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Thread: iBox...Table Saw Or a Router...

  1. #1

    iBox...Table Saw Or a Router...

    Just got an Incra iBox Jig and I'm wondering if it's better to use a table saw or router table? I like the idea of using the router table because it's easier than setting up the dado blade. What do you suggest?

  2. #2
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    I prefer the table saw and usually use my Freud SBOX8 box joint blade to get perfect 1/4 and 3/8" box joints, but use a dado blade whenever I have wanted to make larger box joints. I tried the Ibox jig on my router table and found that it was a little faster to set up, but a bit slower when making the cuts, and the router produced more tear-out if I rushed the cutting step. The box joint blade on the table saw cuts very fast and produces no tear-out if you use a fresh backer board position on the Ibox when setting up each cut. Most people don't seem to realize that the included 1/4" MDF backer needs to be re-positioned to a fresh location for each new box joint setup, because it is the "zero clearance insert" and helps minimize tear-out with either the saw or the router. The MDF backer is designed to be shifted right and left and can even be turned 180 deg to use the opposite edge, when setting up to make new box joints, so you can make about 20 different box joint setups before needing a new backer. Sometime before your MDF backer gets all chewed up I suggest that you pick up a 2' X 4' piece of 1/4" MDF and make some replacement backers. You can get about 18 spares out of the one 2' X 4' piece of MDF (I found mine at Home Depot). A drill press, a positioning jig, and a countersink bit will allow you to make the 4 countersunk holes and you will have made 18 backer boards for about the price of 3 when purchased from Incra. I'm making a lot of box joints since buying my Ibox jig, so I'm well into my batch of spare backers now.

    Charley
    Last edited by Charles Lent; 12-10-2014 at 5:49 AM.

  3. #3
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    I would vote for the table saw also. I get cleaner cuts.

  4. #4
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    I just received my ibox Monday, Have only read instructions. I will use TS also. Freud dado has always cut nicely, so will continue with it. Great idea on MDF replacements. will cut spares before chewing up the pattern.

  5. #5
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    Tablesaw user here. Your preference may be driven by the quality of your dado stack or other cutters of choice. If you don't have a dado stack or other task specific blade (or blade set) that cuts clean, flat bottom dados you will be happier with the router. If you have to go out and buy a selection of quality straight bits to cut different widths on the router table, I would put the money toward a good dado stack. I run a Freud SD-508 and it does a fine job. There are several good stacks in the $200 price range. When it comes to this type of joint, clean cuts can make or break your efforts.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  6. #6
    I use both....

    I will use the router table for small boxes and the table saw for larger ones.

    In the router table I use a spiral bit and get very clean cuts, I do change, flip and replace the backer often. In the table saw I use the SBOX8 blade and again change the backer when needed.

    The jig is so easy and fast to set up on both of them I think it is a matter of where you want to do the work. My shop is small and I had to make a table to go on my router table so I could stand in front of it to work, helped a lot for me.

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...highlight=ibox

  7. #7
    Bill, thanks. Nice jig! I just used it for the first time on my TS and did a lot of test cuts. I'm finding that there are different settings when using ply as opposed to solid wood. Do you find that? Anyways, lot of test cuts, but I got it pretty much figured out on the TS. Now on to the router table, which I prefer to use, as long as I can get clean cuts in ply and solid wood. Bill, what's your experience there?

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Derek Arita View Post
    Bill, thanks. Nice jig! I just used it for the first time on my TS and did a lot of test cuts. I'm finding that there are different settings when using ply as opposed to solid wood. Do you find that? Anyways, lot of test cuts, but I got it pretty much figured out on the TS. Now on to the router table, which I prefer to use, as long as I can get clean cuts in ply and solid wood. Bill, what's your experience there?
    I really don't use plywood so I can't help you on that, with the router table I get good clean cuts, I do use a fresh area of the backer board with a spiral bit and they come out really nice.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Huber View Post
    I really don't use plywood so I can't help you on that, with the router table I get good clean cuts, I do use a fresh area of the backer board with a spiral bit and they come out really nice.
    Thanks Bill. I like using birch ply sometimes, when doing box joints. I like the look of all those layers on the corners. I don't have a 1/4" spiral, only 3/8" and 1/2", so I guess I'll have to look for a 1/4" spiral, downcut.

  10. #10
    Ok, just tried it with a 2flute and an up it spiral bit and got pretty crappy results with both. Workpiece really wanted to move. Tried hi and medium speeds with pretty much the same results. How do you do it Bill?

  11. #11
    Join Date
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    I also use the TS with the Freud SBOX8 box joint blade. I've forgotten to move the backer board, yet still have gotten pristine joints without tearout. FWIW.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
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  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Derek Arita View Post
    Ok, just tried it with a 2flute and an up it spiral bit and got pretty crappy results with both. Workpiece really wanted to move. Tried hi and medium speeds with pretty much the same results. How do you do it Bill?
    I don't know what your problem could be but I use the router table all the time for 1/4" and 3/8".

    Are you clamping the work piece good, I use a Quick clamp with mine and run my PC 7518 one click slower then full speed.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Huber View Post
    I don't know what your problem could be but I use the router table all the time for 1/4" and 3/8".

    Are you clamping the work piece good, I use a Quick clamp with mine and run my PC 7518 one click slower then full speed.
    Again, forgot to mention, I used ply for the test. That could be why i'm showing tearout.

  14. #14
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    I tested prototype and production models quite extensively before the I-BOX hit the market using all sorts of cutters, so let me give you my take-

    You can cut fingers of equal quality on both router table and tablesaw, but the technique is slightly different. With a router table you must hold the stock tight to the fence (clamp recommended) to prevent tear-out and because the rotation of the bit will want to cause the stock to shift slightly sideways. Also, you will want to slow the feed rate down when using a router table, especially with bits 1/2" or larger. That being said, I have seen Perry at INCRA zip though a joint really quickly. To save time he gripped the stock with gloves having rubber gripping palms so he didn't need to reset the clamp each pass. If you plan to use a router table, consider facing the sacrificial fence with sandpaper.

    Finger size isn't limited on a router table other than by the max capacity of the jig. While most dado sets and tablesaw blade arbors limit the finger width to 3/4" you can get wider router bits. I originally lobbied for a 1+" finger capacity- for bragging rights and just for the off chance someone might want to make really wide fingers (Need and safety won out). I made a simple modification to a pre-production I-Box so that it could be set to cut fingers as wide as 1-1/4". Then, I removed the guide bearing from a large 1-1/8" rabbeting bit and used it with a VERY SLOW feed rate to successfully make really wide fingers!!!

  15. #15
    Join Date
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    I forgot to add one final note.

    There is an often overlooked and sometimes not well understood benefit of using the I-BOX on a tablesaw with a dado stack (DOES NOT not apply if you use a reversible box joint blade like the Freud SBOX8- see photo below.) Once you setup it up for use on a tablesaw and calibrate it for your dado stack, you should never need to calibrate the I-BOX again in normal use. You can change the dado stack to create different width fingers without the need to recalibrate, just quickly set the new pin spacing.

    The reason for this is that the I-BOX uses the teeth on the dado trimmer closest to the saw's arbor flange for "kiss calibration." When you change the size of the dado stack by adding or removing chippers you move the outside trimmer but not the inner one, so the I-BOX stays calibrated. All you need to do is turn the large knob to reset the pin width to the new dado/finger width. The I-BOX should also stay calibrated if you didn't do such a good job with the initial calibration and turn the micro adjust knob to improve the fit of the joint (when you do this you are in essence adjusting the calibration.) This is also the reason why the I-BOX MUST always be mounted on a tablesaw with the knob end facing the flange end of the arbor or in other terms- right tilt saw, knobs on the right, left tilt saw, knobs on the left side).

    There are exceptions, however. If you use a lot of micro to set up to make decorative insert joints or dentil moldings (where the fingers may have different width than the spaces), you will need to recalibrate the I-BOX before making normal joints again (unless you remember how much micro you dialed in and you dial out the exact same amount. My memory is not usually that good! )

    The situation is different on a router table- as you change router bit sizes, the size increases or decreases measured from the center of the bit not from a fixed point on one side like a dado blade so you must recalibrate each time you change bit size.

    Also, as mentioned above, in addition to changing the pin spacing (finger width) the I-BOX must be re-calibrated each time you select a different finger size when using one of these special box joint blade sets:

    Last edited by Alan Schaffter; 12-14-2014 at 5:54 PM.

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