Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 16

Thread: Using router to cut open box

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    3,222

    Using router to cut open box

    Maybe a weird idea, but thinking of cutting open my current box project on my router table. I’ve loaned out my contractor’s saw to a friend for a few weeks (which I would normally use), and I really am horrible at trying to cut boxes open with a hand saw/pull saw/back saw (yes, tried them all!).

    So, does anyone see a pending disaster using a 1/8” straight cut bit taking 3 or 4 passes at 1/8” or so increments around the box. Need to get just shy of 1/2” (I’ll leave a hair to hand cut with a saw).

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Cashiers NC
    Posts
    603
    It will work fine. I would use a 1/8 spiral bit.
    Charlie Jones

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Central North Carolina
    Posts
    1,830
    Do you have a band saw? I've used my band saw quite a few times for this, but make sure the tracking and the fence are lined up before starting.

    Charley

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    7,254
    Blog Entries
    7
    A router works well for this. 1/8” downcut with light passes.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  5. #5
    You could use a slot cutter bit if it fit the size of the boxes you want to cut.
    https://www.whitesiderouterbits.com/products/6705a

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    3,222
    Thank you all. I actually found a new 1/8” downcut in the back of the “misc” drawer that I must have “needed” at some point for something (I’m sure that’s never happened to anyone else!). Anyway, should be good to go. Appreciate the experienced input.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Northwest Indiana
    Posts
    957
    I may be late to the party, but I picked up a 6" 40 tooth from Carbide Processors that I use in my 10" table saw--kerf about 1/16". Got it to segment pen blanks (i.e. Celtic knots), but it's great for parting box lids as well. Clean cut, minimal wood loss so it keeps the grain flowing better. Much better results than I ever had before. Have been thinking about trying a steel blade (non-carbide) for box cutting--but the kerf would only be slightly narrower.
    earl

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    West Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    6,529
    Earl, the OP said he lent his TS out, which is why he’s asking about using a router.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    SE Michigan
    Posts
    3,222
    Earl, only late for this box Thanks for the 6” thin blade idea. Will need to give that a try.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    LA & SC neither one is Cali
    Posts
    9,447
    Am I the only one that read the title and envisioned a youtube unboxing video going horribly wrong?
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  11. #11
    I have a 10 inch 2mm table saw blade that I use to cut the top off of a box. You want to disrupt the grain pattern as little as possible. Cutting most of the way through and finishing with a hand saw is a good way to do it.

    You'll almost never get it exactly right so having a piece of MDF with a big piece of sandpaper glued to it works to get the box and the top flat so they fit together perfectly. When I say big piece of sandpaper, I mean some sandpaper cut from a belt from a wide belt sander, maybe 24 to 36 inches wide.

    If you're going to glue wide sandpaper to MDF, make sure you use some glue that doesn't have water in it or the MDF will warp. I use 3M 77 or 90 spray glue.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    NW Indiana
    Posts
    3,078
    I do much better using the bandsaw to cut off a lid. And then the sandpaper on MDF works great.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Northwest Indiana
    Posts
    957
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Day View Post
    Earl, the OP said he lent his TS out, which is why he’s asking about using a router.
    Yep--I read that last night, forgot it by the time I posted this afternoon.
    earl

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Van Huskey View Post
    Am I the only one that read the title and envisioned a youtube unboxing video going horribly wrong?
    That's exactly what I was expecting..

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Doylestown, PA
    Posts
    7,551
    Quote Originally Posted by Charles Lent View Post
    Do you have a band saw? I've used my band saw quite a few times for this, but make sure the tracking and the fence are lined up before starting.

    Charley
    I just watched a Rough Cut v.2 episode where they did the same, used a band saw. A small router bit should work though, slow feed and shallow passes.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •