Box Joints (Finger Joints) with a Radial Arm Saw
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- čas přidán 3. 07. 2024
- This video shows my jig and a technique that can be used to cut box joints (finger joints) on a radial arm saw. No fancy gears, wheels, or cranks here--just a simple and intuitive method using blocks as shims to control the finger spacing. This technique is limited by the maximum height the blade can be raised (about 5 inches). However, the wood can also be flipped and cut from the other to extend the box width to nearly 10 inches wide.
Credit to "Guardoff" on the DeWalt Radial Arm Saw Forum who originally posted photos of his method in Oct, 2015: forums.delphiforums.com/woodbu... - Jak na to + styl
I have had a dewalt radial arm saw for about 35 years and have done tons of work with it and has made me quite a bit of money. But I never thought of using it like this. Great job well done.
Thanks. It actually works surprisingly well!
I Had a Dewalt Radial Arm Saw about thirty years ago while running my my diy shop. Made mainly windows with it, well other people did. Never had the time to really get to use it to its full potential. Retired from my shop business so sold my Radial Saw. Went down the Festool avenue , bought a lovely posh Kapex. Made a few things with it, compound mitres for kitchen stools and really used as a hobby machine. After a while noticed that the arbore was getting quite warm after a 2-3 mins of work. So sent it off to Festool for a check up, came back and to my disbelief same problem, heating-up. So totally lost it with Festool and bought myself a similar model of my old DeWalt Radial Arm saw. Now have the time to fully use a far more superior machine in all its shape and form. Best of all as my previous DeWalt Radial run and run with no problems what so ever. So now that I have the time to really get to know the full capabilities of this great machine. I'm also in the process of buying one of the latest DeWalt Radials as I'm really enjoying missed time with these great machines. As for my Festool Kapex , best place for it, the bin.
I'm surprised since Festool is often known as a quality brand. However, enjoy your DeWalt RAS!
Great job, Brian! It's great to see that jig in action and the boxes fit together very well.
Thank you, Tim. It worked better than expected.
I've been watching your videos when I'm not working on my DeWalt RAS. I have the mounting rails finished and picked up some over priced 3/4 ACX and 1/4 Masonite for the top. Thanks for the videos. 👍
Thanks. You'll have an awesome machine when done!
I have struggled with this, you made it so easy to do........well done Sir......Paul
Thanks. It works well for me.
Fantastic idea, amazing.
great video, thanks for sharing.....cheers form Florida, Paul
Thanks very much!
You are a Jedi master of wood
Thanks. LOL!
Nice work on building the fixture, very well done. And good technique on the process too. Thank you for sharing :-)
Thank you. I appreciate that!
I've used a RAS for 35 years, and have never owned a table saw. I've always told people that a RAS can do anything a table saw can do except vertical cuts like a box joint. You have eliminated this limitation. Thank you!
But since a RAS makes cross cuts trivial, why did you use a bulky table saw cross cut sled for some of your cross cuts? Since you obviously have a RAS, wouldn't that have been simpler and quicker?
I'm confused.
Thanks for the comment. In my case, I have different tools located in different places (i.e., table saw in my basement workshop and RAS’s in the garage). I’m not opposed to using any of my tools available. Sometimes, it simply depends where I’m working at the time or what operations the tools are already setup for.
'wonderful! yet another fine example of the usefulness of the R-A-S.
Absolutely. Thanks for the comment.
Im sure you seen this video, If not, you will enjoy it czcams.com/video/HiGH0Qsu3ak/video.html
Yes I have. That's a great video, but you have to wonder what kind of accidents might have happened when operating them at that speed and scale. However, it truly is an amazing machine and really revolutionized the building trade.
I'm sure there are or were whichever the case may be, many men with fewer fingers daily at the end of each shift. But you are right about it being an amazing tool! as long as it is treated with the proper respect lol if not! it will bite back.
@@patprop74 I hadn't seen it. Thanks for sharing.
Bravo! Well done.
Thank you!
Is there anyway you could share more details on how to build the jig? Or would you rather not? I am very interested in learning how to make one for myself.
The jig size really depends on your saw and table sizes. I think the video shows enough detail for you to figure it out. If you have any specific questions, I’ll try to answer them.
Good work Brian, someday some interested party will probably lash together an Arduino micro controller and a stepper motor to drive the elevation crank, as long as the movement is in only one direction backlash shouldn't be an issue either.
Thanks, Hank. Recently, someone on the forum bought a motor to drive the elevation crank and was talking about doing that very thing. P.S. the triangle marking system was something I learned from one of your videos!
Hi Hank. Just wanted to tell you that my latest video about building an assembly table was definitely inspired by the glue-up table you showed in your drawer building with biscuits video. This was the only way I could think to send you a message. I miss your videos!
@@brianweekley5700 Sorry for my tardiness in getting back to you Brian, but it just pleases me no end to see how high you have ascended in your skill and knowledge base. I had always wanted to, but never got to, doing the box joint jig, for now it is I who will address you as "Master" and accept my role as "Grasshopper". ☺
Nice job, but it would have been better if all the jig parts had been done with the radial arm saw instead of the table saw.
LOL! You’re absolutely correct. I should have done all of it on my RAS. If you check out my other videos, I often do!
I'm going to build a jig that will cut box joint using my lawn mower.
LOL!
Why? If you already have a table saw and/or router table. The time used for making the jig could have been used for making the box joints. I guess you just wanted to see if you could do it.
Why? Why not? As woodworkers, don't we typically spend lots of money on tools and spend lots of time making things you could just buy in a store? LOL Personally, I do it for fun, curiosity, and the challenge. In this case, to address several comments I had read on a woodworking site that you can't easily make box joints on a RAS. Depending on what you're doing, there are times when supporting a board horizontally may be better than supporting it vertically.
@@coldblu357 Thanks!
Wonderful. I just got a dewalt 125. Haven’t it set up yet
Excellent--I'm sure you will like your new saw. The 125 is a European model that's slightly different than the models available in the States. Check out the DeWalt Radial Arm Saw Forum--it's a great source for information, techniques, tips, safety, etc. for radial arm saws.
thanks for posting these videos. I've got a Dewalt 1251 'Powershop'. I'm interested in using the moulding cutters that are widely available in the US, Craftsman make them. My machine is a 1.1KW, which I think equates to a 1.5 HP, do you think this has enough clout to use mould cutters ?
Absolutely. The smaller saws make very fine molding/shaping machines. There are two common molding heads that are often used on the RAS: Craftsman and Delta (the blades are not interchangeable between the two). I highly recommend the Delta-style molding head (about 4 inches in diameter), as it has more mass than the Craftsman head. A company called "Corob Cutters" still manufactures new blades for both styles. You can often find used heads on Ebay and Corob also manufactures their own heads for both styles: corobcutters.com However, please confirm the head fits your arbor size (imperial or metric).
Thank you @@brianweekley5700, hadn't come across the Delta head, I'll check it out
@@roontunes Did you ever get around to using the violent moulding cutter? I have a new 1978 Craftsman radial arm saw I got used for $75, and I am in love with it! It's so well built. I can't believe how heavy duty and rugged the radial arm saws are, compared to an old 1980's Skillsaw I have or the old jigsaws. The bench grinders, and radial arm saws, were absolutely built like a tank back in the day. I wanted to use the moulding cutter as a planar, to simply remove material (very small amounts at a time) and I am wondering if it's feasible. I have the flat cutting blades on a brand new never used Craftman moulding cutter head. I'm thinking it would work good for planning?
@@Ritalie sorry I thought I'd replied to you. yes they are very useful BUT do not like knots of any size, lots of chattering and I'm sure, premature blunting. It actually tore a small knot out completely and fired it at me. So really clean wood and really snug hold downs.
almost all the cuts up to 1:25 done on a table saw????
Yes, tools are tools and I use them! If you check out my other videos, most of my work is done with a RAS. This video was intended to demonstrate that box joints can be done on a RAS since many people claimed that was only possible on a TS.
Not to be rude but since you have a table saw and sled why not use a simple jig on the sled, less pieces to keep track of and less resources used.
Not rude at all. One advantage of box joints on a RAS is that it allows you to box joint very long pieces (you could box joint a bed frame if you wanted). The length is virtually unlimited with a RAS. In contrast, It's very hard to box joint long pieces on a table saw (with the pieces standing up on end). This was just an example of how you can box joint on a RAS. It's always nice having options.
@@brianweekley5700 hadn't thought about that, very true. Thank you
"...with a radial arm saw"
Uses a table saw and a band saw,.
Oh please… he made the jig using some other tools, and he explained the reason for that in response to another post about that, but the joints themselves were made with the RAS, with the aid of the jig, of course.
The results are good but what a lot of monkey business setting that up.
Thanks for the comment. Once the jig is made and the blade spacing is determined, it’s actually quite easy and fast to setup for box joints after that.
There is nothing worse than a video with no talking. This is not the day of silent film....
Thanks for the feedback. Some people appreciate not having to listen to someone drone on. Some people appreciate my simple approach. I find it makes me try to explain things in as few words as possible. You can’t please everyone! LOL. In addition, not every speaks English and I thought words might be easier to translate. With that said, I did recently buy a microphone and I’m adding voiceover to my next video (I’m finding it much more time consuming to do a good job). Stay tuned and I’d appreciate feedback!
@@brianweekley5700 I find I prefer the silent approach in most videos, unless there are technical details which aren't obvious in the footage. Frankly, it does get old listening to people drone on, "sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy with work, my wife was sick, the dog ran away, kid got hit by a bus...." Or endless blather about where they got the idea for the video, why they think it's a great idea, why they think we'll like it... I already clicked the video, I know why I'm interested and I don't need somebody telling me why I should be interested.
It's almost as annoying as people who post three paragraph comments when a single line or two would have done the job. ;-)
@@johnterpack3940 Thanks. However, I will try some minimal voice over in my next one and see how it goes!
@@brianweekley5700 as long as I don't have to listen to the story of what your crazy cat did this time.
ridiculous, by the time youve set up you could cut and glued those boxs with a simple table saw jig, you must spend most of your time resquaring the saw between different opperations. Why are you using you radial arm saw to rip down those boards when you have a table saw that designed for it, iam sorry i just dont see how this is economical its like cutting your lawn with sissors yes you can do it but doesnt mean you should
Yes, part of this was to demonstrate that cutting box joints on a RAS “can be done” (since many told me it can’t). No, it’s not nearly as time consuming or difficult as you make it out to be. However, the ras has a distinct advantage over the TS that you fail to see-that is when making large or long boxes! You see, on a TS you have to feed pieces through standing vertical, on end. That may be fine for small boxes, but imagine trying to cut box joints in something like a bed frame. Length is virtually unlimited on the ras when cutting horizontally. Different tools and techniques have pros and cons. Sometimes, you have to “think outside the box” depending on what you’re making and this simply shows a different way of doing it. Thanks for the comment.