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Anyone that reads my profile may notice that woodworking is first on my list of interests. So where are all the woodworking articles? Fact is I don't often document those projects. Making box joints is something I have done so much I have had a chance to photograph the process.
If you're really going to do this then read the entire set of instructions before you begin because some things are revealed later that you should be aware of earlier. This is done for reasons of brevity and conciseness. This is already long enough! Maybe that is why this technique seems tricky. Once you know it all it is actually pretty simple and easy.
I'm pretty sure with my instructions anyone can do this, but if you've any questions well, leave a comment, and I'll try to elaborate on anything you are unsure of.
If you're really going to do this then read the entire set of instructions before you begin because some things are revealed later that you should be aware of earlier. This is done for reasons of brevity and conciseness. This is already long enough! Maybe that is why this technique seems tricky. Once you know it all it is actually pretty simple and easy.
I'm pretty sure with my instructions anyone can do this, but if you've any questions well, leave a comment, and I'll try to elaborate on anything you are unsure of.
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Signing UpStep 1Do a Jig
I don't mean any Dancing With the Stars sort of thing. No, to make box joints a fixture jig is used.
Hopefully the graphics here will explain all but if not this is how I make mine.
First I take a piece of wood and screw it to my miter gauge for my table saw. Make sure the wood is flat flush with the table.
Now determine the width of finger joints desired, set a dado blade accordingly. Put blade into the saw, set height etc.
Run the miter gauge with the piece of wood screwed to it over the blade making a notch.
Remove wood from miter gauge and carefully measure the notch.
Step off the measurement of the notch and cut an identical notch into the wood piece.
Make a square pin piece that fits right into your new notch and affix it into there using glue, maybe a nail or something too.
Reattach your completed jig back onto your miter gauge exactly where you took it off. If you need to make a pencil mark to get it right back where it was whatever it takes. It is vitally important that your jig is in the exact right spot on your miter gauge though.
The accuracy which you construct your jig will transfer to the box joints you will make with it so do a good job. I measure my notch with calipers accurate to .001 of an inch. I'm not really too sure if anything else would work. But you're more than welcome to try. I undersize the stuck out part of my pin a little to make it a bit easier to get the box parts on and off it. I just sand the pin a little after it is put together.
The astute observer will notice that the jig is a pattern of one box joint that we will simply repeat over and over in order to cut the successive joinery.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxbzrf4z_cg
your help would be wonderful. thanks
Then for a long time I used a wobble dado blade. The one I have is not very expensive at all. If I had to characterize it I'd have to say it is a cheap piece of garbage. But it got the job done.
Just recently I finally managed to run across a nice chipper dado blade set at a yard sale priced very reasonably. I made a throat plate out of phenolic sheet for my new to me tablesaw for it. I still have not done anything more than a test cut with it, but the results of that were promising. So I'm looking forward to enjoying using it in future projects.
I should also add that some people use routers mounted in router tables to make box finger joints. I tried it, I did not care for it myself. Perhaps if my router table was a bit different I'd have liked it more? I still like how circular saw blades cut better over router bits though.
When I get the time my next box project will be to make a storage box for my chipper dado set. The cardboard box I got it in is a bit beat up. Guy even threw in some other circular saw blades with it too. He was a cabinet maker who moved into just sales.
I've a picture of all the junk I bought running around that day that I will attach to this post. I used it in my magnetic motor starter article because it was the same day I bought my contactor. I got all those saw blades for $10 USD I think. Might have been $20 I can't remember.
garage sales are practically non existing for these items.. :-(
Woodworking here is like only for professional males! not the average male as the cost for a circular saw is very expensive!
It does help to look at the right times in the right places though. I work hard to make it happen for me. A lot harder than the average male.
When you see the finished box the fingers are flush to the sides and it has the appearance of careful skilled workmanship. That is the image I wish to convey the most easily I can. Sanding things to one and another is a technique I employ often to achieve a "perfect" fit without putting myself out too much getting it .
Really end grain needs to be sanded some before finishing anyways. Just looks better that way. Rough sand then route if you're going to perform another machining operation on the work. Running over the protruding fingers is not desirable.
The only scenario where you'd want some fingers to stick out more than others is if you are using box sides of unequal thicknesses. In that case set your overhang so fingers stick out of the thickest sides.
If your fingers really stick out a lot you can nip them off a little with a saw, then sand what remains. That can happen if you're doing a box run with different thickness sides and do not adjust the blade height between the boxes. It happens. Just don't try to saw the fingers all the way down and hit the side of the box with the saw blade. By saw I mean on a table saw though I imagine some other saws would work as well.
By sand the fingers down I mean use a belt sander with about 36 grit on it, or maybe a disc sander to really bring the fingers down quickly. This sanding is separate to any finish sanding the box may receive. It is a machining process in and of itself. Done right it goes quickly.
have you ever tried rounding the box corners themselves? i wonder how that would look
People think you're a master craftsman if they see you made boxes with box joints. Most mistake these for dovetails. I'm thinking about writing an article about doing dovetails next.
Just so long as I don't tell people to do it like this:
http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/8479/sb006.jpg
I was making a bunch of boxes that day and got that one a little mixed up. I was wondering why I was having such a time with it! I still think it is funny I didn't even realize my mistake until I was done.
http://www.toolcrib.com/blog/2010/04/7-table-saw-dovetail-jigs-plans-methods-and-videos
To me fitting pins into sockets just makes more sense than making pins then trying to make sockets that fit around them.
I have one of those router dovetail jigs but I don't like it. Even when it is all setup I don't like the finished joint.
I'm thinking about writing an article on this site about how to break old pallets down. I even made a special tool for doing it.