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Building boxes

13K views 32 replies 16 participants last post by  rmhcattle 
#1 ·
Time for a new thread. Since its been raining here for 4 days, so I decided to build supers today. I have a fairly clugee jig for doing 3 at a time. Michael posted one awhile ago as well. I'm trying to improve on mine, so I want to see ideas and comments. I'll go first...

I finally discovered I can speed things up by clamping all the pieces together and applying the glue to all at once.
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/boxjig/glue1.jpg
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/boxjig/glue2.jpg

My jig is a 3 sided box. It has slots for rails to hold the sides in place, kind of like my frame jig. I don't use them much anymore.
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/boxjig/jig3.jpg
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/boxjig/jig2.jpg

The fourth side is floating in the slots. This allows me to use clamps to draw all 3 together at once. The little feet keep it centered so I can nail all 4 sides while in the clamps.
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/boxjig/jig1.jpg

It works ok, but faster is better when you have a bunch to build...
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/boxjig/supers.jpg
 
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#19 ·
You should use outdoor rated PVA (Titebond III) glue. You have to really trust your glue, as that is what is really holding the boxes together. I use PVA III for many outdoor projects, and it holds up very well. Your box joints should also be prepared correctly - when dry-fit, there should be some resistance -- no sloppy fitting joints.

I use the typical formula for the minimum size of the fastener (in this case staples) -- twice the width of the boards, plus .25", or 1 3/4". I shoot the staples into every finger of the box joints. Just takes me a few minutes to glue and shoot staples into each corner - no pre-drilling for nails or screws. Many folks use drywall srews which can fail, as they are very brittle, and not designed for fastening wood together! Of course, a good coat of primer and two finish coats of outdoor paint protects the joints from premature failure.

For more info on glue strength:

www.titebond.com/Download/pdf/HowStrongisYourGlue_FWW.pdf

MM
 
#13 ·
...i made one based on looking at michael's picture (on his website). mine does 2 deep boxes at a time.

even when applying the glue on more than one piece at a time, i find this the slow part of the process...i'd like to build a big, profiled brush that will do all the joints at once.

my jig is pretty tight, and i countersink each hole and use drywall screws to hold things together. this way, the screws act as the clamp, and they can be tightened in the field.

fwiw, i find the best way to design/build these things is to (using some cad program) draw the part first (based on your actually measuring the actual part), then draw the jig around the part.

i'll try to take/post pics of mine when i get the chance.

deknow
 
#15 ·
yeah, i do that, but it still feels like a slow process.

i'm imagining a horizontal bar with "paintbrush fingers" to match the box joint. glue in a paint tray...one swipe, and all the joints are well glued.

i won't bother until i have to build up another bunch of boxes....which may or may not happen soon.

deknow
 
#27 ·
I use a dadoed lock joint instead of the standard box joint on all my boxes. I have found it to be just about as durable and with careful construction of my dado sleds, I don't need a jig to keep it square during assembly. The joints fit tight and are glued with TB3 and stapled with crown staples. For gluing I just lay the parts for several boxes butted together on a table so that their grooves/glue surfaces are all lined up in one line, then I just run my bead of glue down the grooves on one side and up the grooves on the other side of the line. Takes about 20 seconds to apply the glue to 5 or 6 boxes at a time. Then I tap them all together on the table (its a pretty long table) and go up and down the line and staple. Occasionally a joint is slightly loose but all it takes is a second with the speed square during stapling to keep it square. If I have one of my sons following behind me with the stapler as I tap them together, we can really crank them out.
 
#30 ·
Box joints

Beesource.com has plans for the "10-Frame Langstroth Beehive." Part of the instructions refer to the ". . .steps described on how to make a box joint from the PDF 'Box Joint files." But there is no such file that I could find. Can anyone either tell me where to find it (trying to contact Beesource is futile), or recommend a good source?

Many thanks!

Temple
Raleigh, NC
 
#31 ·
It's not linked to the list, but found it for you anyway:

www.beesource.com/plans/boxjoint/boxjoint.pdf


MM



Beesource.com has plans for the "10-Frame Langstroth Beehive." Part of the instructions refer to the ". . .steps described on how to make a box joint from the PDF 'Box Joint files." But there is no such file that I could find. Can anyone either tell me where to find it (trying to contact Beesource is futile), or recommend a good source?

Many thanks!

Temple
Raleigh, NC
 
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