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Cool way to make boxes and Drawer boxes

5K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  Stick486 
#1 · (Edited)
#3 ·
I really like it, but my first thought was, how long would this expensive blade last, before it needed to be sharpened, or replaced?

His cuts can all be done with a router. The "one pass on a table saw" is nice, but it doesn't mean the difference between making, or not making a drawer with these joints.

Still, he is FAR better than me at working with wood. I am just a clumsy old fart with some shop tools. I have always said I am better at making redwood decks and patio covers than I am at making pianos. I just don't have that obsession for perfection that some guys have. "Close enough" is okay with me. I really need to take some community college woodworking class to learn the discipline that makes the difference.
 
#5 ·
Pretty cool and easily achievable idea. Don't know that I'd go through the effort, as I am going to be making many drawers, and I'm not sure you can even patent a grind pattern (can you?). I mean, if I go to Joe's grind shop down the street and ask him to grind me this custom shape drawn on a napkin, he's not going to run it across the patent database, is he? Or will the patent police take apart your customer's drawers and check the pattern?

That being said (and possibly completely irrelevant)...

I really like it, but my first thought was, how long would this expensive blade last, before it needed to be sharpened, or replaced?

His cuts can all be done with a router. The "one pass on a table saw" is nice, but it doesn't mean the difference between making, or not making a drawer with these joints.
... if you make this stuff for a living it can mean the difference between having a drawer in under 5 minutes and having one in over 10 minutes.
 
#6 ·
I'm amazed by this . Then again I don't really know how to make drawers so this looks like a nice outcome . Never thought about the sharpening issue though . Was just impressed someone could actually come up with this idea
 
#8 ·
I'm amazed by this . Then again I don't really know how to make drawers so this looks like a nice outcome . Never thought about the sharpening issue though . Was just impressed someone could actually come up with this idea
in your case ...
change and launder often...
 
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#7 ·
Herb,

Great video!

It appears that his blade would be a fantastic time saver. However, the initial set-up has the potential of being "fussy" and probably time-consuming. Then, if you are off one little bit on your cuts, you would have an out-of-square box/drawer.

I can only imagine what the cost of this blade would be.

I do love seeing folks think out of the box.

Thanks for posting this.

Bill
 
#13 ·
What a great idea! This would be great for frames! They would be picture perfect !! lol ... aahh ... err ... ya .... (sorry, just couldn't resist!)

The wear issue does seem like a big downside. I would image a specialty blade like this would not come cheap. Herb what did this custom blade cost? What is its composite?

I never knew you could run multiple blades side by side like that, can you do this on every saw?

I'm am a real newb with the router, but this three router set-up seems like an awful lot of set-up work to make a couple drawers. Are there any other uses to have a three router set up like this?
 
#14 · (Edited)
I'm am a real newb with the router, but this three router set-up seems like an awful lot of set-up work to make a couple drawers. Are there any other uses to have a three router set up like this?
It wouldn't be for JUST a couple of drawers. It would BE your router table. If you were a production shop, you would have a dedicated table with these three routers to cut all of your drawer slots.

You could use one router as normal, and drop the other two below the table surface. When you need a more complex cut, raise the second router. Still MORE complex? Raise the third router. Set up your bit heights and distances from the fence, and run your board across them.

You could put three different bits into the routers and raise the one you need. If you are going to do a lot of dado cuts, raise the straight blade. Grooves? Raise the V-groove bit. Shaped edge? Raise that router and move the fence where it needs to be.

This is a table that would take a bit of time to build, but once you had it, you would FIND uses for it.

With a little creativity and planning, the fence could approach the routers from ANY angle, allowing you to cut three grooves very close together, or three grooves (x) distance apart by approaching the routers from their common centerline.

When I get back from my motorcycle trip to California, I will build a three router table just to prove the concept.
 
#15 ·
The other advantage to using three routers rather than a single, custom ground table saw blade, is that when your material thickness changes, you can adjust the routers to scale the cut up or down. so the table saw blade MAY make a perfect single-pass cut in 3/4" material, but what do you do when you want to make the same cut in material that is 1-1/2" thick?

With three routers, you would simply swap to a 1" bit, a 1" V-groove bit and a 3/8" straight bit, and you could make this exact same joint in a 1-1/2" board.

Three routers give you the flexibility to do this folded joint in ANY thickness of board from 1/8" to 2" or thicker, if you so desire, simply by swapping router bits and spacing the three routers at the appropriate distances from the common fence.
 
#16 · (Edited)
good idea but...

1. only applies to plywood boxes...
2. fussy set up...
3. 45° chamfer or lock miter would be as fast or faster...
5. veneer fold is suspect to be fragile.. (all bets are off for ply w/ variances in thickness)
6. that much tape adds up dollar wise...
7. ¾'' thick bottoms is a rarity... lots of dollars...
8. two drops for one drawer... waste...
9. slight gap at each joint... potential out of square issues...
10. set up costs.. (???)
11. being careful of the folds slows ya down...
12. wild grain in the ply veneer and all bets are off w/ the fold...
13. using anything less than A or B grades of better ply is out...
14. large pieces only for drawers...
15. grain orientation sensitive???..
16. so much for making SHOP drawers out of drops...
17. his test of joint strength is a joke...
18. a shop that makes a lot of drawers will have shapers and CNC's and little would be wasted..
 
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#19 ·
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