finger joints on long stock

[mike johnston]

Looking for ideas for cutting finger joints on the aprons of a work bench I'm building. First off, although I'd love to be, Im not a neander at all. So handsaws and chisels are a last resort. My bench top is 3 inches thick made up of 4/4 maple. I could take the easy way out and just bread board the end cap, but I would like to make the apron 5 to 6 inches tall all the way around the top. That would make it nicer for vise mounting. also the end cap front and rear aprons will be 8/4 material. I don't see any problem with jointing the ends since I'm planing on just cutting grooves to accept the fingers on the aprons. I'm sure i've made this clear as mud, but all advise is appreciated.

[Randy Klein]

First off, although I'd love to be, Im not a neander at all. So handsaws and chisels are a last resort.

If you want to be a Neander, it takes practice. This would be good practice for you.

[Joe Scharle]

Remember that finger, box or DT joints are structurally weak on long grain. They can't take lateral stress.

[Tom Cross]

Woodworking Magazine had an article and procedure to do this. You should be able to find it by searching their web site.

I recently built the Holtzapel work bench featured in Woodworking Magazine - 3" x 24" x 96" hard maple top. I had worked on a Tage Frid design bench for years and was frustrated by the short length, shoulder vise sagging and clamping limitations. Chris Schwarz work bench book and articles in Woodworking Magazine convinced me not to add an apron to the work bench top. It is so much easier to add a clamp where needed to supplement the bench dogs when there is no apron. Adding vises to a #" thick top is easy so ther is not need to the aprons. So you may want to read what Chris Schwarz has written about work bench tops. His thoughts certainly changed my thinking.

[Jamie Buxton]

You can cut finger joints in 8/4 material on a 10" table saw. The length of your longer pieces (6'?) means you should build a jig, but other than that it is pretty straightforward. Depending on the ceiling height in your shop, you may need to move outside for the operation.

The jig is like a miter gauge on steriods. It has a fence tall enough to control a 6'-tall stick -- maybe 15" tall. It has a support running front-to-back on the table to ensure that the fence stays vertical. You may want to put a "floor" in the jig, so the workpiece doesn't slide on the table; with a 10" blade, you have the height to do this and still make fingers 2" tall.

You cut the joints with a standard saw blade. The fingers may be something like 3/4" wide, so it'll take multiple passes to make each void.

You can put a stop on the jig to space your cuts -- see how folks make box joints. Or you can mount an Incra gauge on the jig to space the workpiece over. Or another approach (the one I've used recently on a big table) is to cut one side of the joint, then use it to scribe where the mating fingers should be, and use the saw very carefully to cut to those scribe marks.

[Ben Rafael]

I'll be the 2nd to say go without aprons. The aprons on my bench do nothing but get in my way.

[John Gornall]

I built my bench with nice big aprons and after the first week I cut the aprons around the vices and flush with the bottom of the bench top - the aprons just got in the way of clamps.

Last week I got the finger joint unit for my Leigh D4 jig and am very pleased with it - I have a stand for the jig which works for 40 inch pieces when on the floor and 6 foot pieces when I lift the stand up and set it on the bench - work from a step ladder.

[glenn bradley]

First off, although I'd love to be, Im not a neander at all. So handsaws and chisels are a last resort.

I'm no help. I am soooo not a Neander but, I would do this with a handsaw and chisels as a first choice.

[bob hertle]

I've built three of the Tage Frid style benches using finger joints. On all three I cut the joints on the band saw. Not at all difficult if you think it thru first. I wouldn't say that the bs allows "unlimited" length, but it was the only alternative since the ceiling height above my Unisaw prevented handling the material there.

Bob

[mike johnston]

After thinking about it, and all the nice suggestions I don't think I need an apron. Just kinda liked the looks of the face blocks on the vises being flush with the apron all the way around.Besides not doing it is going to be easier than doing it. (Nice atitude uh.)
Thanks Mike

[Alan Schaffter]

Easy, so easy, you guys are gonna slap your foreheads-

First thing to remember is that you don't see the back/inside of a box joint/finger joint on a table apron.

So, Mr. Smarty Pants, why does that matter? Read on . . .

Cut the box joints on the tablesaw. Mount your miter gauge on backwards (facing towards you) or if using a single purpose box joint jig mount it so index pin faces you. Then cut fingers in the apron boards with the boards laying flat with end butted against the face of the fence or jig- you don't need to stand it up or high ceilings! You make the first cut and successive cuts like you would on any box joint jig, except the blade comes through the back of the sacrificial fence/jig as you feed the fence/jig and end of the apron into the blade. Instead of using blade height for the depth of cut you either eyeball the blade as it cuts and stop when you reach a pencil line or rig a stop- in the miter slot (easiest) or run one from the outfeed or infeed sides of the table. If you run the dado blade up as high as it will go you reduce the under cut, but since you won't see it anyway, who cares the strength is about the same since it depends mostly on the sides of the pins. If you use a Unifence for the perpendicular guide, you will need slide it far back and re-index it for each cut, our just hold a framing square against the jig face and apron to keep the apron perpendicular.

Oh, and by the way, with this technique you can cut fingers as deep as you want and are not limited by the diameter of your dado blade. The diameter only limits the thickness of stock- I doubt many will be cutting aprons thicker than 2".

Though I haven't tried it, you might also be able to do this without a jig using a Wixey digital fence unit set to the incremental mode. I suppose and Incra fence would work also. But the key is you don't need to worry about the under cut!

And yes, though a little harder, you can use a similar, but more complicated end-on cut technique to cut both pins and sockets for through dovetails!

Here is the proof (long apron is 7'!):

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/500/medium/P5080003.JPG

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/500/medium/P5060065.JPG

[Chris Padilla]

Uneven box joint alert, uneven box joint alert!! :p

Just funnin' ya, Alan! :D

I like your idea and it works for its intended application!

[Alan Schaffter]

Uneven box joint alert, uneven box joint alert!! :p

Just funnin' ya, Alan! :D

I like your idea and it works for its intended application!

Ya got me! :o

I should have sized the fingers a bit wider so I wouldn't have had the sliver left over. It is just a shop table Of course, what you don't see on the other face is where I made the first cut with the apron face down on the TS so the under cut shows- I put an endgrain plug in it. This was the first thing I made with that technique a few years ago.