Cutting off a box top on the table saw

Some box-making techniques call for gluing up a box as a closed prism and then cutting the top off after assembly. There are many techniques for removing a box lid (such as using a bandsaw or a Japanese saw), but Bob Van Dyke likes to cut through each wall completely in one pass using the tablesaw. In order to avoid pinching the tablesaw blade dangerously while cutting apart the last side, Bob slides a spacer equal in thickness to the blade into the kerf near the top of the box. This allows him to grip the box while making the last cut without pinching the kerf closed, and gives him the leverage to swing the box lid out of the way as the lid separates from the rest of the box. Bob prefers using the tablesaw to remove box lids because it leaves very clean surfaces that require little clean up.

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