Finger joints..

[bandit571]

At least the way I make them? Might take more than a post or two....
Here goes.    Decided to build a small pine box, nothing fancy, of course
 
Resaw the last of the un-treated  pine 4 x 4  I had in the shop.   Planed it down..

   
Two longs, and two shorts.   Long sides and shorter ends.  Clamped the two longer boards into the vise

   
I mark for the thickness of the end boards, and then square a line across.    Time for a complicated lay out tool....

   
Spacing is marked out, using the chisel I will be chopping the waste out with...

I lay both boards out like a book.

   
Then mark which face is the "inside"  and which edges are the top and bottom....

   
And set one of them aside for a bit.  

Picture limit:  stay tuned..

[bandit571]

Ok part 2:    Before the two were removed from the vise ( forgot a step,oops) I use a saw to saw both boards at the same time....

   
I can also clip the waste corners off..

   
Then I can set the one board aside.    A square and a knife are next.

   
As I cut a knife wall.   I cut on both faces.  Then the board gets clamped to the bench..

   
Now, don't get  greedy here.   Chop only half way through, and leave a little bit out on the end

   
And work  your way across.   

Picture limit, stay tuned

[bandit571]

Part 3?:    In the last post, I had tried to peel all of the half way out......came time to flip the board over...

   
But they weren't breaking cleanly.   When I left the little bit out on the end, the waste popped right out.  

I start not at the knife wall, but a little ways back from it.   Peeled out a chip up to the knife wall, THEN chop once at the wall...then repeat.   On the second face, the waste popped out when I chopped the knife wall.   When you peel that little bit back from it, it leaves room for the bevel on the chisel to work.   I keep the flat of the chisel towards the wall.    Once all the waste is gone..

   
I can use a wide chisel to tidy up after the saw.   On these first fingers, I try to split the lines as best as I can.   I try to make them as neat as I can, as well.   I then removed the board from the clamp, replace with a short end board.  I then stand the completed fingers up on the short end board, and use a SHARP pencil to trace the fingers.    You can either use a handsaw, or a bandsaw to make these cuts.    BUT, on these next fingers, cut on the waste side of the lines, trying to leave the lines.   If they wind up a little tight, you can always pare a little to fit them in..

   
I do a bit of test fit as I go along.    Later on, I had all four sides done..

   
And just unfolded the four sides out flat.    The finger joint closest to the camera was done with a dull pencil, once I had a sharper one, the fingers got better.

Now, I could stop here..

   
But, If you want to see how this mess turns out......let me know

(Warning:  There WILL be a Stanley #45 involved...)

[Derek Cohen]

Why finger joint? Why not dovetail?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[bandit571]

So...BTDT.....

   
Finger/Box joints is a nice change of pace.  

And this is more of a "How - to"  than a project build....However..

   
Test fitting the bottom, and

   
Yes they look  alike, but..

   
when I open one end up, you can see all the grooves that have been milled

   
That middle groove is used to split the lid off from the box.   Box is sitting on it's top in this picture.   I'll glue up the box, clean up the outside, then take the Stanley #45  around the outside, just below that middle groove. 

Maybe I can do the glue up tomorrow, while the snow storm is going on, outside....

[MichaelMouse]

Why finger joint? Why not dovetail?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Shown is normally referred to in US as a "box" joint.  Big comb, commonly right angle joinery.  I would imagine a painfully prepared plane might be contrived to make a small comb finger joint, normally seen making long ones out of short ones, but both are, as I see it, better suited to power tools.  http://www.rockler.com/finger-joint-router-bit

[Mike Brady]

I agree with Derek's comment about the finger or box joints being a machine joint.  Machines make them better.  Dovetails are better made by hand.  In either case, the joint needs to be cut tightly.  Cutting box joints by hand is very hard to do because there are so many cuts involved; that is, many are needed because the joint has very little strength until glued. This box jointed box was made with a cheap dado stack and a homemade tablesaw jig. No skill required.

[bandit571]

Maybe...IF one has such power tools, that is.  
For those of us without such wonderous tools, hand cut ones will have to do.  
After all, this IS a hand tool forum....

   
Although, I have been known to make a few dovetails, by hand as well....

[Derek Cohen]

OK Steve, I thought I recognised that bench and that ugly mug of yours!


Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mike Brady]

Understood about not having power tools.  That goes to my point that dovetails, which you clearly can make, would be the corner joint of choice.  If you want the more utilitarian look / ease of the box joint, you can make the mating parts much wider; thus reducing the large number of precise cuts and fitting required.  I have a vintage trunk where the these wider spaced box joints are used and then two nails are driven through each "male" tab into the mating end grain of the adjoining panel.  Chris Schwarz would love this one.