Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: beyondthesidewalks on April 16, 2012, 12:17:52 pm
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I'm planning on trying to use a locking rabbet joint for boxes using something like this:
http://www.westerntool.com/whiteside-router-bit-45-degree-lock-miter.html (http://www.westerntool.com/whiteside-router-bit-45-degree-lock-miter.html)
Anyone had andy experience with these? The advantages:
1) no exposed end grain
2) boxes should stay square
3) more surface for glue bonding (I would think a few 18 guage brads would hold it together from each side)
Disadvantages? I don't know. Will it hold the weight?
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It has been brought up before here. Some swear by them. It looks like it works to me, just don't have a router.
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I think Brushy Mountain use to sell hive bodies with it. If memory serves me correct, they use to show a guy standing on top of one on end that was not glued or nailed. I don't see them offering it anymore, begs the question of why.
I have one of the bits, but never got it to work correctly. It is a real pain to get it set exactly so that both pieces are cut correctly. MY biggest issues was that I had all kinds of issues with tearing and chipping if I tried to cut them in one pass. If you try to cut it in multiple paths, then you run into getting the correct final pass everytime.
I gave in and just use a half-blind dovetail jig....
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One of the brands comes with a setup guage that probably gets rid of the height and alignment issues, Rockler, I think. Might make that one the best option. Anybody have a favorite brand?
Would the tearing and chipping be speed or HP related? I might need to purchase a beefier router also. :shock: A new toy!!!
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Ya, I have the setup blocks, they get you close, but still need to do some trial and error small adjustments. I was using a 3 1/4HP router.
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These cutters work great with products that are very flat such as fiber board or sign board.
If your wood is even a little bit cupped its a real pain to get them put together.
All the drawers in my shop were made with this cutter, but wouldn't use them for hive body's.
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I have a set of them left over from the cabinet shop. They are a pain to get set up and if the board warps just a little they can be Hell to join. They need to be glued and clamped, I use an air nailer to hold them together until I can get the clamps on. I really don't like them.
Full dovetails are a lot easier, if you have a jig and a router table you can leave set up. A full dovetail will hold without glue but I still put a little in the joint.
If you saw a picture of someone standing on a box without glue or nails, it was a phony setup. They don't work that way.
Regards
Joe