You guys always seem to think outside the box and always have some unique ideas.

I've been making my box joints with a router jig. Not happy with the process. I've considered the Incra IBox Jig for the table saw, but a shop made one seems more fun.

Regarding the register peg, are you familiar with key way stock? I wonder if that would be a good alternative to wood. Wouldn't wear, exact in dimensions and readily available.
Not sure exactly how to secure it to the jig, though.

Another question. Are there any box joint blade sets that will cut a 1/2" slot? It seems that 3/8" is the widest. I have a decent Tenryu dado set but the outside blades are a tad high and would make for an ugly joint. I'm considering having them ground to match the chipper diameters. The guy who sharpens for me says he can do it but cautions that the tolerance will be .004. That doesn't seem too bad. What do you guys think?

If you have time, could you share your thoughts?

Thanks guys and gals.

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

I've got plenty of thoughts Gene, heading out the door right now with the family, when I get back in a couple hours we'll elaborate!

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Wounded Warrior Project and Homes For Our Troops

I've made 2 box joint jigs, and they both worked well. They were each for a different size finger....that's why there are 2. That's also why I just bought the I-box. Here you have one jig that is infinitely adjustable...limited only by the cutting width of your tooling. No building required, just pull it out and use it. It will work on the RT as well as the TS, and is extremely easy to use. Yep, it's also expensive. That said, I don't think I would use key stock on these, they are hard enough to damage a saw blade if, for some unknown reason, it should come in contact with it. But you can also get brass bars in those sizes, and they probably wouldn't damage the blade. I guess you could epoxy it in place to hold it. But using wood is a lot easier. As for the box joint blade set, the only ones I've seen were limited to 1/2". I use my dado set, and don't find the "devil's ears" to be a problem.

The simplest is also the easiest. A board with a little tongue projecting out   to which you fasten two cleats to run in your table saw slots.  You toss it when done.  Make a new one when you want.

Mine is a tad more complicated.  It's got a removable block to which the   guide finger is mounted which I can replace with fingers of different thickness and height.  It's got a removable and replace-able sacrificial backing plate to prevent blow out.  I can adjust the position of the guide finger infinitely within the range of movement and there is a steel coil spring to prevent back lash and another  spring from wood to keep it squared to the face.

And it has removable and replaceable  fingers

Thanks Fred. 

If I made my own, I'd need 3. I like 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2. Maybe even 3/4 for big boxes.

I really like that I-Box. But, the miter gauge runners won't fit my Shopsmith table. I talked to Incra's CS and he suggested I drill and tap my Shopsmith bars. That might be a last resort. Either that, or take the I-Box bars to a machinist and have him mill them to match the Shopsmith bars. Or, would that cause cause a problem?

My Tenryu set produces some pretty good sized "devil's ears". .004 has gotta be better.

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

I take it the I-box bar is too large? Having it cut back a little should be fairly easy (and not too costly) I would think. There's only one, and it's only 8" long.

For some reason, Your jig pictures didn't show up when I first saw your reply. That's quite a nice jig, Fred!

In looking at the I-Box on Incra's site, it looks as if the bar is thicker than mine, too. Maybe drilling and tapping is better. We'll see after I get the unit here. When you have time, could you measure the thickness of yours?

Many thanks. 

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

I think that's Clint's jig. The one I made were the more mundane one-use type. Anyway, that miter runner on the I-box is 3/8" deep (thick) and .74" wide. The Incra miter bars have an expandable nylon washer that takes out any slop in the miter track.