Box joints are kicking my butt-ox

[xtian]

My first attempts at box joints were mis-er-able. So I upgraded my blades. Then I upgraded my miter guide (had to spend 30 minutes sanding out the old, rusty 0.75" slot in my Crapsman table). Then I got better results...about a C minus. And this is after HOURS of effort.

IMG_3381.jpg

IMG_3383.jpg

[xtian]

Well, at least this set ended up square-ish. Nothing a little vinyl won't hide, right, Marcus?

IMG_3385.jpg

[pompeiisneaks]

I had such a hard time with them that I moved to a biscuit joiner

Mine looked way worse and after days of trying and like 5 different cabinets each that looked a little worse I swear

~Phil

[kanderson70]

Looks way better than the garbage box joints I end up with (plus wood filler). Vinyl is my friend!

[norburybrook]

Well, at least this set ended up square-ish. Nothing a little vinyl won't hide, right, Marcus?


IMG_3385.jpg

LOL i thought that was an LA2a or perhaps an 1176 compressor for a minute

P38 car body filler and tolex are your friend those joints look pretty good really and I'm sure they're mechanically sound which is the main thing.

I am envious of the guys here who do great cabinet work

like anything, good tools and time to learn your craft are all you need I shall look forward to that in my retirement


carry on.


M

[xtian]

Thanks, Mates! I'm definitely going to try my router jig next time. I've become familiar with the half-blind dovetail. Should be easy to retool for box joints.

[Colossal]

Hello Xtian,

Tearout sucks. I thought Butt Ox was a new attenuator How about a piece of sacrificial material like MDF in front of and behind the piece being jointed?

[xtian]

I know, the tearout is bad. I'll see if the router does a better job. I have to build more of these boxes.

[sluckey]

Looks like you may be using a "wobble" dado blade rather than a stacked dado set? If so, that's not a good choice for what you are doing.

[xtian]

Looks like you may be using a "wobble" dado blade rather than a stacked dado set? If so, that's not a good choice for what you are doing.

No, the blade is this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ASGV1E

[sluckey]

Nice looking blade set. Never seen that before. All my stuff is old tech, '70s and '80s.

[drew]

Box joints are fine for wooden box factories.

Butt joints, glue blocks, and modern glues are going to make joints that are as strong as the wood you’re using.

[Phil_S]

I'm no expert. I tried dovetails one time with plywood. It doesn't work. IMO, sacrificial backer blocks are required to prevent the tear out. If using tolex, a bit of filler/epoxy will cover the problem, but remember to level it with a flush cut router bit. Every imperfection will bleed through.

[MakerDP]

Box joints are fine for wooden box factories.

Butt joints, glue blocks, and modern glues are going to make joints that are as strong as the wood you’re using.

+1

IMO, pocket holes and glue are where it's at baby.

Box/dovetail joints are great when building with hardwoods that are going to be dyed/stained, butt-joints are the way to go when tolexing.

[xtian]

Works with 1/2” stock?