Latta Spice Box

J

jsawduste

Member
In the Members Only section there are plans for the Steve Latta Spice Box. The cost for these plans is $70.

FWW had a featured article with the building of what appears to be that same box. Authored by Steve himself.

Are the SAPFM sourced plans different than the ones featured in FWWing ?
Be happy to donate $70 towards the cause but if the end result is the same, well.....
 
Hopefully Ronnie Young will see this thread and respond; he drew those plans and can better represent them. I don't have those plans and my FWW login isn't working to read the article. I can only guess at some of the differences:
- The door design is different; the one on our website is much more complex;
- The 3 pages of full-sized drawings is likely an improvement over what's included in the FWW article (due to magazine limitations);

If you don't get a better answer than that, I believe Ronnie would be receptive to an email. IIRC Arnie Moore is the one who handles the distribution of those SAPFM plans, so you can check with him also. Their addresses are in the member directory.
 
Soooo... are the spice box plans on the SAPFM website the same as what was offered for sale at FWW? and different then the ones that were printed in the FWW magazine? three different plans?
 
Have the FWW printed article and with the help of Ronnie, what I believe are the FWWing plans.

As Mark points out, there are differences between the FWWing Door and the SAPFM 3 pages vs FWWing 2 pager.

Honestly, my answer is still a bit vague because I've yet to have an opportunity to set down and compare the FWWing article to the plans from Ronnie. Allow me a day or two and Ill report back.

In any case, the article or the Ronnie plans will result in a stunning reproduction.
 
jsawduste said:
Have the FWW printed article and with the help of Ronnie, what I believe are the FWWing plans.

As Mark points out, there are differences between the FWWing Door and the SAPFM 3 pages vs FWWing 2 pager.

Honestly, my answer is still a bit vague because I've yet to have an opportunity to set down and compare the FWWing article to the plans from Ronnie. Allow me a day or two and Ill report back.

In any case, the article or the Ronnie plans will result in a stunning reproduction.
Click to expand...
Thanks, will be looking forward to your thoughts
 
Hello all, I recently joined SAPFM and purchased these plans but they didn't quite match my expectations. I'd really appreciate somebody confirming if I'm missing anything.
  • The plan description is "Three- page plan, full-scale dimensions (includes door inlay design.)". I received:
    • A one-page scanned of a full-size drawing with front view, side view, and cut list.
    • 3 photos of a finished spice box including a front view with door closed, a front view with door open, and a rear view with the back panel removed.
  • The product page says the price includes shipping and "the cost of producing and mailing this plan is specifically used for the educational grant program of SAPFM", but I received a link to a shared google drive with the 4 files mentioned above.
I can live with digital plans but there's a lot more details to figure out than I was counting on. Thank you for any info you can provide!
 
JBRowe said:
Joe, did you ever receive a response to your query?
Click to expand...
Long story short: I'm building from the fine woodworking articles. They're not comprehensive, but they have enough detail for me to fill in the gaps.

I did receive confirmation that the plans are digital only but the product page is outdated.

I'm convinced there are more pages that have just been misplaced over time, at very least a drawing of the door inlay. I ran out of patience when I realized the photos didn't even match the plans (different drawer layouts and feet) and I needed to move on with the project. I'm not proud of it, but I asked for, and received, a partial refund.
 
There has always been a good deal of similarity between various examples of spice boxes. In the18th century, spice boxes were a specialty of Chester County, PN, where a handful of shops were responsible for many of the spice boxes still in collections today. It makes sense that there would be a good deal of similarity.

Chuck Bender, who is a native of Pennsylvania and, is an expert on spice boxes, sometimes offers spice box classes. Before his passing, Lonnie Bird offered a spice box class on a regular basis. And, Steve Latta's version maybe the best known among woodworkers due to the FWW article. But, if you look closely at all these masters' work, they are all remarkably similar, with the same basic case proportions and even the choices of ornamentation appearing comparable because the original Chester County examples serve as the benchmark. It makes perfect sense that different sources of spice box plans would have remarkably similar drawings.

I am starting my own rendition of a Chester County Spice Box. I purchased the Lata plans years ago and will probably use portions of his plans to dimension the case. But, I am planning to change the interior of the case to my own design which will have features seen both in Lonnie Bird and Chuck Bender examples. When I'm done it will not surprise me if there is another set of plans published somewhere that seem to be a copy of what I have drawn.
 
Steve,

I could have written almost the exact same comments! Just today I finished construction on my own spice box--finishing starts tomorrow. In my case, I used a blend of the FWW Steve Latta article and Glen Huey''s Pop Woodworking articles to come up with own drawings. You are right, of course, there is a lot of similarity in the vast majority of spice boxes.

I adopted the Latta secret compartments accessible from the back and used Huey's compass rose design for the front. Lot of fun to make--all for my brand new granddaughter!

Phil Fallin
 
I wrote about a spice box I built in the 2022 APF Journal. While doing research on what to build I found Lee Ellen Griffith's book to be very helpful: The Pennsylvania Spice Box: Paneled Doors and Secret Drawers. It's out of print and expensive to purchase a copy. However, I was able to check out a copy through an inter-library loan at our local library. It's the definitive book on Pennsylvania spice boxes. She curated an exhibit of spice boxes in 1986. The book was companion to the exhibit and includes lots of examples from various time periods. It's interesting how these persist over time and change their style to stay with current trends.
 
Yep! I was able to get a copy of her book at a reasonable price--I was not at home when I entered the above reply to Steve and did not want to get the title wrong. So, with the influence of Latta, Huey, Griffith and even a little from Bess Naylor, I ended up with Phil's Spice Box. I'll try and post a pic or two when the finishing is complete.

I've never repeated a project--always done one and moved on. However, I can see more spice boxes in my future. My wife is already making noise--and I'm sure my three daughters will all be equally jealous of my 12-day old granddaughter ; )
 
I followed the William & Mary style for mine. It's walnut with QS sycamore for the drawer fronts. I agree with having more spice box builds in the future. It was a fun and challenging project. I learned a lot.

1775055992729.png 1775056086793.png
 
Thanks... I finished it 4-5 years ago. It's probably past the timeframe for Maker's Challenge. I look forward to seeing pictures of yours.
 
It's great work! Unfortunately, any entries to the Maker's Challenge must be finished in the current year. I have made Spice Boxes three at a time and given them to family members. I've done Glen Huey's and Steve Latta's box and they have been a lot of fun to do and here are some photos096.jpg099.jpg100.jpgof ones that I have left in my collection.
 
Ok, wrapped it up today. Will deliver it to my granddaughter this week.
Walnut. Redwood burl drawer fronts. Maple for secondary wood.
Lemon and garnet shellac.
 
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