First try at a box! Oak, Meranti, Pine and Epoxy Resin.

[accipiter]

@Kaizen123 - I only know of one TITAN table saw and I got mine from Screwfix just over a year+ ago. The TTB763TAS, 254mm blade, 80mm max cut...

I had issues with it but as Screwfix didn't have any stock to replace with I made do. Had to use some washers to help square up the table top/blade and front fence... where the fence attaches to and the tape measure is. Took me a little while to work out why I couldn't get square cut boards. I also had issues with the wood getting burned and leaving those marks as you show in you first images. Came across a TS blade discussion here and decided to get a 24 tooth blade instead of using the 40 tooth that came with the table saw. Works a treat now so, if you haven't got a lesser tooth blade than the 40 I'd recommend a change - made a big difference to my use of the saw.

 

[Kaizen123]

@accipiter thank you. I've seen all kinds of online tutorials on making your own fence and sled ect. Have made a VERY crude version of a mitre sled but can't see it lasting long.

I think the saw itself is great for 99 quid but definitely needs fine tuning to be bearable. Thanks for the tip though because in my brain I was instinctively thinking more teeth=less wood burn. Note to self: don't trust brain.

Just now trying to do as suggested and glue a couple batons to fit the base.

 

[accipiter]

@Kaizen123 Agree, £99 is a tempting price. I paid the same then had a *minor* issue - head snapped off one of the fixing bolts - and asked them to supply a replacement/spare one which they couldn't easily do. Long story short, eventually got sent the full bolts/nuts fixing pack from one in Coventry so making that TS unsellable! Also got a £25 credit note which eventually became a refund... so £74 is even better

The more teeth the finer/cleaner the cut BUT depends what you are cutting. I got a 80 T blade as I saw one being used for getting fine cuts - - - on plywood boards. I did think the blade that came with it was suitable for both rip and cross cut cutting but again it depends on what you are cutting. The information I gained here along with the advice helped me to determine I needed a 24T or even less (<20T) maybe.

Here are some pics of the "fine tuning" I had to do with the front rail to get the fence square with the blade as the main table front edge and side sections don't line up flush - except at the back:

 

[MarkAW]

B&Q is not a good place to buy nice wood btw. You won't find any sizeable hard wood there for sure. See the thread on timber merchants. I think there's a useful one on how to buy hardwoods as well

 

[grumpycorn]

B&Q near me do actually have some decent size live edge oak if all else fails, but it's not top notch (fair bit of gnarly grain sap etc.) and it's also eye wateringly expensive for what you get. If you can find a timber merchants somewhere near you, or even a builders merchant, as MarkAW suggests, you'll be better off.

 

[Kaizen123]

Cheers guys. There is a place near me Welcome To Our Woodyard | Home | English Woodlands Timber

They've got some really interesting stock!

 

[Kaizen123]

Very nice. For the bottom, maybe glue some battens a few mill up from the bottom, to support a free floating ply base? Maybe some felt on the ply beforehand, using the method Custard (?) put up on the forum.

This worked a treat! Also going to glue the bottom panel to the sides and batons and I reckon she should hold. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Grantx]

Attached are some plans for a simple box and also todays attempt at following said plans. Next time I will show you how to close and hide gaps on miter joints

 

[Kaizen123]

I love those clamps!

 

[Kaizen123]

@Grantx the only problem is I have no way of mitring accurately. I have been doing it by hand and can not do it that accurately to be honest. I have one of those plastic hand saw guides but it's so overused I don't even think it's true anymore and wasn't really ever to begin with.

I have built a mitre sled for my table saw but again it is not the best table saw and probably not the best sled...

I'm gonna get an electric mitre chop saw jobby soon but have sort of given up on trying to mitre boxes for now. So if I do this box you've posted the plans for which I want to do next as it'll help me learn to follow a plan (thank you btw), I'll probably do a different joint as long as that isn't considered blasphemy to someone's plan.

 

[accipiter]

@Kaizen123 may I put forward that your saw table can do accurate mitres but will need time spent on it to set correctly.
I had to spend time on mine and make adjustments as explained "how to" in the manual.
Quite a few vids on YT also offer guidance on what to use to help. Once set you'll be quite surprised - but will need to double check from time to time as it can loose the settings. *Don't* rely on setting the 45 degree (or other angles) just by the gauge markings by the wheel.

 

[baldkev]

@Kaizen123

I have lots of small pieces of air dried riven baltic oak knocking about at the moment and I'd like to offer you some pieces of wood for your box next project.

There are conditions though;

1.You learn to cut dovetails.
2. You pay the postage from London as I'm skint.
3. That HMRC don't decide to take them off me when I travel to London in a couple of weeks.

They look like this with lots of figuring and have nice straight grain, so it's very well behaved and should finish quite well, and they won't have my layout scribbling on them.

Send me a PM if you're interested.

View attachment 126864View attachment 126865

4. That you don't cover them with resin and make a traditional box with them.

Thats great

 

[baldkev]

I have built a mitre sled for my table saw but again it is not the best table saw and probably not the best sled...

As another member suggested, spend time looking at your saw and figuring out where it's inaccuracies are..... so washer or shims to level the table, double and tripple check the angle guage settings, check the fence is 100 percent parallel to the blade and adjust if not.... but one big improvement is the blade. As said before finer blades are great at cross cutting, coarser blades ( less teeth ) are better for ripping, but above all, a good brand blade will be next level..... so search for a suitable freud or trend pro. Much more expensive options are available, but not necessary

 

[Kaizen123]

As a first try I'm happy to stop here. Learned about rabbets and milling and feel this was a good practice project to learn some basics. On to the next one!!

I'm just going to felt the insides and leave it as is so I can look at it in years to come as a memory and to gauge progress.

 

[BradyS]

Also just realised I prefer the lid the other way around like this... That looks better right?

I know this comes a bit late but I would rotate the lid by 180 degrees so that the resin strip is aligned with the one on the side, like bookmatching it.

 

[Hornbeam]

Nice effort
I think long mitres are one of the most difficult joints to get to pull up perfectly especially if there is no internal spline as they can slide about .
I find the best way is to tape everything in place with parcel or insulation tape and then use a very striong tape wrap or old bike inner tubes.
Regards cutting by hand it is quite straight forward to make a mitre shooting board