Well, those of you who know me know I’m a rookie, still trying to teach myself from books, by trial and error, and by asking you good folks.
I own a florist shop, and I’m trying to make jewelry boxes from red oak for the women who work for me. The box is supposed to have the grain flow around all four corners, by resawing a board, flipping one piece lengthwise, and using the inner surfaces for the outsides of the box. But I’m having trouble making perfect miter joints.
I think part of it is, the miter has to be cut at the very edge of the piece to keep the grain matched up. I didn’t have much luck with my miter box/backsaw combo. My table saw wasn’t much better, and it damaged the dadoes I made for the top and bottom of the box. So far, the best results I got were with the bandsaw, which I set by using a speed square to get 45° on the table, and then a little light sanding. But they’re still not perfect.
How the heck do they make those perfect miter cuts, and what should I do to fill a very, very small gap in a corner?
Replies
Bill,
It's a bit difficult to know exactly where your problem stems from. But your tablesaw should be able to produce perfect miters, even if it needs to be tweaked a bit.
First make sure (on scraps) that you're getting 45° exactly from the blade, by checking that 2 pieces come together at 90°. Depending on the saw model there are set screws to adjust the position of tilt.
I assume you're using some kind of crosscut sled.
Second, to minimize the splintering, cut the miter a trifle long, then trim it again, taking only about 1/16" off this time to bring it to the right size. Using a good quality, sharp crosscut blade, this trim cut should be perfectly clean.
One way of giving first aid to miters that aren't quite right is to clamp the 2 pieces down while they're butting against each other, and saw through the joint with a dovetail or japanese saw. The kerf it leaves should let the pieces join perfectly afterwards.
Put your effort into getting the joint right, not into the cosmetics.
good luck,
DR
Foghorn,
Here's a couple thoughts for you if you can't get the table saw to work:
1. A miter trimmer ( my personal favorite )
2. or maybe try using a disc sander?
Ron
ForhornLeghorn,
Been there and done that!
I had the same idea myself several years ago when deciding to make jewelry boxes at Christmas - miter corners didn't meet perfectly. Checked the table saw and that was fine. Wasted too much good wood learning a few simple rules.
Since adopting these simple rules, creating jewlery boxes has not caused any grief or concern. The crosscut sled was the biggest single improvement in my whole technique and it made cutting the smaller pieces of wood so much safer!!
Once my 45 degree crosscut sled was built, I could easily reproduce these mitered corners with no problem, and it so sweet when they just melt together as the box is prepared for glueup.
I have two smaller crosscut sleds I use for smaller projects like jewlery boxes. One each for 45 and 90 degree (straight) cuts, this has simplified the cutting process and added a huge feeling of security with a properly built crosscut sled. The sleds were built from some plywood scraps and hardwood (runners) found in the shop and took less than one hour to build.
Good Luck with your Christmas presents for the ladies in the office.
Bob
Has anyone tried using a 45 degree router bit to finish the edges of a small board (such as that being used for a jewelry box) to prepare it for gluing? It would seem that this would be an easy alternative to those mentioned.
Never thought of using a chamfered router bit to achieve the 45 cut. Now that I have the 45 degree crosscut sled built, it is easy to cut up the necessary pieces for the jewelry box based on my available tools and jigs. Just got a new Jessem router table setup, so I might just give it a try.
You have raised an interesting idea!
Bob
You can make a small gap on the outside of the mitre disappear by rubbing a round bar (screwdriver shaft) firmly along the outside edge of the mitre. This will crush the wood fibres into the small gap as well as take away the sharp edge. Just remember to finish sanding your box BEFORE burnishing in this way.
Cheers from Oz
Bodybasher has a good suggestion. My tutor once told me that any good cat can cover his mess. It is really difficult the get absolutely prfect miters. When I miss a bit, I like to use my scraper burnisher. Some profiles require a narrow profile to get into the really tight places. For thet, I use the side of a chisel.
I made a 45 degree cross cut sled. It is shaped like a triangle, the bottom being flat on the table, and the top angling up at 45 degrees from the point where it contacte the blade. There is a short fence on the back edge to hold the piece being cut. I made holes in the surface for clamping through, but for smallish boards I just hold them in place for the cut. I made it a touch long and cut off the end and the end of the fence in the first pass through the saw blade, so the edge of the jig is exactly the end of the cut. That also leaves a slight flat on the end (about 1/2 inch up from the table), which raises the board and leaves room for the cut off. The cut off fence backs up the trailing edge as each miter is cut. A runner on the bottom goes in the miter slot. I was careful to get it right at 45, and it lets me consistently cut small bevels, like for corners of a box, and they do come out nice. If you found that the miter cut was damaging the rabbet, then you were making the cuts in the wrong order. Miter first, then rabbet. It is easy enought to add keys too, whick can be contrasting wood.
Have fun!
Just another quickie, make sure the opposite sides of the boxes are exactly the same length (use a stop clamped to the sled). No matter how perfect the angle, it one of the sides is 1/32" longer, you'll always have a small gap. Talk to someone who makes lots of picture frames.
Ray
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