


Wikipedia Box/Finger Joint Subject Material
The finger joint (also known as a comb joint) is a woodworking joint made by cutting a set of complementary rectangular cuts in two
pieces of wood, which are then glued. To visualize a finger joint simply interlock the fingers of your hands at a ninety degree angle;
hence the name "finger joint." It is stronger than a butt or lap joint, and often forms part of the overall look of the piece.
The finger joint is the most common joint used to form long pieces of lumber from solid boards; the result is finger-jointed lumber.
The history of the finger joint is believed to have begun with wooden produce boxes or crates in the days before modern, man-made
materials. Finger joints were originally cut by hand with saws and sharp chisels. In modern times they are easily and quickly made with
a table saw or router and a jig or fixture, which can be shop-made or purchased from a specialty woodworking supply store. A finger
joint jig typically consists of a moving fence with an indexing pin that is used to evenly space out the cuts. The fence is moved over a
cutting blade making a cut that is then moved over the indexing pin so the next cut can be made.
The strength of a finger joint comes from the long-grain to long-grain contact between the fingers, surface as opposed to a butt joint or
a rabbet joint.
While the spacing of finger joints is mostly an aesthetic decision, it is commonly less than or equal to the thickness of the material
being joined. For example, one might decide on 1/8" fingers on 1/4" material unless the length of the mating surfaces lends itself better
to a 1/4" finger joint, which would appear less "busy" to the eye.
Although finger joints are usually evenly spaced, it's not unusual for woodworkers to experiment with varying spacing between cuts.
While it is relatively easy to make using computer aided manufacture, a table saw or a wood router with a simple jig, some common
problems include:
*Tear out on the back side
*If using a table saw, the top of the joint may not be exactly flat, depending on the tooth set of the blade
*Spacing problems and difficulty dialing in the exact index.
The finger joint can also be invaluable when fixing tables and chairs and also can be used in such things as floor boards, timber roof
and door construction. This is also used in design technology for students. Finger joints can be hard to make without the right tools.
.........The thought of repetition can delay the start
of any woodworking project. And that's a good
thing because no one should loose their
concentration when running power tools.
Especially a table saw equipped with dado
blades.
Now you don't have to cut box joints one board at
a time. And they don't have to be small boards as
well because you don't have to move them to do
your machining. The BoxJoint 4 jig clamps to the
top of your four sides of your box, any width box
too, and you simply index the BoxJoint 4 jig from
one side to he other cutting accurate box joints
with your router and a sharp straight cutter. Flip
them around and repeat.
Rip your wide project boards into smaller widths
for a bank of drawers.
Make four different size box joints on any
thickness board. Most important, on any width
board too.
The BoxJoint 4 jig is CNC machined from 1/2
inch aluminum plate. The inserts are injection
molded with high impact strength polycarbonate.
Box joints are clean and attractive wood joints.
They are strong beyond belief because of the
many square inches of overlapping glued
surfaces. Being able to utilize them on any size
project is a must for all shops
Tear out can be nonexistent with the BoxJoint 4
jig. That's because the boards back up each
other along with the front and rear back up boards
the design of the jig makes room for.
Nothing cuts a smoother box or finger joint than a
sharp straight router cutter.
Adjusting the BoxJoint 4 jig for the cuts is precise
and not time consuming.
As versatile as the sister product ChestMate is,
it's board holding limitation is two 13/16 inch thick
boards.
Prototype Images
Knowing exactly what it is and who your
customers are should always precede the large
expenditures....LMD
Larry Douglas Conceptual Product Design Product Problem Solving L.Douglas, LLC Cape Cod, Massachusetts
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Thank you and always work safely...Larry