I BOX review of sorts (spoiler alert)

[reible]

I'm set up to do turning now and will be for the next while, several projects lined up, so it will be a while before I can reset up for taking that measurement.

Maybe it just doesn't matter anyway. My thought was that we would be closer then 3/8" large that's all. I don't see it mattering for cutting the joints but it might account for why some people don't need the toilet bowl and others do. Just too many years as an engineer to not want to know the whys when things are assume to be the same are not. Perhaps it best if I just move on, plenty of other more important things to do anyway.

As far as changes to the jig itself that could be, mine was an early shopsmith one and had a couple of issues that slipped out of the factory so who knows what else needed a little tweaking??? So far as I know the only difference between the ones that they had been selling and the shopsmith version was the miter bar so while mine is early in the shopsmith version it was not early in the production of the jigs in general. We do know the labels are now different......

Ed

Ed, what do you measure from the left edge of the left miter track to the left plate of a "centered" saw blade. Mine measures approximately 4 1/8". If your Main Table is aligned any different than mine, it will create a difference in the I-Box measurements. That and the width of our rubber bumpers.

Yes, as Brenda has just mentioned, a tweaking differences. How close to identical have we done the I-Box preliminary alignment and Miter Bar adjustments.

Don makes a good point also. My red/silver knobs were not right on. I had set them in the beginning but over this last couple days, that setting got changed some.

[dusty]

With all of the negatives tones that have been set on this subject, I want to say that the I-Box is going to be a treasured addition to my shop.

It is a cool tool, well engineered and relatively easy to use. However, setup will be a challenge to anyone who does not pay attention to the "small stuff".

Examples: Make certain that your stock edges are square to the faces. If not, you get a joint that looks good on one side while having a gap on the other. I was doing test cuts with pieces of scrap and over looked this.

As for the obvious requirement that pins match the grooves, the I-Box pretty much does that for you BUT only if you perfrom the initial setup meticulously.

I am going to do some more test projects before I venture into production mostly so that I become real familiar with the I-Box. I am glad I have it.

[reible]

Glad you are happy with it.

I have a project with a bunch of drawers on the drawing board and I'm trying to decide the worth of doing nicer looking box joints or just going with a much faster locking rabbet or router drawer bit. I use to do dovetails but I just don't love them anymore, I'd much rather look at a nice box joint.......

If you have not yet done so and if you want to make basically 1/4" and 3/8" joints I would look at the specialty blades they have for doing that. Depending on how you stack the blades gives you the two cut widths which takes the effort out of setting up the blades. They also cut nice square cuts without the bat ears. They will add another $100 or so to the cost of the jig but I'd say it is worth it.

It is a nice jig, and will work nicely for you and yes stock prep still needs to be done but that is not just for this jig. And then after you have all the joints cut there is the glue up and finishing of the joints..... If I build all those drawers the sanding of the joints adds time consumption that I'm figuring in, the other joints are pretty much done after glue up. In most cases the belt sander makes short work of that so I'm looking forward to getting mine back in working condition. Makes sure you put some together (with glue and sanding) along with your cutting experiments.

Ed

With all of the negatives tones that have been set on this subject, I want to say that the I-Box is going to be a treasured addition to my shop.

It is a cool tool, well engineered and relatively easy to use. However, setup will be a challenge to anyone who does not pay attention to the "small stuff".

Examples: Make certain that your stock edges are square to the faces. If not, you get a joint that looks good on one side while having a gap on the other. I was doing test cuts with pieces of scrap and over looked this.

As for the obvious requirement that pins match the grooves, the I-Box pretty much does that for you BUT only if you perfrom the initial setup meticulously.

I am going to do some more test projects before I venture into production mostly so that I become real familiar with the I-Box. I am glad I have it.

[dusty]

A Possible Word of Caution....while fine tuning the I-Box (that means playing with my newest toy) I have become aware of an idiosyncrasy that might be of importance.

The pin plates on the front side of the jig do not measure the same width as those on the back side. On mine, the difference is .014" (nominal). This is a very small amount but when working with pin joints and dove tails it does not require much deviation to create a fit problem.

This deviation does not appear to be accumulative. That is to say the delta between the plates front and back is the same for 3/4" pins as it is for 1/4" pins.

As a temporary solution, when measuring the pins during a setup I will measure those on the back side and totally disregard those on the front side. It is on the backside where the real work is done.

I have set an email to Mark (at Incra) regarding this.

[reible]

Now you have me total confused.......

When I do the "kiss" calibrate I'm doing it on the ledger side, ie the front. Then I back the pin plates off the 1/8" while looking at the front side. The test cut is done and the pins plates are adjusted for the width of cut, again this is on the front side. I do no scale type measurements of any kind, all of the dimensions are based off the ledger or front side where the wood sits and the cut you have made. The back side plays no part in this at all.

So please review your instructions and lets get in sync on how you are doing your setup.

The idea of the jig is to make these joints simple to do. Basically no measurements required. And yes you might have to adjust the fit after your first corner joint is made so I use scrap wood, once dialed in I make all of my cuts.

Ed

A Possible Word of Caution....while fine tuning the I-Box (that means playing with my newest toy) I have become aware of an idiosyncrasy that might be of importance.

The pin plates on the front side of the jig do not measure the same width as those on the back side. On mine, the difference is .014" (nominal). This is a very small amount but when working with pin joints and dove tails it does not require much deviation to create a fit problem.

This deviation does not appear to be accumulative. That is to say the delta between the plates front and back is the same for 3/4" pins as it is for 1/4" pins.

As a temporary solution, when measuring the pins during a setup I will measure those on the back side and totally disregard those on the front side. It is on the backside where the real work is done.

I have set an email to Mark (at Incra) regarding this.

[rjent]

This is the most incredible addon I have bought so far. I got mine in yesterday (I was out of town) watched the video last night twice to drill in my pea brain how to put it together. Made a quick box this morning after putting the jig together .... a perfect 1/8 inch finger joint box the first time.

To say the least, I am impressed!

Pictures in other thread: http://www.shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewt ... 0&start=50

[dusty]

Now you have me total confused.......

When I do the "kiss" calibrate I'm doing it on the ledger side, ie the front. Then I back the pin plates off the 1/8" while looking at the front side. The test cut is done and the pins plates are adjusted for the width of cut, again this is on the front side. I do no scale type measurements of any kind, all of the dimensions are based off the ledger or front side where the wood sits and the cut you have made. The back side plays no part in this at all.

So please review your instructions and lets get in sync on how you are doing your setup.

The idea of the jig is to make these joints simple to do. Basically no measurements required. And yes you might have to adjust the fit after your first corner joint is made so I use scrap wood, once dialed in I make all of my cuts.

Ed

A Possible Word of Caution....while fine tuning the I-Box (that means playing with my newest toy) I have become aware of an idiosyncrasy that might be of importance.

The pin plates on the front side of the jig do not measure the same width as those on the back side. On mine, the difference is .014" (nominal). This is a very small amount but when working with pin joints and dove tails it does not require much deviation to create a fit problem.

This deviation does not appear to be accumulative. That is to say the delta between the plates front and back is the same for 3/4" pins as it is for 1/4" pins.

As a temporary solution, when measuring the pins during a setup I will measure those on the back side and totally disregard those on the front side. It is on the backside where the real work is done.

I have set an email to Mark (at Incra) regarding this.

We are in sync, Ed. I am doing what you are doing. The disconnect is what I am calling the front and back sides. Your statement "front side where the wood sits" is what cued me in.

The pin plate separation, however, should be the same on both sides.

[JPG]

I would think only the 'side' where the workpiece is slipped over the pins matters.

[dusty]

I would think only the 'side' where the workpiece is slipped over the pins matters.

And you would be absolutely correct. Only the side where the wood slips over the pins matter.

Remember the earlier left tilt right tilt discussion. The I-Box is intended to be "multi-functional"; that is, it can be used with either a left tilt or right tilt table. This week I don't have a right tilt table. Next week..... Should that day ever happen will those other pins that don't matter today be of concern.

I like the I-Box and I am impressed with the joints that I get and the ease with which they come. It is well worth what I paid for it...but I am going to make mine multi-functional even if I never need it to be.

[JPG]

I understand the left/right reversibility that makes the 'front' side the 'back' side, but since only one side would be 'functional', any front/back dimensional variation of the fingers is moot.