# I Need A Suitable Joint Suggestion



## adot45 (Sep 9, 2016)

I have been asked to make a box that will hold a fellow veterans cremation canister, a project that I am honored to do.

But I don't want to try and work above my skill level. I tried setting up a 90* lock miter bit on my table and felt that it was an accident waiting to happen, and I would rather not try to use that. I need a suggestion for a joint that I can make. I don't have the canister yet but the box I want to make for it is a vertical rectangle, three sided with a top and bottom, with a glass front. I'm OK with the front glass part but I need to make nice looking corners at the rear, or back of the box. I don't have the canister here yet, but as I recall it is nominally 5 inches square by 12 inches tall. The wood will be walnut to match his flag case. Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

Do a miter with splines straight or dovetail. Do you know what the cremation canister will look like. If it from a veterans cemetery it will probably be black plastic. Do you really need a glass front for that? Check out the 2 links I posted here especially the everlasting tree.

http://mkmk.com/swiwt/newsletter_images/newsletter_pdfs/may-2018-newsletter.pdf

http://www.everlastingtree.com/index.html


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## adot45 (Sep 9, 2016)

Hi Bruce, mitered corners with splines would be something I could do, so that's one possibility.
The canister is a colorful flag and eagle motif and the widow asked for a glass front so it can be seen.
It is nice enough to stand on it`s own but the widow wants it to match the flag case.
Thank you for your reply.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

I'd say miter with splines or dovetails, as well. Multiple splines, probably, and you can vary the look a lot by changing the contrast and spacing of them.


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## adot45 (Sep 9, 2016)

Thanks Dave, I think that will be the way to go and should be a nice look. Would you suggest cutting the splines on the table saw or with a router?


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## RichT (Oct 14, 2016)

> I tried setting up a 90* lock miter bit on my table and felt that it was an accident waiting to happen, and I would rather not try to use that.
> 
> - adot45


I did a blog post on setting up a lock miter bit. I'm not suggesting you use one here, but for future reference my method is foolproof.


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## adot45 (Sep 9, 2016)

Thanks Rich, I will check that out.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

David, I'd saw them by hand, but I've seen a lot of guys build a jig to hold the box on its corner so you can run it across the table saw safely. Seems that might be the easiest solution, but I'm far from an expert.


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## adot45 (Sep 9, 2016)

> David, I'd saw them by hand, but I've seen a lot of guys build a jig to hold the box on its corner so you can run it across the table saw safely. Seems that might be the easiest solution, but I'm far from an expert.
> 
> - Dave Polaschek


Yep, I already have a jig to do that on the table saw that I use for picture frames, I'll enlarge it a little for this project.
Thanks Dave


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## recon49 (May 21, 2018)

> I tried setting up a 90* lock miter bit on my table and felt that it was an accident waiting to happen, and I would rather not try to use that.
> 
> - adot45
> 
> ...


Rich that's another good guide.


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