I always try and set up box joints and dovetails using the following rule of thumb.  If I am building a box and I am looking at one corner of the box from the front view this is what I want to see. I want a full tail or finger at both the top and at the bottom of row of joints. Basically I dont care to see end grain pointing at me from the top or bottom of the corner. So if your building a box using a box joint with 1/4" fingers you can size your stock knowing that if you start with a finger at the top you will have another finger every half inch. Knowing that and that you want a finger at the top and bottom you could either layout a 3 3/4" or 4 3/4" to get that look.  If you went by the inch or half  you would end up with a finger at the top and tail at the bottom. With 3/8" the layout gets a little more difficult. You could get some graph paper and draw some mock ups to get a better idea  of what the layout would look like. 

11 hours ago, Jeff Peters said:

I am going to the Woodworkers show in Columbus this weekend and am goin to look at box joint blades.

I found a plan at the wood smith web site for a box joint sled that I am going to build soon.

Jeff

Jeff, here is my collection of BJ Jigs. I made them a long time ago and they serve me well, not sure where the plan came from it has been so long. They are for a TS never tried them on a router table.

Herb

 

Looks like you got the Imperial sizes covered. 

leave it up to you Herb....

nice execution...

Kelso that was a great explanation  on the spacing of box joints, I now have some idea of sizing.

Herb, Those bj jigs are the same plan that I got form Woodsmith.

I looked at my dado set yesterday and the 2 out side blades when installed in the right order will give me a flat bottom cut.

Jeff

On 1/26/2017 at 4:31 PM, Dadio said:

Jeff, here is my collection of BJ Jigs. I made them a long time ago and they serve me well, not sure where the plan came from it has been so long. They are for a TS never tried them on a router table.

Herb

 

I made the same jig and I think it was Shopnotes. Works very well

Everyone that has one says good things about them. This was before the I-Box jig came along which has captivated the modern scene.

I like them for the fact that the board rides on the sled, not he table top gives a more accurate depth of cut. Of course you have to allow for the sled bottom when setting the depth, but once it height is set, it stays consistent. Also it has the replaceable insert for zero clearance ,and eliminates tear out.

Herb

I have never ventured to use box joints.  It always looked like a gluing nightmare to me.

 

16 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

It always looked like a gluing nightmare to me.

it's not...

2 hours ago, HandyDan said:

I have never ventured to use box joints.  It always looked like a gluing nightmare to me.

 

It really is not ,Dan, they can be dry fit easily before glue up. I like them better than dovetails, not as fancy, but makes a strong fast joint, once all the set up is done. A good way to make wooden hinges too. I use them a lot for that.

Herb

 

Craftsman Box Joint / Miter Guide

5 minutes ago, CharlieL said:

Craftsman Box Joint / Miter Guide

That is interesting, haven't seen that before.

Herb

I went to the Columbus woodworkers show and looked at the  Box joint blade sets and that  is a cool design. The way they go together, and make to different size cuts. That will be a set I will have soon.

Jeff

https://www.amazon.com/Freud-Joint-Cutter-Joints-SBOX8/dp/B000ASGV1E/ref=pd_bxgy_469_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000ASGV1E&pd_rd_r=2F7H1CK4XGNP9QE1KC53&pd_rd_w=29SKK&pd_rd_wg=KDW3J&psc=1&refRID=2F7H1CK4XGNP9QE1KC53

13 hours ago, Richard McComas said:

https://www.amazon.com/Freud-Joint-Cutter-Joints-SBOX8/dp/B000ASGV1E/ref=pd_bxgy_469_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000ASGV1E&pd_rd_r=2F7H1CK4XGNP9QE1KC53&pd_rd_w=29SKK&pd_rd_wg=KDW3J&psc=1&refRID=2F7H1CK4XGNP9QE1KC53

That is a good price on that set.

Herb

I have the craftsman jig. It doesnt work too bad actually. It can be adjusted for several sizes of joints and used as a miter gauge as well. I bought a Keller Dovetail jig about 15 years ago then the Porter Cable Dovetail jig so I havent done many box joints since then although I can cut box joints on the PC jig if I choose to.

So I took my  dado blade set to a local saw blade sharping shop and they are going to regring the tops of my dado set to be flat tops.

Said they could do it with no problem.

Now my question is this.

If I want a  box to be 5x7 and  4 inches wide.

How do I calculate the sizes of the pieces.

So that the inside is what I want..

1/4 " joints.

Thanks Jeff

 

@Jeff Peters if I am understanding you correctly, you would take the inside dimensions of your box and add double the thickness of your material. If you are using 1/4" box joints, then your material should be 1/4" thick.

I have never done box joints before, but that is what I am thinking will work for you. Someone else who has built with box joints will chime in here shortly, I am sure

If it's the length of the sides you were asking about, then Kelly nailed it, though you might want to adda small amount and cut the pins just slightly long (1/64" or so), then plane/sand/chisel them flush.

On 2/3/2017 at 11:32 PM, Kelso Chris said:

I have the craftsman jig. It doesnt work too bad actually. It can be adjusted for several sizes of joints and used as a miter gauge as well. I bought a Keller Dovetail jig about 15 years ago then the Porter Cable Dovetail jig so I havent done many box joints since then although I can cut box joints on the PC jig if I choose to.

 In my opinion box joints turn out best with a dovetail jig using a box joint template and a router.

Edited May 9, 20179 yr by CharlieL