Ok, I have four pieces of 3/8" thick pine.....all nicely sized, and planed smooth...

All have been planed to the same sizes.  Part of this project is to serve as a how to......at least the way I hand cut  box joints/finger joints.

The 2 longs are up, first.   Square a line on one end, showing the thickness of the mating part..

Top line is from laying the short side piece and marking a line, lower one is with a square.    Next, I get out the "layout tool"...

Yep, just the same chisel I will use to chop out the waste with..

Spacing is just a pencil line along the chisel, working from one edge to the other edge.   (Tip:  use a SHARP pencil for this)

I use a square to carry the lines around both sides.    I also saw both long sides at the same time....

Saw down the the "base line".  and clip the waste off on the ends...

Then remove the two from the vise, and open up like a book..

And mark this as the inside of the box, along with a T and a B...

Top & Bottom.   Set one piece aside for a little bit, and get ready to chisel things out..

Some of the usual suspects.   Needed a mallet, and a clamp.    Been using a scrap board on the bench, to keep from beating the heck out of the bench's top.

Old piece of plywood doesn't care IF it gets beat up.   Square and a knife...cutting a knife wall.   Takes about 3-5 swipes. 

Now, each of the little squares will just have to leave, but, don't get in a hurry.    has to be done in two stages, otherwise you risk blowing out the other side. 

 

I take the chisel  and hold it back from the base line ( Knife wall) and pare a bit out.   Bevel of the chisel is away from the base line.  Peel a bit out, chop with the flat of the chisel against the base line, and repeat..

You can either remove the bit tothe outside edge, or leave it there, doesn't matter much.   It does support things when you flip the board over.   Ok, work your way along this face of the board,  Before you leave each finger, add a chop with the chisel at the base line...helps to remove the waste in a bit..

 

Flip the board over

Same as before, strike the knife wall, peel abit back with the chisel...usually the first or second chisel hit at the base line will cause the waste to either lay down....or.. fly up out of there..   I use a wider chisel to  dress the fingers. 

  

Make they look spiffy.   Unclamp this piece, grab the short piece you used to mark the first line with.    Stand the completed fingers onto the short piece, keeping inside to inside and top to top...  SHARP pencil to mark where the fingers are.    Saw the short piece on the waste side of the lines.   Repeat the chisel work

And do a test fit.   (needs a tune up..)  Adjust fingers IF they are too tight.    One corner done, 3 to go.  

 

And, THAT is how I do box joints.    Not all that hard to do, and a lot quieter than a tablesaw  roaring along.   

 

I use this to post about the box build.   Pine was resawn from the last of the un-treated 4 x4s  I had in the shop.

( BTW:  Already have 2 corners done.....might get the other two tomorrow....don't want to rush things...)

 

Stay tuned..

I'm tuned...not going to be a test at the end is there? Great start so far...guess we have to wait until the reveal to learn what this box will house?

That is a really cool tutorial. Thank you for sharing your process!

That's the same process I use to do dovetails. It really helps keep the "bottom" of the openings nice and crisp.

Great start Steve.  Thanks for sharing your method.

May try to split a lid off the box, and leave a lip/seal around the edges.......About like I tried on the Stanley #45's case.    Plywood bottom, not sure about the lid...yet. 

wouldn't some duct tape go a lot faster?  :hide:

Ok, an update..sort of.   Went ahead and chopped the rest of those joints.    Test fits?

Fingers are a bit long?  Better than too short.    I can always trim these flush, after the glue up is done.   Once  all four sides were "fingered"

I laid  them all out.  Ones closest to Lew's mallet were the first ones done, then I went and sharpened the pencil, and things looked better.

Decided to  cut a groove for a bottom panel.   First, a new screwdriver to adjust the Stanley 45..

I reground the end, to better fit the slotted bolts.  As for the 45..

Set it up with a #12 cutter (1/4"), and found out I had the skates set a hair too wide.   Once that was fixed, time to build a jig...

"Jig part 1"   a 1 x 1 attached to the bench, with a bench dog beside it..

Plan WAS to butt the part against the bench dog, then screw that block down to hold it...

Meh, gave it a try...

Not bad, but not great, either.   Dog got sent home, block was redesigned for the next part...

Still clears the depth stop on the 45, and the rods.   Part doesn't move/ tilt either..

Even right through a knot.   Test to see how these grooves line up....

Not too  hateful?   Got all four grooves milled.    Next will be a groove ( a narrower one) to help split off the lid part of this box of pine. 

Maybe I should dig up the rest of these?    I think I still have 2 others, lurking around...somewhere. 

Well, Pizza is here, time for supper.....stay tuned for the next exciting episode...

Ok, have since milled the other grooves.   jig needed slimmed down a bit, things were getting a bit close.   I had to reset the plane to make the last groove...

As the last groove was a bit further in from the top edge..

A groove for the bottom panel, and a groove for the lid's panel, and......a third groove?   I marked an offset for that third groove..

So that after I glue the box up, I'll know where to mill another groove.   That way, I can split the lid off of the box...

And no, this is not the lid.    Box is setting on it's lid.    I trued a dry fit of the panels.....they needed a touch of a plane along an edge or two, but..

Is this the top?

Or..

Is this the top?   Will know when I get things a little further along....have to remember NOT to sand off that offset mark....stay tuned.

38 minutes ago, steven newman said:

have to remember NOT to sand off that offset mark.

I'd forget!

 

Coming along nicely!

Keep the PIP coming...I'm tuned (although slightly out)....still wondering what treasures will find their way into this home.

I might have just enough clamps for the glue up..

Somewhere under all those clamps, there resides a box made of pine....takes up all of the workbench..

Will let this set a day or so...

Ok, more from today's follies....

 

Got the box out of the clamps a bit ago.   Clamped it into the end vise.    Had to use a "helper" for that..

As the box was a bit bigger than the jaws could hold.    Beltsander to dress up the long fingers.   Then clamped the box flat on the bench...

So I could round over the outside edges of the top.   BEFORE the sander was used, I pre-set the Stanley 45..

To those marks to split off the lid.    Yep, I sanded them off.    Good thing I set the plane, first.    Went to round over the bottom edges..

Heard a "CRACK!"...not good.....then a piece of one edge left the area....Grrrrrr, had to stop everything ( other than the cussing..) and glue and clamp the part back on..

Piece is on the left side.   Wasn't too happy about this setup, went back and added a caul to press down on the piece.  The two C clamps are to push it into place.    Might have been a bad board...as there was also a small crack  on the top edge.   Got that done, and stomped back upstairs.     And I thought Mondays are bad....sheesh. 

Sorry for the disaster. However, that's what you do, is regroup, repair and rejoice. If woodworking was easy, everybody would be doing it. I bet when the clamps come off and the BLO brew goes on, only you will know where and what happened...Besides, I bet you needed to take the break anyway...

13 hours ago, steven newman said:

I thought Mondays are bad....sheesh

My whole week has been like that. A small elm bowl is about to become a small elm clay pigeon.

" Heard a "CRACK!" "

 

RUH ROH!

 

sorry to hear that.

Cracked part has been fixed, and cleaned up,  almost  disappears.    Set up the vise to hold the box still long enough to cut a few grooves...

Little block to the left to keep things from sliding away,  1x1 in the vise spans to the edges of the box, saves clamping into the bottom panel.    Another in the end vise to help out. 

(shhhh, there's Lew's Mallet...)

Idea was to cut a groove below the one on the inside....

I stopped short of cutting 1/2 way through, as I can finish splitting the lid off with a sharp knife.. A few more trips along the sides...

Always keeping the top to the left in the vise, so the grooves all line up.   And....right about here the camera batteries died....and not a new one in the house. 

Well, later, I'll go out and get some new AAAs.   In the meantime, I have trimmed the inside lip to fit the lid.   used a shoulder plane ( wood bodied, older than stick....)

Sanded the outside, installed the small brass hinges.   used the North Brothers Yankee push drill, with the small bit it had, to make pilot holes for the screws.    Same with the screws for the latch.

 

haven't added any finish, yet.   Just an empty box right now.  When I get the camera back up and running, I'll get a few more pictures.....i hope...

Great work...so what's new? You continue to inspire.

Your batteries would last longer if you'd quit using the camera to jump start the van.

Awesome work, as always. Thanks for the step by step story

Enjoying the ride along...I knew you'd make the fix nearly invisible even to yourself. Guess you need to put "shop cat" in a hamster wheel connected to a battery charger.

I'm waiting for the finale' and unveil.