Half-blind box joints

[Sporky McGuffin]

Hello all - just wondering why these don't seem popular. Is it that the box joint is a simple, functional thing rather than being seen as a bit of craftspersonship/artistry, so the additional effort in doing them half-blind isn't worth it?

Mostly asking as I am making friends with my Incra router table and want to crank out some simple boxes to build some familiarity, and half-blind box joints sound like a nice intersection if straightforward and interesting...

 

[paulrbarnard]

Hello all - just wondering why these don't seem popular. Is it that the box joint is a simple, functional thing rather than being seen as a bit of craftspersonship/artistry, so the additional effort in doing them half-blind isn't worth it?

Mostly asking as I am making friends with my Incra router table and want to crank out some simple boxes to build some familiarity, and half-blind box joints sound like a nice intersection if straightforward and interesting...

If you are doing it on a router jig isn’t it pretty much identical effort to make then dovetails? They look better ;-)

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

It is, but I have straight cutters on hand, the dovetail ones are some weeks away.

 

[Jacob]

Hello all - just wondering why these don't seem popular. Is it that the box joint is a simple, functional thing rather than being seen as a bit of craftspersonship/artistry, so the additional effort in doing them half-blind isn't worth it?

Mostly asking as I am making friends with my Incra router table and want to crank out some simple boxes to build some familiarity, and half-blind box joints sound like a nice intersection if straightforward and interesting...

Dovetails are simple functional things too, not intended to be looked at. There isn't much point in half blind DT in a box where all sides are visible, but in a drawer front they are out of sight most of the time.
The box joint is a machined substitute for a DT, which you wouldn't bother to do by hand as the DT is no more difficult and is stronger.
Again, you wouldn't bother making them half blind unless you didn't want them seen on the front of a drawer.
So it's through DTs or box joint for boxes. Half blind ditto for drawer fronts, unless you are a follower of fashion, making them through and more visible from all sides.

 

[thetyreman]

the reason they probably aren't popular is that it's just as much work and effort to just make dovetails than it is a box joint, and for practical/manufacturing reasons the through box joint makes more sense, it can easily be done on a table saw very fast and efficiently with jigs.

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

Dovetails are simple functional things too, not intended to be looked at.

I think there's a bit of fetishisation of dovetails - making them as skinny and tricky-looking as possible, that trend for running a marking gauge over machined dovetails to try to make it look like they were hand-cut...

Thanks all. I might have a go at blind box joints just for my own entertainment, but I do appreciate and understand the reasoning - it's pretty much what I'd thunk myself.

 

[Jacob]

I think there's a bit of fetishisation of dovetails - making them as skinny and tricky-looking as possible, that trend for running a marking gauge over machined dovetails to try to make it look like they were hand-cut...

Thanks all. I might have a go at blind box joints just for my own entertainment, but I do appreciate and understand the reasoning - it's pretty much what I'd thunk myself.

Actually the skinny ones are slightly easier - you start them with a single vertical cut, which might as well be down to the line, then the two angled sides starting in the same kerf. When you chop out the waste the kerf you started off with makes it easier to knock out.
The common mistake with so-called "London Pattern" DTs is to make the edge ones (so-called half DTs) literally half the thickness and very flimsy looking. Might lose more in the process of adjusting to fit the opening. Best left 3/4 or more

 

[Just4Fun]

I made a small set of shelves for the kitchen to hold teas, coffees, cocoa sort of stuff. I used dovetails to join the top & bottom shelves to the vertical side pieces. To maximise vertical strength (because, well, packets of tea can be so heavy ) the tails were on the verticals. I didn't use through dovetails as I didn't want end-grain visible on the sides, so I used half-blind dovetails. The end result was that, when looked at from above or below the shelves, the corners looked like half-blind box joints. Another way to put that is .... F**** Ugly. Luckily, nobody actually looks at the joints from above or below. Anyway, I concluded that a half-blind box joint is not something I would ever bother with.

 

[recipio]

The beauty of finger joints is the contrast between face and end grain on the front and sides. I imagine half blind finger joints would not look all that attractive. It can be done easily by ripping off a 4- 6 mm piece from the display face of the board , make the finger joints and then re glue the ( planed ) board back on to the face board. This technique works well for half blind dovetails but would look distinctly odd with finger joints.

 

[TheTiddles]

Those cheap perform dovetail jigs cut them, just instead of using a dovetail cutter you use a straight