I have three beautiful Shaker boxes in my study. I made them recently with the help of Alastair Boell at the Melbourne Guild of Fine Woodworking, and they’re supposed to be a wedding present for my niece. But I’m not sure if I can part with them! Made of American Cherry with a contrasting Blackwood inset in the top, they are replicas of the functional boxes the American Shaker community started making over 200 hundred years ago.

In the one-day Shaker box class Alastair runs at his well-equipped workshop in Box Hill, I learnt the entire process for making the boxes. Alastair provides all materials, and we (group of eight of us) started by cutting the distinctive swallow-tails which stabilise the joint holding the box together; soaked the cherry to enable it to bend into the required oval shape around pre-cut forms; and secured the box and its top with the delicate copper tacks which are true to the Shaker tradition.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day and whether you’ve done no woodworking at all, or quite a lot, you’ll come away with three boxes and the satisfaction of making them from beautiful material for a great result. I think I’ll need to go back and do another Shaker box class with Alastair because, no, I can’t part with the three I’ve made!

Lucy Callaghan - 26th June 2012