that one from you lol!

[@crandallwoodworking2988]

Genius entry/exit technique. I'll be using that in the future. Thanks for the tip!

[@AndreaMerchak]

Awesome! Very creative! I loved it!

[@klingercardoso6706]

Wow!! Ficou magnífico.

[@pizzawarlord9232]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and designs.

[@MoscaWoodworking]

you are one of my favorite woodworkers on youtube your works are always inspiring thanks for sharing

[@parillaworks]

Thank you very much! :)

[@mjg6191]

hey cool stuff and thank you for the free download. I glued my blanks up last night and am ready ( I think ) to attempt my 1st "smile" bandsaw box. Again thanks for your help and description . Looking forward to it.

[@thedrizz1913]

Dope design and execution. Great vid John.

[@sheepleslayer586]

Interesting take on the bandsaw box. Thanks for sharing.

[@lloydsnyder5022]

Really nice box. Thanks for sharing.

[@IEnjoyCreatingVideos]

Nice Bandsaw box's Thanks for sharing them with us.😎👍JP

[@tooljunkie555]

Love band saw boxes! Good technique on the glue up. Love that qrtr sawn mahogany

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Joe!

[@roberthornwoodturner]

Very good ideas to help with gluing. Thanks!

[@mustangrebus]

Great video and thanks for the free templates. I am going to be trying this in the near future (got to get a blade for my bandsaw first).

[@VencelBiro]

Thank you for mentioning the wood types!

[@tn8141]

Oh yeah that's an awesome box

[@PleasantRanch]

Nice, John! Great tip on that little entry cut thang. Love all your work.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks a lot!

[@BronkBuilt]

Like others have said, great tip on the entry exit cuts. These came out great. Love the "kid" scissors you used to cut the templates.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks!! I bought those scissors at an antique store a few years ago. They're super sharp!

[@loanasantos4202]

Beautiful!

[@rolltwo4me]

Big fan of your designs. Clean lines and modern look awesome on these boxes. Great job,man! Thanks for sharing.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Steven!

[@raymondswingley8997]

I thank you for your sharing this with us today I do the bill myself in the three plans as well as those for the other boxes I thank you again for your a gentleman scholar

[@jbb5470]

Thank you John! Beautiful box for sure. I am going to make it a gift for an upcoming wedding. Really appreciate you allowing others to download your design. I ready to get started.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks a lot! I appreciate your comments. Good luck with the box :)

[@kathymoser9750]

Your videos are so informative and detailed. I love this box and have watched this video multiple times.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks so much Kathy!

[@hoverluver]

Nice Box. Good idea leaving the back off until the drawer is complete.

[@bgm1911]

Thanks for this....will head to your site for the template. This will be the first bandsaw box I make.

[@Miyabiko]

these are super cute. I wish I could make things like that.

[@slowburnwoodworks7626]

Awesome design! 👌 Really cool box, man. I just got an old craftsman roebuck bandsaw and immediately made my first bamdsaw box. Love the process, but I dig your tweaks to it. Thank you for sharing!

[@johnlehman6849]

I just made my first one with your template, thank you very much. It was a birthday present for my wife, she loved it.

[@parillaworks]

Hi John. That's great to hear! Glad she loved it.

[@danboy6681]

Excellent work!

[@silvergrizzly316]

An EXCELLENT piece of work John!!! GREAT build my friend!!! Jay.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Jay!

[@cliffcarlo180]

I made a couple of these over the weekend and then made one more but I made it the other way up this time. I called this one the "grumpy" box. It looks kind of neat sitting between the two "smiley" boxes. Thanks for sharing your design and you are right when you say they do seem popular. Nice one.

[@parillaworks]

Hey Cliff. That's great to hear. I've probably made 50 or so of these Smiles and never thought to make a Grumpy! That's a funny idea!

[@cliffcarlo180]

Looks like I'll be making a few more than I originally thought as people now want one of each. Trust me and my stupid ideas Eh!

[@alexpettigrew8971]

Really nice design. Clever trick with the entry / exit cuts. Thanks for sharing!

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Alex!

[@burgbuilds]

Those things are awesome!

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Chuck!

[@socialdrg6061]

just found your channel, some really creative ideas, the execution is fantastic, can't wait to watch more of your content! thank you!

[@parillaworks]

Thanks a lot!!

[@rolandothompson3088]

thank you much for cheering your time is much appreciated nice job

[@leenahusa1806]

incredibly beautiful

[@alimaleki217]

Very nice job. One of the nicest bandsaw boxes I've seen!

[@parillaworks]

Thanks a lot Ali!

[@kretorCreative]

Very nice box. Mostly easy to follow

[@tn8141]

Thank for the free download that's very nice of you

[@GabiFodorrasRO]

Friend you are very talented ... Congratulations on what you do !!!

[@salvadorfhtigerazul2555]

A spectacular video, the truth is that the boxes are very nice, a greeting from Málaga SPAIN

[@parillaworks]

Thanks a lot!

[@samuelbelschner5124]

Wow !!! Des a cool Projekt !!! Look‘s verry good

[@zachroller3448]

Love your channel man! Keep up the amazing work and thanks for the free templates!

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Zach!

[@Lemongrasspicker]

Cool little project. Nice work sir

[@parillaworks]

Thanks!

[@garygerard4290]

real nice looking work I enjoyed your voice over narration thanks

[@stevewide]

Great video of a perfect 5 granddaughter's present.Thanks for template

[@stevewide]

Now made 15 smile boxes. For friends and family. Flocked the drawer. Thank you John

[@tomkilty3192]

Awesome vid dude and thank you for sharing the template

[@stewartmcmanus3991]

Thank you for the template John. The entry point notches are a brilliant idea. This will be my very first BSB so fingers crossed. Stewart, south west Australia.

[@parillaworks]

No problem at all. Good luck Stewart!

[@barryroberts6470]

They are some Beautiful Boxes you have made, no wonder they are popular. Barry (ENG)

[@parillaworks]

Thanks a lot Barry!

[@fratre9683]

Respect. Top! Greetings from Dortmund Germany.

[@MichaelSmith-nk4yq]

Lovely boxes, I’ll give it a try. Nice one 👍🏾👍🏾

[@parillaworks]

Thank you Michael!

[@skewedmaker]

Great video, really like the look of these boxes. One more reason to get a band saw.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks!

[@davidcrandell1172]

Great video. thanks for sharing.

[@mikecalhoun8497]

Great tips on band saw box making.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Mike!

[@patrickcancel4295]

Really nice

[@robertelliott44]

Cool man ! 👍

[@VinceEspositoJr]

Thank you. Excellent video. I will go look for the plans. What height capacity to you need on a band saw to make this?

[@douglasschultz9730]

The Smile box looks Great. I'm thinking Purple Heart & 1/4 sawn White Oak. Thanks for showing, and the free plans.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Douglas. Sounds like a great combo!

[@krtwood]

Nice job, and good idea with the entry/exit cuts. I hadn't seen that one before. Let me pass on an audio tip someone passed on to me. If you don't have great audio recording gear and you've got some background hiss you can record some dead air and splice this in between when you aren't talking. It makes it a lot less noticeable since it's always there instead of cutting in and out.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks a lot! That’s a great tip for the audio. Getting my audio to sound good is one of the biggest challenges for me. Big fan of your channel by the way!

[@krtwood]

I use a Zoom H1 for recording voice. Relatively inexpensive, as far as any of this stuff goes.

[@louisd.garcia6335]

I loved your smile bandsaw box. But I couldn’t find your template for the bandsaw box. Could you show me how to receive your template. Thanks.

[@davidsuarez824]

First time using my bandsaw and I decided to try this. Hopefully i did yours justice lol. Thanks for the video

[@parillaworks]

Nice David! This is a tough first box! Good luck on the next one.

[@donhalligan7279]

Thanks very much, love it.

[@parillaworks]

Thank you Don!

[@jacoblewis787]

Always dig your design aesthetic

[@parillaworks]

I appreciate it Jacob!

[@terencecharlesworth1499]

Really like these I will download the template thanks

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Terence!

[@raukuracave4714]

Very cute

[@laynebrandy8458]

Thank you!

[@davidfriedman3962]

Have you found a use for the leftover blank? Could you make a smaller (mini smilie box) from that? Just wondering if you found a use for the remaining blank. Thanks again for your teachings.

[@paulcompton123]

What a cool little project. You just earned a new subscriber!.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks a lot Paul!

[@stewartmcmanus3991]

Just watched this again. Time to have a go.

[@taladroajnant]

muy buen trabajo saludos de argentina

[@peterscholz1980]

Hallo, ich habe gerade ihre Vorlagen ausgedruckt. Vielen Dank dafür. Ihre Arbeiten sind wunderbar. Gruß Peter

[@JolienBrebels]

Pretty smart to make the bump so the glue up isn't slippery! My toys are always slipping haha

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Jolien!

[@renanbarbiere8780]

Parabéns, ótimo trabalho, muito bonito!!! Renan, Brasil.

[@parillaworks]

Gracias Renan!

[@edmc755]

VERY VERY NICE BUILT

[@canutojrcanuto]

😍😍😍👏👏👏 muito lindas...!

[@wattsjc1]

Great video! A band saw is my next purchase. I'm thinking this will be my first project.

[@doublebulbing]

I could not live without my band-saw if you have room and power go as big as you can I went 14 but wish I went 17 over and over again

[@parillaworks]

Good call marble head.

[@newbie0156]

I did see your link and thank you for the free template, I will let you know how it goes, I am still open to any helpful suggestions before I begin, Thanks LCB

[@parillaworks]

Glad you found it! The video has most all of my tips for this box so I don’t have much to add but if you have any questions let me know!

[@newbie0156]

@@parillaworks Thank you, I will let you know as I start my quest :)

[@lioneldegrace4369]

Beautiful box, what size blade is on your band saw

[@DeA2875]

Thank you for the greatvideo

[@Lutzboater]

Those are as nice as I've seen on KZbin.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Tom!

[@mellowfellow9]

THE HUMP! amazing

[@parillaworks]

Thanks!!

[@newbie0156]

Good Morning, I love your work and thank you for the video, this will be my first band saw box, I understand you have a template for this box, I did not see a link, how do I find the template? Also, since this will be my first band saw box and is there any suggestion anyone may have that would be helpful, Thank you

[@themightyharith3288]

How did you get sponsered by quarespace, do you have a website there before they sponsered you

[@stefankiefer4884]

Great project and beautiful execution. I tried to mimic it and noticed you don't mention any sanding of the inside of the drawer and/or inside of the shell. Do you sand those sections or are your cuts just that much better than mine? I can't get myself to glue the drawer together with cutting masks visible... thanks also for the template! Kind regards from Australia.

[@parillaworks]

I usually sand the inside of the box and drawer using an orbital sander or spindle sander (whatever sander fits the profile of the shape). But I try not to sand where my glue lines will be. I noticed that sanding those areas just makes the glue line even more noticeable.

[@Keithphotorama]

There are many reasons why I like this design and one of those reasons is the fact that there are no metal parts. It’s all wood. One thing I would love to see in your future projects is to use wooden hinges and latch, keep it all wooden.

[@parillaworks]

Thank you Keith.

[@bwhite661]

Interesting how you did the through cuts and then sanded to get the drawer gap you want. I'll have to try that since my gaps don't look that great - very "unprofessional"! I also like the hump technique for your entry cuts - very ingenious. It looks like I just purchased the same Rikon bandsaw you have. What tooth count, type of blade (carbon steel?) and brand blade are you using. I think you said 1/4". I bought a 3/16", 10 TPI caron steel blade from a guy locally that makes them. The back of the weld wasn't perfectly flat so not sure if that's some of my issues with making nice clean consistent cuts or if it's just the fact I need more practice.

[@parillaworks]

Hey there. Thanks for the comments. Yes, I have the 10-326. I buy Timberwolf blades and generally keep a 1/4" and 1/2" on hand at all times. Lately I've been using a 3/4" for resawing material. I think the 1/4" is A 6tpi and the larger ones are 3 or 4tpi.

[@gregd8105]

Another nice build John. Orlando Greg

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Greg!

[@lisak5274]

I'm going to give band saw boxing a whirl in the next week or so. Going to splash out and buy a new band saw. Love this design. You make it look easy. In your opinion would a band saw around half horse power and a cut depth of around 120mm be fine to work with to make boxes. Thanks

[@parillaworks]

Hi Lisa. That’s about the size saw I started with a few years ago. I made at least 200 boxes on that saw and it did a good job. You’ll be limited by the height and throat of the saw at times but it’s nothing you can’t get by with. Good luck!

[@lisak5274]

parillaworks thank you looking forward to buying one next week & getting started 😊

[@cliffcarlo180]

Nice bandsaw box. I was just wondering if I could stand the two legs on a flat and level surface and then lower the box onto the legs during glue-up to ensure both the legs are level if you get what I mean.

[@parillaworks]

Thanks Cliff. That seems like a good technique!

[@cliffcarlo180]

No problem.