# This finger joint jig is stupid simple for bee boxes.



## JConnolly (Feb 21, 2015)

This weeks episode of Woodsmith shop featured a finger joint jig for a router. (Check your local PBS station listing)

It will be simple to make one of these and set it up for fool proof bee box finger joints with a 5/8 spacer and 3/4 spacers.

Free Plans: http://www.woodsmithshop.com/download/1207/241/ 

[video]https://cdn.woodsmith.com/tvshow/season12/WS_SHOP_E1207_Intro.mp4[/video]

If you don't have a tablesaw but do have a hand held circular saw and router then with this jig you could build your own bee boxes, quilt boxes, and shims.


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## 123989 (Jul 30, 2018)

The only problem I have is that I can buy the boxes
cheaper than I can get my lumber to build them. After
I mastered box joints too. LOL


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## broncorm (Mar 9, 2018)

Thanks for the post. I like that jig better then some Ive seen and tried. I will probably make one up for the shop. Not for bee hive but other projects. I find its still cheaper and easier to buy precut unassembled boxes


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## aran (May 20, 2015)

i agree i bought a fancy box joint jig for my table saw and it def worked.
However i just bought 36 assembled medium supers for $9 each. I just cant justify a half day out of my weekend away from my wife and kids for the sake of saving perhaps a couple dollars/box.


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## Hankinohio18 (Aug 12, 2018)

36 assembled medium supers for $9 each
Where do you find a deal like that?


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## aran (May 20, 2015)

local beekeeping business in upstate NY. Hungry bear farms.
Good people always have great deals particularly if ur buying a decent number of items.


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## Hillbillybees (Mar 3, 2016)

Hankinohio18 said:


> 36 assembled medium supers for $9 each
> Where do you find a deal like that?


Mannlake. They were unassembled, They will probably do it again for the Black Friday sale.


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## JConnolly (Feb 21, 2015)

I made a version of the Woodsmith shop box joint jig set up specifically for bee boxes. I set it up to make 1" wide box joints although any size of joints could be used.

I can now make a single box or multiple boxes on demand. There is no jig setup time involved and I can cut the joinery for a box in about four to five minutes. From board to glue up for a single box took about 15 minutes to cut to length, rip to height, and then cut the box joints. If I were doing multiple boxes I could crank out about 6 boxes an hour, not counting glue time. I'm going to need a lot more clamps to make that many boxes at once - but with this stupid easy jig it is very unlikely now that I will do anything except make boxes on demand.

I'm using a 1/2" flush trim bit in a cordless trim router. The cordless trim router performed just fine and the light weight router was easier to handle on the jig than one of my big routers would have been.









Here is the jig after routing box joints in a deep end board. The first finger is 5/8" wide for the frame rest. You don't route a notch in the end board here since that is the frame rest. If I were to remake the jig I would make the 5/8" finger go all the way across to keep from accidentally routing the notch. Here in this photograph I cut the bottom kerf of the frame rest rabbet but I did not remove the rest of the rabbet yet. I was not sure where my clamp would end up at this point. Since now I know the clamp reaches far enough in the future I'll complete the frame rest first. 









To cut the side board the opposite side of the jig is used. Since the jig fingers will produces opposing notches and fingers of the same size it doesn't matter even if the fingers aren't exactly the same because the joint it produces will fit perfectly.









After cutting the side board, insert a 3/8" spacer (when using 3/4" stock) and then trim the 5/8" wide finger on the side board back to 3/8" so that it fits in the frame rest. Here I used a 3/8" drill bit as the spacer.









When I built the jig I cut the end stop at one end of the jig so that it had a notch for me to set up the router bit to cut 3/4" deep box joints.









I am generally quite happy with how well the jig performed and how easy it was to use.


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## JConnolly (Feb 21, 2015)

Here is a close up to see that the joints are nice and tight and the box perfectly aligns. This was just before priming. I forgot to snap a picture before I sanded so I ran a damp cloth over it to enhance the grains to make it easier to see.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Just need a router:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWfEuyGGx5o&t=36s


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## JConnolly (Feb 21, 2015)

I saw that video a few days ago. It's pretty clever. That method works because the box joint width is the same as the router bit, the box height is a multiple of the router bit diameter and the multiple is an even number. The pieces he makes in the video are symmetrical. When I first saw that that I was thinking about how to do that with a bee box. Since box joints on a bee box aren't symmetrical you would need different shims for the end boards and the side boards and would have to cut them separately. You'll have to change your set up to do the frame rest joint or have a sacrificial 3/8" shim to go under the board. You'll have to set up the router fence so it is positioned the same every time, a set up story stick could help the set up be repeatable. My jig is ready to go now. I've got an 8' 1x12 in the shop. It's five minutes to 1 pm local. I could have a box made by ten after one. That's the beauty of this jig. Making your own gear isn't for everyone, and to do that this quick you do need a table saw and a sliding compound miter saw with stops, in addition to the router, but for those that do make their own, I suggest that one of these is worth trying out.


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## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

That is pretty slick. I like the 3/8 shim! Router would be slow going compared to a table saw so I wonder if there is a dovetail option? If you are going to spend the time it would be a nice touch.


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## rangerpeterj (Dec 27, 2015)

I make all my own boxes with a table saw box joint jig I made. I do like your jig, because on mine the end sides have a weak joint were the frame rest is. I do my own hand holds with Pip Storm hand hold jig https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyLPHKqtofA


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## JConnolly (Feb 21, 2015)

minz said:


> Router would be slow going compared to a table saw…


It actually goes pretty quickly. Especially if you consider the time it takes to move a slot over and position it on the pin on a table saw jig. All of the joints in one side cut in 15 to 20 seconds. I am making 1" box joints so there are fewer notches to route. It takes longer to clamp the board to the jig. The table saw can of course do more than one board at a time and the table saw has (or should have) dust collection. This router jig does make a mess. If I were making tons of boxes I would stick with the table saw and table saw box joint jigs are a snap to make.

There is one big plus that I noticed the first time I used the jig that I forgot to mention: If the board is slightly cupped then the clamps pull that cup out while it is being routed, something that doesn't happen with a table saw box joint jig.

I have a dovetail machine and I did use it once for making bee boxes. But it takes a long time to get it set up correctly so I prefer the faster box joint.

I do like the Pip Storm handhold jig, it makes a really nice looking hand hold. However I use 2" cleat handles due to geezer back because they let me position my hands closer to my center of gravity and give me a more ergonomic grip.


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