# Woodsmith Aluminum Box Joint Jig



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Good review


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## Topapilot (Nov 20, 2007)

I bought this about 10 years ago and found it difficult as well. I've used it a few times, but not in the last 8 years. I did screw it to my main miter guage, and that seemed to work ok. My difficulty was with the spacing adjustment. Mine does not adjust easily - as I recall I gave up and adapted my work to the spacing that the unit came with. The backer UHMW is also an issue; it is supposed to be moveable so you don't get tear out when you change spacing, but I could never get it to slide in the slot, even using a hammer.

Bottom line: when I want to make box joints, I'll look up how to make a jig and use that.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Sounds like you gave it 2 too many stars!!


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## ellen35 (Jan 1, 2009)

I have one also. I have only used it once. I too found the key to be too loose. I am going to find some time to use it again and get some practice. I think it will be OK once I master it as opposed to it mastering me!
TopamaxSurvivor, I think it is premature to chop off 2 starts right now. I attribute the difficulty to operator inexperience (mine, not Charlie's)!!
I will be interested to hear other reviews and recommendations for adjusting the jig.
Ellen


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## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

I bought mine used from a guy on eBay a couple of years ago, and have gotten good use out of it. I ordered a replacement UHMW backer, and have never had a problem getting it adjusted.

One modification I did makle was on the wooden 'spacer block' on the back. The printed instructions showed a star knob through the miter guage and the spacer block into T-slot nuts in the back of the jig. The spacing was way off for my Jet's miter guage, so I drilled holes through the spacer block that match my miter guage and installed T-nuts into the spacer block from the side facing the jig. That way, I can use standard 1/4" stove bolts to attach it to my table saw miter guage.

For setup, I use precision brass guages to get the spacing close, then dial it in with scrap from the same stock I will be using in the project. Takes a little tweaking, but I haven't found it difficult to do. Unlike the problems Topapilot and ellen35 reported, the adjustments on mine are snug and don't have any slop.


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## rayn (Aug 3, 2009)

I attended a seminar on the jig at the woodsmith store. I tried it on both my router table and my table saw with a dado blade. The fine adjust is allittle tricky and I did have a problem with tear-out. I then attended another seminar at the store where they used the Freud box joint blade set and with my home made jig and the blades I was much more happy with the results


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## CharlieD (Mar 23, 2008)

TopamaxSurviror, I have to agree with you. I would drop it at least one star. What is missing is a built in/on clamp to hold the board. I cut 20 ends (5 drawers, 20 cuts) and my hands got really tired toward the end because you hold it tight so the cut is exact. Overall, my results were "okay" for a first effort but could be much better.


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## bamaboy (Jan 28, 2009)

Thanks….. you guys saved me $109 bucks. I was headed to Rockler after church tomorrow to purchase this unit. I had tried several home made jigs with no luck, I figured this pro model would be the answer, but I can get the same problems with my homemade errors! Still looking for a good plan for shop made box jig.


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## retjohn (Nov 25, 2009)

Here is a site that shows a homemade jig. There are several sites that show essentially this same jig. I made one, it was the second jig I ever made and it works very well. The first jig was a fixed size finger joint jig that since it was not adjustable required great care in sizing. It was clear in building it that any error would make an unusable jig. So, I switched to this plan. I made 6 boxes that turned out great. Do be careful on the size material you use. I used a few undersized scraps and it caused a few problems that I was able to get around but it would have been easier if I had used full sized material. I don't recall where I got my plans, but I did not pay the $15.95, just purchased hardware at hardware store or used some left over hardware as well.

http://www.woodcentral.com/shots/shot635.shtml

John Neel


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