Milling small box parts from random scrap......

[froglips]

Whilst working with HOW on making boxes, I think I invented/remembered a neat idea to use up small parts.

Short story, Max donated a tone of oak shorts (some as short as 4" long). Great parts for making little boxes.......

But, to use box joints and/or router dovetails, we needed some degree of uniformity in stock thickness best derived from the jointer/planer process.

Not so easy to run a 4" 1/4" thick piece through a powered planer

Throw in the mix, our shorts are all random size and thickness.

Then, during a time when I should've been paying attention (such as landing an airplane, operating heavy machinery or juggling Faberge Eggs), got a thought.

Goes like this....

1. Joint one face and edge on a jointer.
2. Square both ends (chop saw or table saw) and cut to width on table saw
3. Setup a straight bit in a router table.
4. Set the fence so it just touches the jointed board.
5. Set the bit height a scosh higher than your intended joint (dovetail or box joint)
6. Run the board vertically with the jointed face against the fence.

What the heck?

No, really. You end up with a short part of the end of board that is parallel to the jointed face!

The real key to all this is running the jointed (flat face) against the fence and have the router bit cut on the opposite face.

No need to power plane randomly thick small parts (some too short for the in/outfeed rollers)

Later, I thought another solution uses a tenon jig on the table saw.

We even tried it, so we know it works!

Jim

(no, I don't have any Faberge Eggs........)

 

[Glennbear]

In my parental 62 year old woodworker mode here...............Sounds logical however I would caution all and sundry to exercise extreme caution when machining stock that small using rapidly moving bits of carbide or HSS. :wsmile:

 

[Mike Davis]

I'm sure that is written in perfectly logical and sequencial proper English, but I have no idea what you said.

 

[froglips]

I'll whip together a pictorial.

It was harder to write up than to do

Glenn, thanks for reminding me.

Used feather boards to hold the stock to the router fence and a push block that kept my hands far away from the router bit.

I'm leaning towards a tenon jig on table saw being a safer method.

Jim

In my parental 62 year old woodworker mode here...............Sounds logical however I would caution all and sundry to exercise extreme caution when machining stock that small using rapidly moving bits of carbide or HSS. :wsmile:

 

[Joe Scharle]

I'm sure that is written in perfectly logical and sequencial proper English, but I have no idea what you said.

Thanks Mike....I thought I too, was having a severe senior moment :rotflm:

 

[Mike Davis]

Oh, so all four sides have equally thick edges that match the other parts of the box?

Or all pieces are the same thickness for the area that is to be joined?

The fatter part is hidden inside the box and doesn't matter?

:icon_scra :dontknow: :eusa_thin :help:

 

[Bigdog72]

Thanks Mike....I thought I too, was having a severe senior moment :rotflm:

+1

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

The Neanderthal way: Position each piece on a benchhook and use a scrub plane followed by a jack plane.

Quick, safe, and easy Normite way- Start with 5 - 10 boards (of similar width to minimize waste), and rip them to the same width. Arrange them, end-to-end, on a piece of plastic sheet or wax paper and glue/clamp one long, straight, sacrificial carrier strip to each edge - essentially making a long segmented plank (no need to glue the ends). Joint the bottom face and then feed the segmented plank through the planer until all boards reach the desired thickness.

Once all boards in the segmented plank are the same/desired thickness, rip off the carrier strips and trim the pieces to final size for your project(s).

 

[eyekode]

Jim,
I think most jointers recommend a minimum length of much greater than 4". Keep your fingers safe!
Salem