I've added 'Box' to the pitch dropdown selector in my dovetail template
generator, so it just draws evenly spaced square tails~fingers. Is this
correct or do I need to change it?
Thanks for any feedback.
http://www.blocklayer.com/Woodjoints/DovetailEng.aspx

Yes, that's right.

Blocklayer wrote:
I've added 'Box' to the pitch dropdown selector in my dovetail template
generator, so it just draws evenly spaced square tails~fingers. Is this
correct or do I need to change it?
Thanks for any feedback.
http://www.blocklayer.com/Woodjoints/DovetailEng.aspx

"Josh" wrote in message
oups.com...
Yes, that's right.

Blocklayer wrote:
I've added 'Box' to the pitch dropdown selector in my dovetail template
generator, so it just draws evenly spaced square tails~fingers. Is this
correct or do I need to change it?
Thanks for any feedback.
http://www.blocklayer.com/Woodjoints/DovetailEng.aspx


Except dovetails are a lot stronger and to some of us, prettier.

"Fred Toewe" wrote in message
...


Except dovetails are a lot stronger and to some of us, prettier.


You'll want to qualify that after some second thought. The modest
mechanical - in one direction - advantage provided by one full and two half
pins in a six-inch wide 1/2" board provides much less glue area than even a
1/2" box joint, while looking pretty handsome. Go to 1/4" and it's likely
the box joint beats a continuous dovetail made with the standard 1/2" bit.

Fortunately, both look good enough and hold well enough if used properly,
though the box joint is a bit easier to make.

"George" George@least wrote in message
...

"Fred Toewe" wrote in message
...


Except dovetails are a lot stronger and to some of us, prettier.


You'll want to qualify that after some second thought. The modest
mechanical - in one direction - advantage provided by one full and two
half pins in a six-inch wide 1/2" board provides much less glue area than
even a 1/2" box joint, while looking pretty handsome. Go to 1/4" and it's
likely the box joint beats a continuous dovetail made with the standard
1/2" bit.

Fortunately, both look good enough and hold well enough if used properly,
though the box joint is a bit easier to make.

I'm new to drawer making. Is there any advantage one way or the other to
using the table saw or the router to make box joints?

On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 14:53:31 -0500, "C & E"
wrote:

I'm new to drawer making. Is there any advantage one way or the other to
using the table saw or the router to make box joints?

You really need a jig to do either and IMHO, the tablesaw jig is easier
to make yourself than a router jig. It's also a good bit quicker to use
- if I'm making boxes, I'm making _lots_ of boxes.

It's worth having a suitable narrow dado blade (Freud? do one especially
for finger joints) so you have one-pass cutting.

"C & E" wrote in message
...

"George" George@least wrote in message
...
Fortunately, both look good enough and hold well enough if used properly,
though the box joint is a bit easier to make.

I'm new to drawer making. Is there any advantage one way or the other to
using the table saw or the router to make box joints?


Router easier and less fiddly than a saw. Cleaner looking, too, if your
dado blade overcuts the outside. Both jigs operate on the same principle,
just that with the one you tap the jig relative to the router, with the
other, you can either adjust the finger or move the whole apparatus and
resecure.

I don't know anything much easier than making a plow cut in a board and
putting in a rib, so I'll say Andy must really have something different for
his tablesaw.

http://www.routerworkshop.com/boxjoints.html

On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 02:33:46 GMT, "Fred Toewe"
wrote:

Except dovetails are a lot stronger and to some of us, prettier.

Dovetails are used because they don't fall apart after the glue has
failed. For long-use furniture with traditional glues, then this is a
serious advantage. With modern glues and likely lifetimes, there's a
good argument that the better mechanical strength of the plain finger
joint (no narrowed tail) is better.

I hand cut all my dovetails, because if I'm bothering to do dovetails at
all, I'm doing the best I can. For "cooking" work that I'm cutting by
machine, I use finger joints.