How to cut box slots for splines on a box without a table saw?

[scubadoo]

Hello,

I'm making a jewellery box for my daughter with mitred joints and i want to add corner splines. The tools I have available are bandsaw, router table, domino, handsaws. Box is 27x14cm and 8cm high.

I don't think my skills are up to it with a handsaw!

Wondering if anyone has a jig they use with the bandsaw or router table?

Dave

 

[recipio]

Box splines have become incredibly popular due to the advent of the power tool era. I don't like them personally and they are not in fact very strong. Top box makers like Andrew Crawford shun them completely. I have however made a few by using a biscuit joiner. Just raise the base with a piece of scrap and make a V shaped jig to hold the corner of the box. Some scrap Ply will prevent tearout as the blade exits from the cut. Another tool for the Xmas list.

 

[thetyreman]

the simplest way I can think of is make a fairly simple jig for your power router, you'd have some kind of baseboard, like a big piece of chipboard, plywood, anything as long as it's flat, then stick on two pieces each side planed to your thickness of the splines, lets say 18mm and then you use double sided tape to stick the wood down for your splines and rout it to the exact thickness you want, ideally taking off only a small amount at a time, until it's down to depth your depth, set the depth with your depth stop on the router.

 

[scubadoo]

Just to add i have a router table, and big and trim handheld routers

 

[scubadoo]

the simplest way I can think of is make a fairly simple jig for your power router, you'd have some kind of baseboard, like a big piece of chipboard, plywood, anything as long as it's flat, then stick on two pieces each side planed to your thickness of the splines, lets say 18mm and then you use double sided tape to stick the wood down for your splines and rout it to the exact thickness you want, ideally taking off only a small amount at a time, until it's down to depth your depth, set the depth with your depth stop on the router.

I probably wasn't clear, it's the slots for the splines i want to cut. I'm happy to resaw the splines themselves on the bandsaw and plane to thickness., sorry!

 

[BravoNovember]

I did toy with making a sled for my bandsaw to do this on a mitred box, a sort of cross cut sled with a 45 degree cradle to present the corner of the box to the blade to cut the channels. My plan was to then knife wall and chisel out the waste.
I don’t make a lot of mitred boxes so it seemed a lot of work to make the sled rather than just dovetail the corners in the end.
It probably wouldn’t be too hard to cut them with a decent dovetail or tenon saw. If you knife out the lines, maybe chisel out a step down for the saw to nestle into. I’d probably just cut them as wide as my narrowest chisel to pare out the waste, but that might be a chunky look depending on the size of your chisel!

 

[Graham Brazier]

I used a slot router cutter to cut the lid from a mitred corner box recently

I was thinking it could also be used for splines using a mitre gauge at 45deg with the corner running against the fence and push the box through

cut the lid off first then put spline in lid and then spline in the box section top and bottom mine is 2mm poss get thinner

 

[Junah]

I use these, The 60mm 1.5mm is very good for cutting the box in half too. Thanks to Peter Sefton for showing me how.
https://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Groover_134.html

 

[PerryGunn]

Just to add i have a router table, and big and trim handheld routers

Then this may help

https://knowledge.axminstertools.com/make-router-table-spline-jig/

 

[Peter Sefton]

We cut the spline slots on the router table during our box making course, spaces available for February.

https://www.peterseftonfurnitureschool.com/courses/box-making-course/

 

[Jacob]

I'd look at gluing up the mitred box sides first, plus top and bottom , then cut the slots for the spines and fit them. Then cut the top off. Depending on what design you want for the top.

 

[thetyreman]

I probably wasn't clear, it's the slots for the splines i want to cut. I'm happy to resaw the splines themselves on the bandsaw and plane to thickness., sorry!

no problem, I didn't read the title properly lol

 

[alan895]

+1 for using a biscuit jointer to do this several times before I figured it was worth making my own version of the Rockler router table spline jig.

 

[furnace]

I'm no master craftsman but do them by hand with good results. Careful marking out and taking time yields good results.
These were done last week. Marked with a pencil, cut with a tenon saw and pared with a chisel. Most therapeutic, no noise, no dust. Give it a go. You might surprise yourself.

 

[furnace]

This is the process I used. I stress, I'm an amateur and find that taking time and focusing on the process rather than the finish line seems to work OK for me.

Good luck however you go about it

 

[BravoNovember]

This is the process I used. I stress, I'm an amateur and find that taking time and focusing on the process rather than the finish line seems to work OK for me.

Good luck however you go about it
View attachment 149382View attachment 149384View attachment 149383View attachment 149385View attachment 149386View attachment 149387

That is really nice. I’ve not made them with the slight tails yet. Working with hand tools is a lot more about the process, I agree with you there.

 

[scubadoo]

I use these, The 60mm 1.5mm is very good for cutting the box in half too. Thanks to Peter Sefton for showing me how.
https://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Groover_134.html

THey look perfect, I'll see if i can get some for tomorrow. Thanks!

Don't suppose you'd have a link to which arbor you used?

 

[scubadoo]

We cut the spline slots on the router table during our box making course, spaces available for February.

https://www.peterseftonfurnitureschool.com/courses/box-making-course/
View attachment 149366

Thanks @Peter Sefton , that Jessem mire r slide looks like a beast!

 

[scubadoo]

Thanks everyone, some really great suggestions and I think I know which way to go. I'll get one of the groovers that @Junah suggested and make a quick sled like the one @PerryGunn linked to. Some really nice examples from @furnace, really nice workmanship!
Thanks all! One of the biggest challenges i've had is not having a planer/thicknesser. I've been hand planing and jointing the edges on the router table, sometimes when doing that i struggle to get a straight face on the edge. Any tips?
thought i'd add that the box i'm making is something like this by J katz moses.

 

[recipio]

Of course , it is the glue line that adds strength. You could just use a tenon saw and let in slips of veneer.