Small box corners

[Lori Kleinberg]

I would like to make some small boxes out of some of my scrap wood. I would like them to have mitered corners. How do I do
that on the tablesaw? I am thinking I probably need some sort of sled, any examples out there.
Thanks

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

A sled would help with small pieces; tilt the saw blade at 45, and voila.

Just a thought ... why not try your hand at box joints? I think they look nice on small boxes.

[Sam Yerardi]

Lori,

As John said, finger joints are a good option also. As far as your question, you have many approaches you can take. One is to tilt the blade on your table saw to 45 deg, and then slide your wood through the blade with a mitre gauge. If you are using a band saw, you can do the same thing but a table saw is a bit more stable depending on the length of the wood. The reason is with a table saw, you're not having to hold the board down on the saw - - gravity is doing it for you. One a bandsaw, unless you are using a clamp, you have to hold the board in place. Anyway, if you decide to try finger joints, you can use the table saw for that as well. There are a million jigs designed to do this so a search on the net should find a lot of info for you.

[Jack Camillo]

Like said above, use a sled, or at least the miter gauge with a stop block. Small parts are dangerous. Remember, do not try to cross-cut a piece between the blade and the fence, as chances are extremely high you'll get wounded.

[Lee Schierer]

Here's a joint I like on small boxes.

The locking rabbet joint is easy to make and it is very strong. You can round the corners and end up with very little end grain showing. I use this joint all the time in small boxes.

[Jack Camillo]

Those are nice corners, Lee. Thanks for the pic.

[J. Z. Guest]

Lori,

If you do mitered corners, you'll probably want to reinforce them with splines afterwards, as mitered corners on their own are weak.

You can either assemble the joint and cut kerfs through the corner, and glue splines in the kerfs, or cut kerfs in the inside of the joint and reinforce them that way.

A recent issue of Woodsmith (maybe even the current issue?) showed how to do this. Might be worth buying it or ordering the back issue just to have the plan, technique, and jig instructions. (not to mention how to safely cut the spline)

[Roger Warford]

FWW 197 has a nice article on small boxes with great examples of all kinds of joints and styles. I especially like the splined miters.

[Dave Verstraete]

Lori
Fine Woodworking Magazine - April 2008 - has an article on boxes. Doug Stowe shows how to make them including mitered corners. His book that just came out (see my recent thread) has a few jigs and sleds to do it. Once I made these sleds, it was a lot easier to do the boxes. I'll post some pics of my sleds and jigs to do it when I get home

[Bob Noles]

Lori,

Like you, I had the same questions and concerns when I approached boxmaking. As Dave pointed out, Doug Stowe has a great book and even greater DVD on boxmaking. I have both and found thme to be the most valuable addition to my library I ever had. He not only explains boxmaking, but teaches you how to build the jigs and sleds to make the hobby safe and easy. I highly recommend the DVD and the book to anyone wanting to make boxes. They are both AWESOME and have helped me overcome any obstacles encountered.

[Dave Verstraete]

Lori
I thought that I would post a couple of pics of the miter sled and jig. Also the latest box that I made with them. Credit is due to Doug Stowe since his book helped me build them.

This is the fourth box that I have ever made.

[Lori Kleinberg]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I plan to try box joints in the future, but had wanted to do the miters with a contrasting thingy . I did read the article on FWW, which got me thinking about making the boxes to start with.
Dave, I did see your thread on those very nice boxes you did.
I guess I will have to break down and get Doug Stowe's book.

[Roger Warford]

Some people refer to those "contrasting thingies" as splines. But "contrasting thingy" seems much more descriptive to me!

[Matt P]

For small boxes - as far as reinforcing the miter joints - that's not necessary with modern glues.. I think there is too much talk about reinforcement (splines, etc.) when it's overkill. After all, it's a *jewelry box* - how much force is ever going to be put on the joints - 4 ounces??!! If you like the aesthetics of splines then by all means, but let's be clear on what's necessary or not.

[Lori Kleinberg]

Matt, I agree, for small boxes "splines" are not necessary, but I think they look pretty in a contrasting wood.