[HokieKen]

Don't see any reason why not SMP. If you're tilting the blade though, you'll have to be careful of clearance with your throat insert and it's an 8" blade so you won't have as much reach. If you don't need them quite that wide, any FTG blade should work. I just like to be able to cut box joints in a single pass.

 

[splintergroup]

I do angled cuts with the box set for corner "thingies", watching out for throat plate clearance is part of the process one best never forget to do 8^)

I do angles for corner legs to better interface with prefinished box parts

Rich: The main reason I do the scoring cuts before hogging with the dado set is when the surface is veneered. My dado set (Freud 8" SD) does well, but the side cutters often will screw with squirrely grain. I'd rather do the extra work (not always guaranteed to do it cleanly) then blow out an edge that no one will ever see 8^)

 

[RichT]

Rich: The main reason I do the scoring cuts before hogging with the dado set is when the surface is veneered. My dado set (Freud 8" SD) does well, but the side cutters often will screw with squirrely grain. I d rather do the extra work (not always guaranteed to do it cleanly) then blow out an edge that no one will ever see 8^)

- splintergroup

That makes sense. Like I said whatever you're doing is working. Amazing stuff.

 

[SMP]

Don t see any reason why not SMP. If you re tilting the blade though, you ll have to be careful of clearance with your throat insert and it s an 8" blade so you won t have as much reach. If you don t need them quite that wide, any FTG blade should work. I just like to be able to cut box joints in a single pass.

- HokieKen

no just a straight cut for corner splines like this below. i only had an ATB blade when doing this , but Rich helped me pick the fill in materials. mainly i want a blade to make box joints AND be able to use it for 1/4" flat bottom splines:

 

[HokieKen]

no just a straight cut for corner splines like this below. i only had an ATB blade when doing this , but Rich helped me pick the fill in materials. mainly i want a blade to make box joints AND be able to use it for 1/4" flat bottom splines:

- SMP

In that case, a box joint blade would definitely be what I would get SMP.

...
I do angles for corner legs to better interface with prefinished box parts

...
- splintergroup

That's a really cool joint for the 3-piece corner. I'll have to remember that one

 

[LittleBlackDuck]

Now for the shims… when using the iBox and a 1/4" or 3/8" blade, I can t understand why you need to shim… surely that 1/10000000th. of a mm would not make too much difference…

- LittleBlackDuck

It s not a matter of the size of the cut being that precise, since the jig is designed to be adjusted TO the cut. The one time I could see shims is if you wanted to tweak the finger sizes to get a better layout along the joint.

- Rich

Still find the shimming is like shimmying up a greased pole (no malice intended for the Polish nation). Better layout for box joints? Sheesh… Nice layout and detail is what Moses and Mr Leigh invented dovetails for… if they used box joints for the ark, half the animals would have refused to board.

If you have shim issues, try a freud dial-a-width.

 

[06132485]

I have had the Freud set for 15 years or so, and liked it with a ho-made FJ jig, and love it even more with the I box.

The few times I used a dado blade with the jig, I did use shims, never noticed a problem, so on the nesting blade, unless you got wild and crazy so it didn't nest, I can't see an issue.

 

[tvrgeek]

I do mine with a CMT flat tooth rip blade.

 

[MrRon]

Dado blade sets have an inside and an outside cutter. What if you switched the outer blades? would the bat's ears still happen?

 

[RichT]

Dado blade sets have an inside and an outside cutter. What if you switched the outer blades? would the bat s ears still happen?

- MrRon

These blades are not like a dado stack. They don't do the bat wings. Just clean corners since they're specifically designed for box joints..

Your comment is good advice for anyone considering using a dado stack though. The bat wings will affect the joint.

 

[RichT]

I do mine with a CMT flat tooth rip blade.

- tvrgeek

The thread is about using the Incra IBOX box joint jig. Using your blade with it would allow you to do 1/8" fingers-period.

Check out the jig so you understand.

 

[LittleBlackDuck]

I do mine with a CMT flat tooth rip blade.

- tvrgeek

The thread is about using the Incra IBOX box joint jig. Using your blade with it would allow you to do 1/8" fingers-period.

Check out the jig so you understand.

- Rich

Probably has light fingers! (with 1/8")...

 

[RichT]

Probably has light fingers! (with 1/8")...

- LittleBlackDuck

It'd definitely maximize the glue surface.

 

[woodbutcherbynight]

I also have the Freud and they have given excellent results on a variety of materials. While I do have two routers I could use I do prefer to use the TS for this particular operation. My set up with twin TS allows me to keep the stack set at 1/4 inch and ready to go all the time.

 

[RichT]

I also have the Freud and they have given excellent results on a variety of materials. While I do have two routers I could use I do prefer to use the TS for this particular operation. My set up with twin TS allows me to keep the stack set at 1/4 inch and ready to go all the time.

- woodbutcherbynight

Like having a bug out blade?

 

[tvrgeek]

I do mine with a CMT flat tooth rip blade.

- tvrgeek

The thread is about using the Incra IBOX box joint jig. Using your blade with it would allow you to do 1/8" fingers-period.

Check out the jig so you understand.

- Rich

Well, my jig allows me to slip it sideways indexing on both sides. I don't have an Incra so have a cup of coffee.

 

[HokieKen]

Yeah, I like box joints in one shot and that's my only choice with my jig anyway. Otherwise something like your FTG rip blade would be all I needed.

Dado blade sets have an inside and an outside cutter. What if you switched the outer blades? would the bat s ears still happen?

- MrRon

Yes, the bat ears just wouldn't be in the corners. The corners of those teeth sit a little higher than the rest so it doesn't matter where you put them, they'll still cut higher.

Thanks for the good feedback all!

 

[LittleBlackDuck]

[removed by admin]

 

[Lazyman]

So since you adjust the width by changing which face is facing out, is it possible stack a second set for cutting fingers wider than 3/8"? I rarely cut box joints smaller than 1/2" unless its for a pretty small box.

Regarding the use of shims…when the faces are in the 3/8" configuration, how much do the teeth actually overlap -what is the widest it can be spread apart and still get a clean cut?

 

[HokieKen]

Best I can tell, overlap is pretty minimal when configured for 3/8" joints. I would say around 1/32". So I wouldn't count on being able to cut any wider than 3/8" just using shims. Pairing with a second set would probably work though assuming they are ground to the same cutting diameter.