Update on recent finger joint thread

[jeff oldham]

well I think I have gotten the jig for the finger joints made and cutting the joints really good after a lot of trial and error,,lol,,,i guess my next question is,,,and I know it might seen like a dumb question,,,but can anyone tell me after you cut your first board do you flip the board and cut the same joint on the other end for 2 boards and cut the matching pins for the other 2 boards where they will fit together,,,i don't know if I'm explaining it right so any help would be appreciated,,,i guess what I'm saying is to cut all the boards at the beginning so they will fit together when you have finished,,,,i have been looking on you tube but all the videos just show you how to cut the 2 joints to fit,,,im interested in cutting all 4 boards to fit,,,thank you

[Jerry Miner]

If I understand your question, you are making finger joints, aka box joints, for a 4-sided box and want to know how to cut all four sides to fit together.

Usually, the front and back of the box will be identical, and the two sides will be identical. You can cut the front and back together by stacking them in the jig and cutting them as if they are one piece. Same with the sides.

You can also cut all for pieces at once if you offset one pair (like the pair of sides) by the size of one finger. Does that make sense?

[Charles Lent]

This is how I do it, mostly to keep the correct order to the joint cutting. There are other ways, but this works best for me.

When you make a box the mating corner pieces need to be different for them to fit together. One needs to have a pin at the top edge and the other needs to have the space. I always label the front and back pieces "A" and the two end pieces of the box "B". Then I make the identical cut on both ends of each board, The "A" pieces get the pin at the top edge and the "B" pieces get the space at the top edge of the board. After you have cut one end of ta board, flip it end for end, but don't rotate it, and cut the other end of the board the same, let's say with the top edge of the board to the left as you make the cuts.

To begin cutting the "B" pieces, they need to be spaced differently. Place the top pin of a piece "A" to the blade side of the key in your jig with the first space over the key. Now but the first "B" piece up against the edge of the "A" piece. The full pin of the "A" piece will position the "B" piece correctly to make the first cut in the "B" piece. Once this first cut has been made, you can set the "A" piece aside and complete the cutting of the "B" piece. Use the first pin on the "A" piece for the needed spacer each time you begin cutting a "B" piece to get the joint spacing correct. Again the piece needs to be flipped end for end and not rotated, so the beginning space of the joint at each end of the piece is on the same top edge of the piece.

A side benefit to cutting both ends of each board the same is that you can choose the best side of the board to face out when assembling your box.

Charley