Coytee Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Going to attempt to make a little box for my wife's niece. Instead of something like a "memories" box, we're going to call it her "Dream's" box since she's handicapped and we're trying to look forward to a bright future... Scenario: Four sides to the box (purple heartwood) Going to probably use some baltic birch 1/4" plywood for the bottom. Need to cut a slot in all 4 sides to hold the bottom Corners should be dovetailed (full) Now, if I use table saw or router to cut a slot in all four sides, the slot will meet at the corners of the box. What I'm wondering is, will that meeting cause a small "hole" to appear on the outside edge presuming the slots are 100% of the length of the board? How would you cut a more squarish beginning & end to the slot if you used a table saw? (the radius of the blade would make a rounded slope, not a vertical beginning) I'm guessing a router bit will make it more square but I end up with the same question... if I take it all the way to each end, will it cause two slots to meet, making a 'hole' appear on the outside of the joint? (can you tell I've never done this before!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 If you miter the corners you won't have a hole. Or make all of the dove tails first (mark the tops and bottoms) then router the slots which will be easier to visualize so you know how far to router the slot which should not be a problem. Careful with the Purple Heart as it is tough and sometimes brittle when you get down to 1/4" thickness. After you sand it get your finish on quick because it will darken after a few hours. There are some pros on this forum who do this all the time so maybe they can help. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 I'd say, before anything, make sure your table saw is in as perfect alignment as you can get it (vertical, blade tracking front to back, etc.). Even elevating and lowering the blade can get it off it's settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted June 23, 2017 Author Share Posted June 23, 2017 Sorry late to respond. I'm thinking I'll use the router table, it's a lot nicer router/table than the table/saw! I don't anticipate the corners being mitered, they'll have a full dovetail (that's the current plan) Without having done this before, I'm just seeing the chance that where the two slots meet for the bottom, they might create a hole at the corner. Maybe they won't... I don't have enough experience to know. I guess I could do a trial run on some Pine or something to actually see if that will happen or not. In the big scheme, it won't matter if it DID leave a notch there, she's got such a golden heart, she'll love anything she gets and will genuinely appreciate it. My ace up my sleeve is my wife is her favorite Aunt so by extension I can do no wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 Yes. If you use a tablesaw or router to cut full length slots on all 4 sides, you will see holes in the corners. If the box is small enough that the 1/4" plywood bottom only needs to be supported on 2 sides, you can hide the holes fairly easily: Either align the slots with the pin sockets and slot the tail boards, or align the slots with the tail sockets and slot the pin boards (see pic). If you want to slot all 4 sides and avoid corner holes, you'll have to stop the slots short of the ends on either the tail or pin boards. For this, the router is a better choice. If you've never dovetailed a box before, plan to practice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 11 hours ago, mungkiman said: If you want to slot all 4 sides and avoid corner holes, you'll have to stop the slots short of the ends on either the tail or pin boards. For this, the router is a better choice. I think they used to call those "blind dovetails". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted June 24, 2017 Author Share Posted June 24, 2017 i thought a blind dovetail was invisible (blind) on one side and the picture shown above would be a full dovetail where you can see the cuts on both sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 USE "stop blocks" clamped to the fence of the router table for the slots in the side panels which will support the box bottom...that way the slots will not go all the way to the end of the panels. Google "stop blocks on router table" and you will understand how it works. It is something every woodworker should know how to do...and learn how to do it using scrap first...practice makes perfect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 On 6/23/2017 at 9:42 AM, Mighty Favog said: I think they used to call those "blind dovetails". Blind dovetails are most commonly used as joinery to attach drawer side panels to the drawer front panel. That way the drawer front panel has no dovetails showing when closed (as on drawer panels whose face panel is flush with the frame facing when closed). PLUS, it also allows for oversized drawer fronts when the drawer front panel is captured by the frame facing instead of being flush with the frame facing when the drawer is closed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 I think he meant a Blind Dado. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted August 5, 2017 Author Share Posted August 5, 2017 The rest of the story.... Got the wood. It was 1" thick. She's in a wheelchair. I didn't want a heavy box (it would be heavy enough) Had them plane it down to 5/8" thick and he edged one side so I could cut it on our (flimsy, plastic base) table saw For this type project, I really have some hack tools... but, I'm persistent! Got it cut, cut the dovetails to see if it would work... used some biscuits to mate the box to the base and to mate the fixed top piece to the top of the box. That was an interesting process because of having to change the depths of cut and not wanting to screw it up. Keep in mind, I have never done this before. As a matter of practice, I cut some dovetails to make my wife a little coffee tray.... and then was GOING to make another box like this so I could iron out the bugs in the process. Started with the other wood, cut the dovetails and put the 4 pieces together and realized I didn't have time, she was due to arrive. So stopped everything and just dove into this. The above is all the prep work, experience I had before making this. Didn't know how to attach the top to the box... she wanted polished brass hinges but didn't want a piano hinge (she doesn't know what one is, just knew that she didn't want one!) So came up with the idea of cutting the top and placing the hinge there. Box surely isn't perfect (you can see some oozed glue on the inside corners that I couldn't sand out) and there are some other mistakes that are easy to see if you see them.... but that said.... I actually told my wife the other day that I was pretty darn surprised at how nice this turned out, especially for a beginners first attempt. Might make a pair of these for my nieces...Don't know if I'd use same wood (which I think turned out very pretty) or something different. Oh, and that is my work bench. Put the table saw up there, cut things. Moved it down. Put the miter saw up there, cut things, moved it down. Put the dovetail jig there, moved it down. Sanded, stained....well....you get the idea. Kind of cramped and always had the threat of something falling through the hole in the wood (above which I place the router table and the router goes through the hole to hang below) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted August 5, 2017 Author Share Posted August 5, 2017 Oh, and I have a solid brass chain on order to keep the lid from flopping back. I had some other hardware but don't like it AND it's plated. She wants polished brass so she's getting polished brass. Nothing fake/plated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 That looks very nice, she will love that. I'd say your skills are pretty good, sure doesn't look like something you experimented on. The brass is a nice touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 I want to learn how to do this stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 The hardest thing to build, a square box. I think it looks great. Nice job. I think I've still got an old book that you need to read. I don't remember giving it away. I bought it used about 30 years ago. It's the type of reading you (and me) would love. Woodworking. I'll see if I can find it. Keith 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball II Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 You guy's doing that fancy schmancy joinery again WITH exotic wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted August 6, 2017 Share Posted August 6, 2017 Very nice Richard. She will love it I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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