Groove/dados misalignment for box lid - how to fix it?

[Sergio Escudero]

I've been trying to make a box almost entirely with hand tools, and the bottom and lid fit into grooves, but I have a misalignment in the upper groove, probably because, even though I made them without changing the settings on the combination plane, I made them after cutting the pieces, instead of doing it on a long board, so I have up to a couple of millimeters of misalignment in some of them. How can I fix this neatly with hand tools? I don't mind making the grooves a bit wider, I figured that much, but I don't know how to do it properly, since using the combination plane again on such a short piece will probably just replicate the same problem that caused it.

 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

 

I would have all my pieces cut to size before any joinery or grooves get plowed, but that's just me. There's people who would plow that groove first and there's nothing wrong with either method. 

As to a fix, you'll either need to manipulate your grooves/dados, or chamfer the edges of your lid, or both.  You can probably get by with aligning the top of the groove channel. The bottom won't be very visible. 

Layout with a marking gauge beforehand can help you to determine if everything is lining up properly before you start plowing your grooves/dados. 

 

Good luck. 

 

[wtnhighlander]

Perhaps I don't see it properly, but it appears to me as if the groove width and offset from the edge are correct, but the width of the end wall is less than the side wall?

If that is true, I would align the top edge, and plane the bottom edges to match. That may introduce an offset in any groove at the bottom, but that will be far less visible after repair. You can glue into the groove, a strip of matching stip of wood, then re-cut the groove at the correct location. Can be almist invisible.

[h3nry]

If you're prepared to widen the grooves to make them match ...

You could try to re-adjust the plough plane fence and re-cut it ... but I don't think I'd go that way.

Since it is so small, I think I would use a marking gauge to scribe the new edge, then cut back to the line with a chisel. It looks like you only need to do the top of the back groove to make the lid fit.

If you want to use this as an excuse to buy a new tool, a side-rabbet plane will probably get the job done if the groove is wide enough.

[fcschoenthal]

On 11/30/2025 at 12:36 PM, wtnhighlander said:

Perhaps I don't see it properly, but it appears to me as if the groove width and offset from the edge are correct, but the width of the end wall is less than the side wall?

If that is true, I would align the top edge, and plane the bottom edges to match. That may introduce an offset in any groove at the bottom, but that will be far less visible after repair. You can glue into the groove, a strip of matching stip of wood, then re-cut the groove at the correct location. Can be almist invisible.

If possible, this is what I would do as well.