How To Make A Box Joint

Cut the sides of the box 132 to 116 longer than necessary. You may need to position a clamp diagonally to square the box.

How To Make Perfect Box Joints With A Table Saw Jig

Remove the loose spacer and set aside.

How to make a box joint. Last but not least youll need a box-joint jig. Also make sure opposing sides are identical in length. Pass the dado bit through your material.

The mate for the joint will be started without the spacer and your boards will line up perfectly. First is a dado set which will enable you to make almost any size joint or a dedicated box-joint cutter see Dedicated Box-Joint Cutter Sets on page 12. Make sure your stock is flat and square.

Clamp the box together as shown below. When making these joints I like to base the dimensions of the rabbet and dado on the stock thickness making them exactly half. For the box front and back be sure to allow a bit of length to account for the length of the rabbet.

To assemble simply apply a thin layer of glue on all joint surfaces and slip the joint together and clamp as needed. To join your box pieces apply glue to all of the mating surfaces with a small brush. Second youll need a zero-clearance insert to prevent tear-out.

With the groove cut now trim the drawer sides to length as in Photo 2. However youll need to be a bit more diligent about keeping the box square when clamping than you might need to. It is also important that the width of all sides is identical.

Tap the joints together with a rubber mallet if necessary. To make box joints at the table saw youll need three items. Butt your material up to the fixed spacer and make your next cut.

This type of joinery works fine for making box-like structures such as drawers.

Box Making 101 Mitered Finger Joints