Incra I-Box for small boxes?

[Steve Mathews]

I'm having problems making a small 3"x5x 2" high box using the Incra I-Box jig. The small pieces are difficult to hold in place and position properly, which results in gaps between the joints and misalignment. I'm using the jig on a router table. Attempts at making larger boxes on a table saw were successful so making a small box using a router table has me stumped. Any suggestions?

[Johnny Barr]

When using the table saw and the I Box jig I only needed to hold the stock by hand to keep it secure but on the router table I found I needed to clamp as the router bit tends to lift the stock. This was really evident when using Incra's right angle guide on their LS Positioner. One of those wooden clamps really helped. It makes the whole job slower but well worth it for accuracy.

[Justin Rapp]

I'm having problems making a small 3"x5x 2" high box using the Incra I-Box jig. The small pieces are difficult to hold in place and position properly, which results in gaps between the joints and misalignment. I'm using the jig on a router table. Attempts at making larger boxes on a table saw were successful so making a small box using a router table has me stumped. Any suggestions?

I've made some 4.5x4.5x2.25 boxes on my table saw iwth no problem. I always clamp them in place.

[Steve Mathews]

I attempted another small box today using the router setup and it came out much better. I'm not completely satisfied with the results but there is improvement. The key as Johnny mentions is a secure hold on the piece being cut. I used a different clamp this time and paid more attention to the having the stock square to the fence. Also removing the guard helped in seeing that everything was set up correctly.

[Jay Rasmussen]

I've made boxes as short as 1 1/2" on my table saw without issue. Why switch to the router table? With a saw blade the force is pushing back to the IBox, a router bit wants to push to the stock to the side.

[Steve Mathews]

I've made boxes as short as 1 1/2" on my table saw without issue. Why switch to the router table? With a saw blade the force is pushing back to the IBox, a router bit wants to push to the stock to the side.
I too had much better success using the table saw but I wanted to try the router setup as it's more convenient in my situation. Rob Cosman seems to do alright using the router so I thought why not give it a try. I think besides secure clamping using a spiral router bit also helped. I used a straight bit for the first few attempts.

[John Kananis]

I've not used the device but how large is the router in your table? HP, amps, etc.

[Steve Mathews]

I've not used the device but how large is the router in your table? HP, amps, etc.

The router is a Milwaukee 5625-20, 3-1/2 hp, 15 amps.

[John Kananis]

Oh yeah, plenty of power. Just trying to eliminate some possibilities.

[glenn bradley]

Always had better success with the tablesaw when making these types of joints. If you really want to use the router table I would suggest clamping the material for each pass. The rotation of the bit tries to shift things. Applying an aggressive abrasive (80 grit) to the fence can help you hold the material if clamping is not reasonable.

[Randy Heinemann]

I have used the I-Box on my Incra Router table with some success. It is one of those things which has a bit of a learning curve though. After I experimented twice I ended up with a box that was excellent. However, it was larger than yours. I never tried with a smaller box. It would seem that it might be a little difficult to hold small pieces with the jig. I think, though, if you try several you'll get it. It's like anything else in woodworking, once you have the technique and learn about the idiosycracies of a particular tool or jig, the results will significantly improve. Everything I've used an Incra jig or my router table for has, in the end, turned out well.