I've made a bunch of jewelry boxes, humidors and the like and typically simply glue up the box and cut off the the lid with the table saw and a shim to prevent the kerf from closing. There are other methods as well, such as using the table saw and lowering the blade so as not to cut completely through the box, then use a razor knife. Another way is to use a well tuned band saw and fence.
Since I haven't glued up the box yet, it struck me that I could simply separate the top from the box using the single side pieces on the table saw and more accurately split a dovetail or end the the lid on a full finger joint pin, cutting the four sides separately. But I've never seen anyone separate the box lids before gluing up the box, so intuitively, my idea must be wrong, because I can't be the first person to think this through.
So how do you guys separate the lid from the box? Table Saw after gluing? Band Saw after glue up?
Regards,
Thomas