Any good I-Box tutorials out there?

[Matt Meiser]

Matt, this should tell you what you need to know:

Bingo!

Plates together are 0.123 -- 0.033 oversize! That number is familiar ;)
IMG_1766.jpg

The plate that affects my KISS calibration. 0.130 thick, upper dimension is 0.053. That means the offset is 0.077, not the 0.090!
IMG_1770.jpgIMG_1771.jpg

The other plate is 0.133 thick, upper dimension is 0.069 -- offset is 0.064.
IMG_1767.jpgIMG_1769.jpg

Quick visual check shows the backside is machined the same so I can't just flip them around for now.

Phew...I'm not crazy! :D
(Unless I mis-measured...wouldn't be the first.)

[Alan Schaffter]

Matt, assuming your caliper technique is correct, it looks like you may have a bad set of guide plates. I just took a few measurements off my production unit with a Wixey digital caliper. While my numbers varied by a few thou either way depending on my technique, they were very close to, and likely right on spec. I wrote my results in red next to your numbers below.

Is INCRA swapping out the entire jig or sending you a new set of guide plates?

Bingo!

(Alan's = .091") Plates together are 0.123 -- 0.033 oversize! That number is familiar
IMG_1766.jpg

The plate that affects my KISS calibration. 0.130 thick, upper dimension is 0.053. (Alan's = 0.133 +/- 0.001" and 0.044" +/- 0.001) That means the offset is 0.077, not the 0.090! (Alan's= 0.089")
IMG_1770.jpgIMG_1771.jpg

The other plate is 0.133 thick, upper dimension is 0.069 -- offset is 0.064.
IMG_1767.jpgIMG_1769.jpg

Quick visual check shows the backside is machined the same so I can't just flip them around for now.

Phew...I'm not crazy!
(Unless I mis-measured...wouldn't be the first.)

[Matt Meiser]

Is INCRA swapping out the entire jig or sending you a new set of guide plates?

They were going to swap out the whole thing but I just sent him this. At first I thought I'd have them send just plates, but after thinking some more I think I want the whole thing replaced as this is the second issue I found with it--it also appeared to have been dropped on a corner before packaging and one of the stock ledge mounting rails on the body was bent. I straightened it and filed off the ding but still, I don't want to replace the plates and find yet another problem. I've wasted way too much time on it already.

After my extra calibration steps I just got the first two sets of boxes cut for my daughter. It does work nice. Just stopped to see who texted me...my wife from the house to tell me that they just announced a Level 3 Snow Emergency in the Ohio county just to the south of us starting at 5:30. That means you can be arrested for driving! Good day to be in the shop.

[Alan Schaffter]

It is cold here in North Carolina, but no snow. In any case, in a few weeks, I think LOML and I will head to Florida for a week. I remember one winter I spent in IL was the coldest I've ever experienced.

[Cameron Hood]

Well Matt, we aren't getting any snow, and the wind chill factor went from -50C to -45C so things are really looking up!

I compared your measurements to mine and the only one that was significantly different was the offset (your picture #2 verus #3). Mine was .09 and yours was .77. My cheap set of digital calipers do not measure to 3 decimal places and as usual, my other good set of calipers have a dead battery and no amount of looking around the house found any correct batteries. One of the things I did notice is that the two fingers at the thin end measure different thicknesses that happen to add up to .01. The left side is .04 and the right side is .06. Again, I don't know if that is an issue or not.

So that leaves me at a point of deciding what to do. If I understand this discussion so far, it would appear that my unit is within spec. The only conclusion left is that I am doing something wrong. Having spent probably 2 days on this since Christmas and yet to get a good box joint out of it, maybe it isn't for me. As Glenn Bradley said, maybe there is a learning curve that I am unable to get through. Thanks to you and Alan for the help.

[Matt Meiser]

Got these all cut today now that I understand what is going on and how to deal with it until Incra can swap the jig out. I still need to sand the insides before i can glue them up. The small one on top is my test box from the other day. It certainly is precise. And dusty.

20140105_234822381_iOS.jpg

For those using them...Box joint blade or dado blade? I'm using the box joint blade I got dirt cheap on clearance but it doesn't seem to really have any advantage.

[Alan Schaffter]

Got these all cut today now that I understand what is going on and how to deal with it until Incra can swap the jig out. I still need to sand the insides before i can glue them up. The small one on top is my test box from the other day. It certainly is precise. And dusty.

20140105_234822381_iOS.jpg

For those using them...Box joint blade or dado blade? I'm using the box joint blade I got dirt cheap on clearance but it doesn't seem to really have any advantage.

Matt- they look great! Make sure you take care when gluing them! I hate it when I almost ruin a beautiful box joint by not clamping the sides well enough to seat all the fingers tightly.

It can be difficult to glue up and assemble a box when the fingers fit snugly, especially if the stock is thin and the fingers intentionally left a tad long. Since the clamps can't be applied to the joint if the fingers stick out, you must clamp the sides which can deflect when the clamps are tightened. To solve this, I used the I-BOX to make a bunch (8) of stubby fingered clamping pads in a few of the standard finger sizes so I can put the clamp directly on the joint. If I'm doing a number of boxes with odd sized fingers, it doesn't take long to make a special set of these clamping pads. They work well and take the frustration out of clamping.

* to make it quicker and easier to position my pads and ensure the stubby fingers don't overlap adjacent fingers on the joint, I used a chisel to put a slight chamfer on all the corners of each clamping pad finger. I have a set of 8 of each size, only enough for clamping one box at a time- by the time I'm done applying glue to all the fingers and assemble the second box, the glue and fingers of the first box have set long enough that I can usually remove the clamps and pads and use them on second box.

[Bill Huber]

For small boxes I use the things from Rockler, they really work great for 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2". I use a spring loaded band clamp and it pulls them right together.

http://www.rockler.com/box-joint-cau...old-separately


Capture.JPG

[Matt Meiser]

Matt- they look great! Make sure you take care when gluing them! I hate it when I almost ruin a beautiful box joint by not clamping the sides well enough to seat all the fingers tightly.

Yep, glue-up anxiety is the main reason they aren't done yet!

[Stan Mitchell]

Bingo!

Plates together are 0.123 -- 0.033 oversize! That number is familiar
IMG_1766.jpg

The plate that affects my KISS calibration. 0.130 thick, upper dimension is 0.053. That means the offset is 0.077, not the 0.090!
IMG_1770.jpgIMG_1771.jpg

The other plate is 0.133 thick, upper dimension is 0.069 -- offset is 0.064.
IMG_1767.jpgIMG_1769.jpg

Quick visual check shows the backside is machined the same so I can't just flip them around for now.

Phew...I'm not crazy!
(Unless I mis-measured...wouldn't be the first.)

Well, bad news for me too.

I ordered an IBox just about the time Matt shared his issue. Just tried it out this afternoon and immediately had the same problem.

I just now measured the guide plates and came up with .117 with the plates set together. Evidently there's a bad batch of plates that are out there.

Hopefully I can get INCRA to send another set of guide plates. Otherwise the IBox is really neat jig and I know others have had great success with them.

[Matt Meiser]

I am now in possession of a second brand new I-Box, ordered from Amazon because i was concerned about getting one from the same lot, which my club is raffling off at our monthly meeting after I demo it. This one the plates measure correctly.

[Kelly Craig]

You can use it to make dentils......
You can make the fingers stand proud and sand them over a bit rounding them over a bit....
You can........

[Matt Meiser]

Well, the club's I-Box I did a test setup at home and got fairly close. I set it up again at our club meeting on the host's saw and got within .015 and dialed it right in with calipers. Since I was trying to explain and do at the same time I made a couple mistakes--started to move the red knob without unlocking, moved the red knob while explaining, etc, so it was probably not a good test.

Wednesday my new one showed up. Again the measurements match Alan's. I just set it up and did a test cut. Perfection. Actually probably too perfect--I'd probably loosen it up a couple thousandths if I was going to really assemble it.

Now I need to go find Alan's thread on building a dust hood for the back side.

[Alan Schaffter]

Well, the club's I-Box I did a test setup at home and got fairly close. I set it up again at our club meeting on the host's saw and got within .015 and dialed it right in with calipers. Since I was trying to explain and do at the same time I made a couple mistakes--started to move the red knob without unlocking, moved the red knob while explaining, etc, so it was probably not a good test.

Wednesday my new one showed up. Again the measurements match Alan's. I just set it up and did a test cut. Perfection. Actually probably too perfect--I'd probably loosen it up a couple thousandths if I was going to really assemble it.

Now I need to go find Alan's thread on building a dust hood for the back side.

Glad to hear all is well!

As far as a rear dust shroud, you have a number of options:

• If you are experienced heat forming plexiglass you can make a fancy looking one from that, but getting something that looks nice without bubbles or burned areas can be difficult.

• You can bend some sheet metal, but be careful of this one, you don't want to damage the blade or fire a Sawstop.

• The quickest and easiest is to make your own version of the rear guard from stacked MDF. Use your bandsaw to make an opening for the dust.

Bulkhead hose fittings and elbows are available from a number of the usual suspects.

Disclaimer: None of these mods are approved by INCRA so you use them at your own risk:

Horizontal back- best of the two plexi versions I tested:



Sloped back:



MDF version:





Angle the elbow and hose to the nearest side of the table. Don't run it back towards you because the vac hose coils will catch on the rear edge of the table or fence rail and impede feeding the I-BOX.

[John Stankus]

Matt, assuming your caliper technique is correct, it looks like you may have a bad set of guide plates. I just took a few measurements off my production unit with a Wixey digital caliper. While my numbers varied by a few thou either way depending on my technique, they were very close to, and likely right on spec. I wrote my results in red next to your numbers below.

Is INCRA swapping out the entire jig or sending you a new set of guide plates?

Hate to be me too on this...but mines out of spec as well. Plates together 0.120 in left plate thick part 0.1335 in thin 0.0630 in right plate thick 0.1305 in and thin 0.0530 in.
I sent Incra an email, and I am confident they will make it right.

But since I don't get much opportunity to get out into the shop during the semester (I teach and haven't been as good at saying "no" to adminstration's requests for extra duties as my wife would like ) I would like to be able to use it on this weekend that I am free (might be a while before I have more shop time).

Matt, how did you do your extra calibration?

Alan, is it possible to do the KISS calibration with shim to account for the error (I haven't thought through the direction of error)? If so how big of a shim? Would it be the gap, or half the gap distance?


I can see this will be a cool jig once I get the in-spec parts.

Thanks

John

stankus@ix.netcom.com