Big box joints

[kityuser]

I`ve been tasked with making Mrs KU a large linen box for xmas, question is how to cut the box joints for the sides.......

We are talking large scale here using possibly some donated beech block work-top.....


any ideas welcome, I`m not sure my router-finger-joint jig is up to the job on this scale...


Steve

 

[Racers]

Hi, Kityuser

That sounds seriously heavy, are you going to assemble it in place?


Pete

 

[kityuser]

Hi, Kityuser

That sounds seriously heavy, are you going to assemble it in place?


Pete

quite possibly, the beech block has been used and needs a little planing so it won't be TOO thick, I`m probably rip it, thickness and re-glue.

any ideas about some nice beefy finger joint cutting?

Steve

 

[MikeG.]

I can't see why you wouldn't just hand-cut them.

It wouldn't be a very different process from cutting dovetails, and here is a tutorial I prepared earlier to help you mere mortals.......

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=32266&highlight=dovetails

Mike

 

[kityuser]

I can't see why you wouldn't just hand-cut them.

It wouldn't be a very different process from cutting dovetails, and here is a tutorial I prepared earlier to help you mere mortals.......

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=32266&highlight=dovetails

Mike

by hand.... thats right, just what I was thinking

Steve

 

[Dibs-h]

I can't see why you wouldn't just hand-cut them.

It wouldn't be a very different process from cutting dovetails, and here is a tutorial I prepared earlier to help you mere mortals.......

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=32266&highlight=dovetails

Mike

:lol: that was rather a fine tutorial if I may say so!

 

[kityuser]

Ok having read the tutorial I'm trying to work out if u were joking

Steve

 

[Chris Knight]

Steve,
Big or little box joints are pretty easy to cut by hand. You can also use the bandsaw, or a router or both to do some of the donkey work.

Practise on some scrap first; it'll be good practice for sawing and chiselling. If you find the chiselling hard, then holding the workpiece vertical and using a router will give you a nice flat bottom to the gaps between teeth - once you have figured out how to hold the router square to the workpiece..

 

[ajmoran]

My favourite method for big box joints is the bandsaw. Here's a few pics of some fairly big drawer boxes (880mm wide).
The time consuming bit is removing the waste but as the dimensions get bigger you can use the bandsaw to remove the bulk of the waste too. Because of this the bigger box in the pictures took less time to make than the smaller boxes.
If you want a template, tell me the dimensions and I'll post it up here.
Cheers
Andrew

 

[OPJ]

You could consider approaching this in a different way entirely...

Have a look at this thread, where LarryS used strips of equal width to create the joints before assembling the sides. At worst, you should be left with a little excess of end-grain to plane or trim flush. :wink:

If you were really feeling up for it though, you could bevel both edges and dovetail the corners!! :twisted:

 

[Mr Ed]

I advocate cutting by hand, exactly as if they were dovetails as Mike G suggests. Thats how this bench was done;

Its fairly straightforward and I reckon the most accurate method providing you're reasonably happy with your sawing skills.

Ed

 

[Tony Spear]

There's somebody on this forum (unfortunately he's in Wales) who's just bought the perfect piece of kit for a job like this!

It's called a Woodr...

 

[wizer]

That's a lovely bench Ed. In some situations I much prefer a box joint. Dovetails can look out of place on something like this IMHO

 

[kityuser]

many good ideas here, I`m liking the pseudo bandsaw/manual idea, but then again cutting into strips and forming the fingers that way sounds interesting.......

:wink:

thanks guys

Steve


PS I finally managed to knock together my bench mounted router table, I`ll posts piccies soon....

 

[MikeG.]

Ok having read the tutorial I'm trying to work out if u were joking

Steve

Steve,

I'm not joking about cutting them by hand........pretty straightforward, pretty quick, and very good looking (see Ed's photos). I confess that there is a slight element of tongue-in-cheek humour intended in my dovetail tutorial. I hope you detected it!

Mike

 

[Mr Ed]

And theres more...

On this stool I reinforced the box joint with screws and went with a contrasting maple plug. Handcut again on this one.

Ed

 

[wizer]

ooh nice. Is there a cross brace half way up or not needed?

 

[Mr Ed]

No need really, its surprising how stiff the finger joint is. I did the first one I showed as an experiment and it stood the test of time, so this one was done with the same method.

Ed

 

[wizer]

Thanks, Might nick that idea

 

[OPJ]

On this stool I reinforced the box joint with screws and went with a contrasting maple plug.

Nice stool, Ed. But. screws??? :shock: :roll:

I know, they won't be seen but, you could've used Miller Dowels!