In the history of woodworking joinery,

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joiery made simple Box-Joit Basics Create Simple, Strog, ad Hadsome Corers By Craig Betzley I the history of woodworkig joiery, box joits (sometimes called figer joits) are a fairly recet arrival.

1 joiery made simple Box-Joit Basics Create Simple, Strog, ad Hadsome Corers By Craig Betzley I the history of woodworkig joiery, box joits (sometimes called figer joits) are a fairly recet arrival. That s because before the circular saw blade, cabietmakers did t thik that the square-shouldered joit was worth the effort. They viewed box joits as harder to cut tha dovetails. Plus, the joits required glue. True to its ame, the box joit foud its first practical use later i massproduced boxes ad crates for storage ad shippig purposes. Today, it s far outgrow its humble begiigs. Because the figers multiply the gluig surface area, box joits are super strog, makig them the perfect choice for utility boxes ad tool chests. Their decorative appearace is a bous, ledig a uique desig elemet to jewelry boxes ad projects like the steak kife box o page 52. The best thig is that with the right jig, you ca fashio box joits quickly ad easily with either the table saw or router. Sice the table saw offers more flexibility ad variety, we ll explore this optio first. Box Joits with a Table Saw To make box joits at the table saw, you ll eed three items. First is a dado set which will eable you to make almost ay size joit, or a dedicated box-joit cutter (see Dedicated Box-Joit Cutter Sets o page 12). Secod, you ll eed a zero-clearace isert to prevet tear-out. Last but ot least, you ll eed a box-joit jig. You ca buy a ready-made jig, but you may wat to start off with a shop-made versio that ca be fasteed to your miter gauge. Oce you have these basic items, you ll be ready to get started. Fig. 1 TABLE SAW Box-Joit Jig 10 w o o d c r a f t m a g a z i e O c t / N o v

tip alert Build a bareboes box-joit jig This simple (but still perfectly fuctioal) jig ca be made ad attached to your miter gauge i less tha a hour.

As show i Figure 1, mill a groove for the T-track so it ceters over the screw holes i your miter gauge.

Next, istall the blades you will be usig ad set your blade height to match the thickess of your box stock.

Next, mill a strip of hardwood about 5" log to the height ad width of the slot. Precisio is importat; if you have oe, use a dial caliper to seak up o the exact dimesio, as show i Photo A.

Oce the strip fits, trim off a 13/4" pi, ease the sharp edges o the top edge, ad isert the pi ito the fece.

If your joit does t fit quite like it should, check out Pla your project so Fie Poits that two opposig sides for Fier (usually the logest) start Joits o ad ed with a full figer.

Tighte the wig uts to secure the fece to the miter gauge. D Place the otch you just cut over the registratio pi ad make your secod cut.

2 tip alert Build a bareboes box-joit jig This simple (but still perfectly fuctioal) jig ca be made ad attached to your miter gauge i less tha a hour. To build it you eed a flat piece of stable hardwood for the fece, a short piece of T-track, ad a hadful of commo hardware. As show i Figure 1, mill a groove for the T-track so it ceters over the screw holes i your miter gauge. Screw the T-track i the groove ad faste the fece to your miter gauge with bolts i the T-track ad wig uts. Next, istall the blades you will be usig ad set your blade height to match the thickess of your box stock. Adjust the miter-gauge fece so the right side is about 6" beyod the blade ad make your first cut through the fece. This otch will be used for the registratio pi. Next, mill a strip of hardwood about 5" log to the height ad width of the slot. Precisio is importat; if you have oe, use a dial caliper to seak up o the exact dimesio, as show i Photo A. Aim for a frictio fit so the pi does t eed to be glued i place. That way, you ll be able to remove the pi, repositio the fece, ad istall ew registratio pis for future setups. Oce the strip fits, trim off a 13/4" pi, ease the sharp edges o the top edge, ad isert the pi ito the fece. Mark the leftover piece so it does t get throw away; you ll use it later as a spacer for settig up your cuts. Make a practice box joit usig your jig. If your joit does t fit quite like it should, check out Pla your project so Fie Poits that two opposig sides for Fier (usually the logest) start Joits o ad ed with a full figer. This produces the most page 12. Six steps for sug-fittig box joits B Set the pi spacig for the side by placig the spacer betwee the registratio pi ad the blade. Tighte the wig uts to secure the fece to the miter gauge. D Place the otch you just cut over the registratio pi ad make your secod cut. Repeat the process util you reach the opposite edge of the board ad fial pi. C Butt your workpiece agaist the registratio pi ad make the first cut. Use clamps to support larger boards. E To make your first cut o the matig ed, place your spacer betwee the registratio pi ad the workpiece as show. attractive joit. Photos: Paul Athoy G A F Use a caliper to compare the size of the pi ad spacer strip to the first otch cut. It might help to remove the mitergauge fece to test the fit. Remove the spacer without movig the workpiece ad make your first cut to otch the corer. w w w. W oo d c r a f t M a g a z i e. c om Butt your workpiece agaist the registratio pi ad make your secod cut. Whe you ve fiished the ed cuts you re doe. Test-fit your joit. w o o d c r a f t m a g a z i e 11

joiery made simple Fie Poits for Fier Joits Box joits rarely come out perfect at first cut. After cuttig two practice boards, slide the pieces together ad ispect the joit.

A slight amout of figer protrusio is acceptable ad easily leveled with a sharp had plae or a block of wood wrapped with sadpaper.

2 fixig figer protrusio Ill-fittig figers A loose joit ot oly looks bad, but also may ot hold together o matter what glue you use.

Move the registratio pi to the right for a tighter joit or to the left for a looser joit. Note that wider workpieces require more careful setup because tiy errors multiply by each pi. Fig.

3 joiery made simple Fie Poits for Fier Joits Box joits rarely come out perfect at first cut. After cuttig two practice boards, slide the pieces together ad ispect the joit. If it does t look right or fit, use the troubleshootig strategies below to achieve the desired result. Protrudig figers Ideally, your joits should be perfectly flush, but this is ot always practical. A slight amout of figer protrusio is acceptable ad easily leveled with a sharp had plae or a block of wood wrapped with sadpaper. With table saw box joits, if your figers protrude more tha 1 /64", lower your saw blade. Coversely, if your figers are too short, raise the blade. Fig. 2 fixig figer protrusio Ill-fittig figers A loose joit ot oly looks bad, but also may ot hold together o matter what glue you use. O the other had, if a joit requires force to get it together, the glue will swell the fibers ad make the joit impossible to assemble. Move the registratio pi to the right for a tighter joit or to the left for a looser joit. Note that wider workpieces require more careful setup because tiy errors multiply by each pi. Fig. 3 FIXING LOOSE PARTS DEDICATED BOX-JOINT CUTTER SETS If you pla o rows of box joits, you may wat to cosider a dedicated box-joit cutter. This high-quality set costs half as much as comparable dado sets, ad setup could t be easier. The teeth are offset so that istallig the blades back-to-back creates 1 /4" joits; flippig the blades aroud creates 3 /8" joits. Neither setup requires shims. As a added plus, the tooth geometry creates perfectly square ad smooth flat-bottomed joits. Freud Box Joit Set, Woodcraft #831914, $ Prices subject to chage without otice. 12 w o o d c r a f t m a g a z i e O c t / N o v

Blow out Figers Your otches should have clea exit cuts like the first workpiece show i the photo o the left. While dull blades ca cause blowout, more ofte a wor fece is the culprit.

4 PREVENTING BLOWOUT Box joits with a router Two commo ways let you make box joits with a router.

Box-joit templates come packaged with some jigs. If ot, you ca buy them as a reasoablypriced upgrade. Most jig templates provide two figer widths ( 1 /4" ad 1 /2") to choose from.

4 Blow out Figers Your otches should have clea exit cuts like the first workpiece show i the photo o the left. While dull blades ca cause blowout, more ofte a wor fece is the culprit. If you ve used it before to cut differetsized joits, it may ot be providig the support it should. Make a sacrificial backerboard from 1 /4" plywood to give your wor fece a fresh face. Fig. 4 PREVENTING BLOWOUT Box joits with a router Two commo ways let you make box joits with a router. Oe is o a router table with a straight bit ad a miter gauge fixture that resembles the table saw jig; the other (faster ad easier) way relies o a router dovetail jig with a box-joit template. Box-joit templates come packaged with some jigs. If ot, you ca buy them as a reasoablypriced upgrade. Most jig templates provide two figer widths ( 1 /4" ad 1 /2") to choose from. The size of the jig will also limit the width of the boards you ca use. If you ca work withi these limitatios, you ll be rewarded with fast setups ad the ability to crak out box joits lickety-split. (Note: Ulike table saw ad router table jigs, the tightess of a template-routed box caot usually be adjusted. If you use a good quality jig, bit, ad guide bushig, this is usually ot a issue.) Each jig is a little differet, but here we worked with oe of the most popular models to offer a step-by-step overview. First, istall the appropriate guide bushig ad bit i your router. Next, set the jig s left side stop ad the horizotally clamp a piece of scrap the same thickess ad at least as wide as your workpiece i the upper clamp to serve as a backerboard. Now isert your workpiece ito the vertical positio ad alig the guidelie o the template with the rear edge of your workpiece. Clamp your workpiece ad backerboard securely ad rout the figers, movig from left to right as show i Photo H. Rotate the workpiece ad cut the other figers o the other ed. The opposite side is made i the same fashio. To make the adjacet sides, move over to the right side of the jig ad set the right stop. Put a backerboard i the upper clamp. Isert your workpiece i the vertical positio agaist the right stop. Secure the clamps ad rout from left to right. Whe fiished, you should have perfect complemetary joit parts as show i Photo I. tip alert If you experiece blowout whe routig, try switchig to a spiral bit ad usig a slower feed rate. H I Rout ito the eds slowly ad smoothly to avoid blowout. A D-hadled router is easier to cotrol whe doig template work. Some jigs rout matig sides o opposite eds of the template; others use spacers. With either type, you ll wat a cut ad stack system to avoid miscut eds. w w w. W o o d c r a f t M a g a z i e. c o m w o o d c r a f t m a g a z i e 13

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