Leave it to a woodworker to admit this, but lately, I’ve been thinking about box joints. When I was just learning the craft, reinforced butt joints and rabbets were my preferences for making those early, simple projects. But thanks to Norm’s encouragement on Saturday mornings, box joints became my next goal. I can still remember the excitement of cutting all those pins and slots and then holding my breath in anticipation of them sliding together into a tight, geometrically dazzling fit. Sometimes they did, and sometimes they didn’t. That’s how it goes with box joints, right?
Since then, I’m sure I’ve made hundreds of box joints. Often, I’ll just grab a simple plywood fence with a pin in it and use my miter gauge. It still takes a bit of futzing to get the jig set correctly, but in the end, it’s a workaday way to get the job done. I’ve also had good luck with more sophisticated (and expensive) styles of box joint jigs for the table saw and router table. Those can be finicky, too. But how about you? Are box joints an important form of joinery for your projects? How do you prefer to make them, and do you make them often enough to merit a top-shelf jig? Or do you keep the process cheap and low-tech? Looking forward to your thoughts!
Chris Marshall, Woodworker’s Journal
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