I want to make box joints for some drawer innards. I am following the excellent video by William Ng on how to do this. But I am having some problems. I am using a SawStop table saw, a DeWalt dado set and 1/2 inch Baltic Birch plywood from Woodcraft in Cleveland, OH.
After a lot of trial and error, I got things dialed in pretty well. I'm using 1/2" box joint dimensions. I found out that if I orient the plywood so that the veneer is parallel to the saw blade, I get a lot less tear out than when cross-cutting the dado through the surface ply. I guess this ought to have been obvious! However, I am still getting tear out no matter how careful I am. Not too bad, but I'd like better. So I have some questions.
I wonder if anyone has tried cutting some strips of 1/8 inch plywood and placing them between the plywood being box jointed and the fence so that every cut has backing? Probably pretty wasteful of timber and costly.
I read here about the Forrest Box Joint saw set, which was well-regarded, but is apparently limited to 1/4 or 3/8 joints. Any thoughts on using this in 1/2 inch Baltic Birch?
Are there hardwoods less likely to tear out than Baltic Birch? Could make the boxes of pine, poplar or some other solid wood.
Thanks for your input!
After a lot of trial and error, I got things dialed in pretty well. I'm using 1/2" box joint dimensions. I found out that if I orient the plywood so that the veneer is parallel to the saw blade, I get a lot less tear out than when cross-cutting the dado through the surface ply. I guess this ought to have been obvious! However, I am still getting tear out no matter how careful I am. Not too bad, but I'd like better. So I have some questions.
I wonder if anyone has tried cutting some strips of 1/8 inch plywood and placing them between the plywood being box jointed and the fence so that every cut has backing? Probably pretty wasteful of timber and costly.
I read here about the Forrest Box Joint saw set, which was well-regarded, but is apparently limited to 1/4 or 3/8 joints. Any thoughts on using this in 1/2 inch Baltic Birch?
Are there hardwoods less likely to tear out than Baltic Birch? Could make the boxes of pine, poplar or some other solid wood.
Thanks for your input!