Box Joint Aggravation


Steve Edgar

Recommended Posts

10 hours ago, Saw-Loco said:

To me Exact would imply the spacer would be a tight fit in the Dado kerf.  Don't you need to allow a few thousands to slip the cuts on and off?  Maybe it is my misunderstanding

By exact, I mean the kerf slips over the key without any "play". A "tight fit" implies interference between the key and the walls of the kerf. That interference require compression of the wood fibers in order to put the joint together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

By exact, I mean the kerf slips over the key without any "play". A "tight fit" implies interference between the key and the walls of the kerf. That interference require compression of the wood fibers in order to put the joint together.

Thanks for this.  I would rather ask than assume.  I will start focusing on this fit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, chashint said:

Depending on the size of the pin in the jig you may need to glue the front edge to the base of the jig to prevent the pin from flexing. 

Just a little bit of flex will greatly affect the fit. 

Hey Chestnut,  what do you think of the Porter Cable jig ?   Is it east to get the edges of the board perfectly aligned ?   I mostly build small decorative boxes instead of furniture.   I have a Peach Tree jig (yeah I got suckered in at the woodworking show when it was sill coming to Dallas) and hardly ever use it because it is really just a one trick pony (thru dovetails) and perfect edge alignment is actually very hard to achieve. 

For Reference, Wood Magazine November issue reviews a number of jigs and gave the PC Top Value award  That said, I am interested in a real persons opinion also

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Saw-Loco said:

For Reference, Wood Magazine November issue reviews a number of jigs and gave the PC Top Value award  That said, I am interested in a real persons opinion also

I have the PC jig. It does work well, though I've used it for dovetails not box joints, but the performance should be very similar.

That being said, I've gone the opposite way as Chestnut, I started with the jig and had good results, but now I don't use it and I go for hand cut, for the challenge/enjoyment. That being said, my hand cut joints aren't immaculate and I'm currently not building bureau dressers with 10 dovetailed drawers. If you are making a single drawer, hand cut doesn't take much more time/effort than the jig. Obviously the jig pays dividends if you are making multiple, identical drawers. 

Come to think of it, I might sell the jig. That way I can regret it sometime in the future!

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Too many options.  I mostly do one at a time projects to order.  So my need would be feast or famine.  I also never know if I will need dovetail or box, though I can see box more often.  My budget doesn't cover a D4R, though I wish it did.  I you ever want to give it a way Treeslayer let me know.  That said, Murphy's law says if I go the DIY version, I will eventually need a Store bought,  but buying a Jig, I may end up not needing it but once a year.  But starting out the DIY I am not out the cash until I do need it.

Now to rewatch William NG You Tube for the 4th time and reread all your posts, and get back into the shop.

 

Thanks all, and I am still very curious on any more advice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.