What joint would you use ??????

[Bill Huber]

I am working on some jewelry boxes and am putting a sliding try in them.

The tray will have 1/4 inch sides and bottom of maple, the question is what joint would you use on it. The tray will be 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches and 1 1/4 inches deep.

At this point I am think about box joints, I am really not ready for dovetails yet, but I really see no other joint that would really work on that size board.

[Jason Beam]

Depends on comfort level, design, tools available and just plain what ya feel like doin ... but you have several options:

Dovetails, box joints, splined miters, keyed miters, possibly a lock miter (if bits come that small). You could use this as a practice for some joint you've never done before if you're so inclined. I like to do that every once in awhile.

My next one will probably be keyed miters. Sounds like a fun one :)

[David DeCristoforo]

A box joint would be good and DTs better but for small trays like this I have often simply mitered the pieces and glued the corners using masking tape to hold them together until the glue dries..

[Chuck Lenz]

Bill, I take it you don't have a dovetail jig. Am I correct ?

[Mike K Wenzloff]

Go with the box joints if you desire joined corners. They'll hold up forever in such an application.

I too typically miter the corners. On larger trays, I will opt to key the corners.

Take care, Mike

[Bill Huber]

A box joint would be good and DTs better but for small trays like this I have often simply mitered the pieces and glued the corners using masking tape to hold them together until the glue dries..

DTs would look much better but I am just not ready yet. I am working on them but I am not getting consistent joints as of yet and I have a good jig.
I am doing fine with box but have not got the dts down yet.

[Bill Huber]

Bill, I take it you don't have a dovetail jig. Am I correct ?

I have a Porter Cable jig but I am still not getting the results I want yet on dovetails. It takes me way to much testing and then for some reason when it comes done the real cut it comes out to tight or to loose.

[Bill Huber]

Go with the box joints if you desire joined corners. They'll hold up forever in such an application.

I too typically miter the corners. On larger trays, I will opt to key the corners.

Take care, Mike

I think I will go with the box, I can cut them right the first time and I think they add to a box.

[Paul Comi]

The most important consideration when deciding on joinery is to choose a joint that makes sense with the material you're using. You didn't say if the drawer sides were mdf, solid wood, plywood or whatever.

I think you'd be surprised at how strong glue alone is if the drawer bottom is plywood and is glued in. Hand cut dovetails are quick and pretty easy, but unless I was working on a nice hardwood project, I wouldn't bother.

ps Doug Stowe put out a good book published by Taunton Press on Box Making. It covers a wide array of the joinery used in small boxes and talks about clever ways of clamping up while the glue sets such as using packing tape. Check bookfinder.com for a good price on a second hand version for low bucks if you don't want to buy it new. Its worth having in your library to reference.

[Bill Huber]

The most important consideration when deciding on joinery is to choose a joint that makes sense with the material you're using. You didn't say if the drawer sides were mdf, solid wood, plywood or whatever.

I think you'd be surprised at how strong glue alone is if the drawer bottom is plywood and is glued in. Hand cut dovetails are quick and pretty easy, but unless I was working on a nice hardwood project, I wouldn't bother.

They are solid maple and I think now I will use 1/4 plywood for the bottom, it will be covered and no one will ever see it. I will cut a rabbet in the sides and put the plywood in the bottom.

[Doug Shepard]

I've just glued up the 45's then cut slots across the corners for decorative splines. Dont know that I needed the splines to reinforce it but wanted the look anyway. After the glue dried I trimmed the splines off as close as I dared with the bandsaw then used the belt sander with a 220g to sand the whole side flush. I just used the router table with a 45 sled to run the boxes through for the spline slots.

[Art Mann]

Several months ago, I faced the same decision, except the trays I was building were made from 1/4" material. I tried a number of experiments with destructive testing and determined that a simple mitered corner was strong enough. The simple miter joints were stronger than I thought. The challenge is to miter the corners precisely and clamp them firmly in order to get the best possible glue joint. I used TB III glue.

I suggest you do a few experiments with scrap to see if a simple glued miter is strong enough for your purposes.

Edit: Paul Comi has a good point about the differences in the material being used. In my case, the matrials were cherry and walnut.

[Mack Cameron]

Hi Bill; I've had great sucess with a 45 degree chamfer bit on a router table.http://www.freudtools.com/woodworkers/rep/router_bits/Router_Bits/Chamfer/html/Chamfer_1.html
No problems with the glue-up, as well as the strength of the corners.
No set up required other than setting the fence. I really hate doing chamfering on a TS. Such a pain to get it exact, and then return to 90 degrees. I have a Wixey but I still stay away as much as possible from moving the saw blade.

Here's a couple of jewelry boxes I did with the chamfer bit.http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=56986&highlight=jewelry+boxes

[Jim Becker]

Box joints would be a good choice for this, IMHO...and with that size side, you might even be able to do it with a multi-cutter box joint bit, rather than one cut at a time. Most of the major cutter manufacturers have them...

[Mack Cameron]

Box joints would be a good choice for this, IMHO...and with that size side, you might even be able to do it with a [quote]multi-cutter box joint bit, HI Jim; until now I never knew there was such a cutter. Do you have one and if so would you mind telling me which one. If not, can you recommend one. You can pm me if you prefer. Being in Canada, I'm not aware of any retailer that has them available. I will have to order from the US and have shipped to my SIL who works in Reading PA once a month.

I just have to get me one of those cutters!

[Jim Becker]

I have a Porter Cable jig but I am still not getting the results I want yet on dovetails. It takes me way to much testing and then for some reason when it comes done the real cut it comes out to tight or to loose.

Machined dovetails for trays this small would need to be cut with a jig such as the Leigh that can do very small ones. Box joints, mitered corners with keys, and so forth would be easier as well as more in scale with the size of the small trays. IMHO, of course...

[Art Mann]

Might this be what you want?

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/graphics3/boxjoint57.jpg


I found the picture on the MLCS website. I am not endorsing MLCS bits. I just happened to remember they sell such a thing. I have never used one.

[Jim Becker]

Art, that's what I was suggesting....

[Gary Keedwell]

Might this be what you want?

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/graphics3/boxjoint57.jpg


I found the picture on the MLCS website. I am not endorsing MLCS bits. I just happened to remember they sell such a thing. I have never used one.
I saw that bit in catolog the other nite and is on my wish list.;) :)
Gary K.

[Bill Huber]

Hi Bill; I've had great sucess with a 45 degree chamfer bit on a router table.http://www.freudtools.com/woodworkers/rep/router_bits/Router_Bits/Chamfer/html/Chamfer_1.html
No problems with the glue-up, as well as the strength of the corners.
No set up required other than setting the fence. I really hate doing chamfering on a TS. Such a pain to get it exact, and then return to 90 degrees. I have a Wixey but I still stay away as much as possible from moving the saw blade.

Here's a couple of jewelry boxes I did with the chamfer bit.http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=56986&highlight=jewelry+boxes

Have a 45 degree chamfer on order, I had just never thought of that. There are so many things that I have just never thought of .

Thanks......

[Bill Huber]

Might this be what you want?


I found the picture on the MLCS website. I am not endorsing MLCS bits. I just happened to remember they sell such a thing. I have never used one.

Thanks Art and Jim, I have one on order. It looks like it will make life a lot easier. It looks like I will be making a few more of these boxes.

[Art Mann]

Yo Bill,

I would appreciate a report on that bit after you have had time to experiment with it. Others might too. :)

Art

[Bill Huber]

Yo Bill,

I would appreciate a report on that bit after you have had time to experiment with it. Others might too. :)

Art

Well do, I am sure I will be doing a lot of pratice cuts with it and will let you know what I think.

At this point I am thinking that I will cut the joints in say 3/4 in stock and then cut them down to 3/8in. and then plan it to 1/4. Just my thinking right now.

[David DeCristoforo]

"...I will cut the joints in say 3/4 in stock and then cut them down to 3/8in. and then plan it to 1/4..."

Smart fish...... If you cut the joints in 3/4" stock you can then split those pieces to get two sides out of each. Just one caution: if the pieces are too short, they may not feed through a planner..... In this case, just resaw them to size and clean up the resawn face with a block plane or sandpaper. I like to line the insides of jewlery trays with billiard cloth. I contact the cloth to strips of 1/8" ply, rolling the cloth over the top edge. Then I miter them to "press fit" inside the tray. If you did something like this, you would not need to worry too much about cleaning up the resaw marks as you could face those in where they would be covered by the liners.