Advice on cutting joints

[Islandbees]

Hi, new here but been browsing for a while now. I'm after some advice regarding best tool / method for the job. I'm making a few beehives and have a joint to cut which I've been doing on the table saw with a homemade jig. However, this is slow and doesn't give the best finish. Just wondered if anyone could recommend a tool / way of making these repetitive cuts quickly and accurately? I'll attach a few pics. Thanks, drew.

 

[dzj]

I know some people that make bee hives (the Langstroth type).
They use box joints and make them on a TS with the usual jig/ crosscut sled.
Instead of a dado blade, they use fixed width shaper cutters.
For just a few joints, a router with a straight edge bit would also work.

 

[Islandbees]

Thanks for the quick reply. I originally used the router but soon changed to the TS. Are shaper cutters similar to dado blades as in you simply swap the current blade for one if them? I've looked at dado blades but some people suggested newer saws don't have a long enough shank to house them.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Your TS would need to have been designed to take a dado blade. It will have a much longer arbor as you say (shank). The vast majority of commonly available British machines can't take one. In fact the only one I'm aware of is the Excalibur range from Woodford.

 

[Islandbees]

Thanks Bob, I thought that might be the case. Unfortunately!! That would have been an ideal way to cut a few in one pass. I've also looked at spindle moulders with a 16mm bit but they seem quite a serious but of kit. The bench versions I have seen haven't got a great review either.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

If you've ever had a gander at Matthias Wandel's website and more relevantly his YT channel, he makes a lot of sophisticated jigs that he uses clever design to get close dimension tolerance repeat cuts with. He shows how he makes a box joint jig that he uses on his TS with a regular kerf blade (3mm or so) and it works a treat. It's basically a cross cut sled with a notching/pegging offset design to get the teeth aligned correctly. He goes completely OTT with cog wheels to speed up the adjustment and jolly clever it is too. But a simpler one could be made in a couple of hours or less that would work just fine.

 

[dzj]

Thanks for the quick reply. I originally used the router but soon changed to the TS. Are shaper cutters similar to dado blades as in you simply swap the current blade for one if them? I've looked at dado blades but some people suggested newer saws don't have a long enough shank to house them.

Yes, you just swap the blade, no setup necessary like with dado blades.
This is the type of cutter they use:
http://www.amazon.com/Freud-UP176-4-Inc ... B00004VWQY

They come in many sizes and usually take up a few mm of the arbor less than a dado blade.
Whether you can put this on your TS, depends on the model you have.
If you can't and you plan on making many repetitive cuts, I'd go for a large router.

 

[dc_ni]

Here is a simple single blade box joint jig:

http://www.thewoodfather.com/projects/single-blade-box-joint-jig-plans/

 

[Islandbees]

Thanks for the advice chaps. All really helpful, think my next job is improving my jig to make it adjustable. Just one final question regarding the router; how come when you use a dovetail bit you are able to cut the full depth in one pass, whereas using other bit you have to increase depth wach time?

 

[woodbrains]

Thanks for the advice chaps. All really helpful, think my next job is improving my jig to make it adjustable. Just one final question regarding the router; how come when you use a dovetail bit you are able to cut the full depth in one pass, whereas using other bit you have to increase depth wach time?

Hello,,

You just don't have a choice with dovetail bits. Because they are an undercut, sequential depth pases are not possible, but not ideal, either. If using a straight bit, then the ideal situation is possible, so is done.

For something like a sliding dovetail, I would make a groove with a straight bit first, to remove most of the material and then follow with a dovetail bit. It is always better to make multiple passes where possible, even if it is with another bit.

Also, in a dovetail jig, for example, it is often possible to remove the waste with a dovetail bit in little bites. It must cut to full depth, but the traverse into the cut can be nibbled at, as it were.

Mike.

 

[siggy_7]

If you are going to make a number of boxes/hives, I would look at a jig with a mechanical control. One of Matthias Wandel's readers built an earlier version of his screw advance box joint jig for the very purpose of making hives - see http://woodgears.ca/box_joint/bob.html. You can use a jig like the screw advance box joint jig to cut any spacing of fingers you like with a standard tablesaw blade - see http://woodgears.ca/mirror_stand/box_joint.html. That's the jig I'm planning to make for the boxes I build. The videos show off the capability of the jig very well.

 

[Monkey Mark]

If you are going to make a number of boxes/hives, I would look at a jig with a mechanical control. One of Matthias Wandel's readers built an earlier version of his screw advance box joint jig for the very purpose of making hives - see http://woodgears.ca/box_joint/bob.html. You can use a jig like the screw advance box joint jig to cut any spacing of fingers you like with a standard tablesaw blade - see http://woodgears.ca/mirror_stand/box_joint.html. That's the jig I'm planning to make for the boxes I build. The videos show off the capability of the jig very well.

Very impressive.
When I get time I may see how much those plans are.

 

[Islandbees]

Very kind of you all to assume I have the skill to make if of those, but the gears are mayb a step too far :? . I quite like the look of the sliding jig with the spacer blocks and blade sized bolt though.

 

[Islandbees]

Good morning all. Just a quick update to say thanks for the advice. I ended up making a jig for the TS, similar to the sliding box jig. Worked a treat and has really speeded up the process.