Cutting the lid off the box

[murphy]

When I cut the lid off a box on the table saw, I end up with a step of less than 1mm on one corner, the fence is fixed tight and the blade height is set just above the thickness of the wood, it can be sanded off with my sanding board which is a sheet of MDF with sandpaper glued to it, but it would be a lot easier if it did not happen in the first place, has anyone got any advice, is it me or the saw setup

 

[Distinterior]

I use a bandsaw to do that task....You also lose less material due to the narrower kerf.

This box was done on a bandsaw.....

 

[Simon89]

Sounds like your fence is not square and the box is pulling into it away from the fence.

Or could be a bendy fence

 

[Ttrees]

Does anyone find they need adhere a slip or more,
of what I guess would be the width of the blade for this operation?

 

[Johnwa]

I had this same problem when splitting a box, then I saw bloke on you tube cutting box lids this way. When cutting the lid on your table saw set the blade about 1mm less than the thickness of the wood so that you dont cut all the way through. Cut all the way around the lid on your table saw and then finish off the cut with a narrow bladed hand saw and a block plane. No more low last corner. I think the problem was caused by the box kicking slightly as it exited the blade. Try it, it worked for me, I've made several boxes now with no problem using this method.

 

[paullippo]

Yes totally agree with Johnwa I do the same and you my Proxxon saw to do it with it works a treat.

 

[murphy]

Thank you all for your help, it is not the fence, that is rigid, and I don't have a bandsaw big enough for cutting the boxes, so I will try not cutting all the way through and finish with a fine tooth saw it sounds like a good idea

 

[Hornbeam]

An alternative to not cutting all the way through is to cut some say 10mm strips of softwood the same thickness as the kerf of your sawblade. After each side is cut lightly glue with a quick grab PVA a piece of softwood at each end of the cut. After the last cut on the table saw go back and cut through the softwood with a handsaw

 

[Ollie78]

Something is a bit off somewhere, it might not be out on the horizontal plane but maybe in the vertical or there is some sort of twist. If its one mm out over 4 cuts it could be a very small deviation causing it.
Is it moving on the last cut as it becomes loose ?
Cut it with a Japanese saw maybe.
I have done it with my circular saw as it only has a kerf of 1.8mm, worked fine.
Maybe try a small spiral cutter in a router.

Ollie

 

[Hornbeam]

I cut the lids off boxes on a router table with a 1.5mm slotting cutter but still but shims into the cuts as they are made (similar to the approach suggested for a table saw)I wouldnt use a small spiral cutter due to depth of cut (typical box side is 12 to 15mm) as you would have to do it in multiple passes