anyone done quarter-quarter-quarter drawer system

[RFGuy]

My question is; how many levels does one person really need? Did you see all of them hanging behind when he as at the table saw? I'd ask him directly, but he has the option to leave comments turned off on the video.

Good eye catching those. My guess is that those are "extra" levels that he owns. Those are Stabila levels from Germany and are quite expensive. I have watched one or two videos from that guy in the past on YouTube. I think he was a finish carpenter by trade and is now retired. So, it is likely those were levels that he purchased and used on his work crews, i.e. he didn't use them all himself. Once he retired, he kept them instead of selling them. Again, this is just a guess...

[edflorence]

In addition to what Al pointed out, the combined use of miter gauge and fence, I saw no point to cutting the rabbets "on end." I wouldn't even try that, it looks neither accurate nor safe. And I can think of many ways to cut them, including with a dado, that are both accurate and safe.

I agree: using the fence and miter gauge in the way demonstrated sets the scene for a disaster. This is one of the first safety considerations learned when starting out on a table saw.

PTWFE has the following warning in bold typeface:

Warning: The rip fence alone must never be used as a stop to gauge the length of a cutoff. The cutoff, when the pass is complete, will bind between the fence and the blade and be kicked back.

As for cutting the rabbets on end, well that is what tall fences or tenon jigs were made for. Seems like a good idea to me to steer clear of pretty much any "freehand" sort of cut on the table saw.

If making all the cuts for this locking joint without altering the setup is the goal, I question whether the table saw is the right way to approach it. Seems like I could accomplish it by lifting my 500 into drill press mode, installing the router chuck and cutting the 1/4 inch rabbets and grooves that way. With the depth stop adjusted to 1/4 and the fence set to the 1/4 offset it should be possible to make this joint safely and without having to move the fence between passes.

[RFGuy]

Stumpy Nubs must be reading this thread because he just posted a video on his version of making drawers with this method...he likes to call it the half-half-half method just to be different.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQXHzvJNsoA[/youtube]

[Hobbyman2]

Not trying to advertise here,, or say these are even better yet ,, but there are router bits that can give you a even stronger joint using miter'd corners . here is a example of a bit , would need one or two different bits for depending on the wood thickness and router shank size .I could be wrong but this should be plenty strong enough for drawers ? should be at least as strong as the joint in the topic, as far as the topiuc goes that is a strong joint , My dad has used it in several projects , dont believe it is as strong a 1/4in box joint . jmo. https://www.rockler.com/rockler-45-deg- ... o4QAvD_BwE

[everettdavis]

I don’t have an 8’ level but I used my 6’ on laying Porcelain Tile

Everett

8E931DE4-0ECF-4B25-9394-8CE13ABFF37B.jpeg (135.96 KiB) Viewed 2651 times

[RFGuy]

As a matter of fact, I was doing some quick-and dirty casework last weekend, and decided to give pocket screws another try, mostly just because a lot of people like them. I regretted not using the rabbet and dado joint as soon as I began to assemble it. Not only did I have to individually drill a couple dozen pocket holes, but aligning the components for assembly was a real pain. I wound up testing to see just how much the screws were going to side-shift the pieces when tightened, then applying glue and pin-nailing them with enough offset to compensate for the side-shift, and then still needing to clamping them tight before driving the pocket screws in order to get a consistent side-shift. The alignment came out pretty close, but I’ll still want to trim a couple of edges flush, just because I’m a perfectionist. And the process required to get decent alignment was a pain in the keister.

If I’d used rabbet and dado joints, the entire assembly would have been self-jigging, and assembly alignment would have been exactly as precise as my machine setup.

That said, I still think that pocket screws are a great solution if you only have basic tools to work with. Some sort of saw, a drill, and an inexpensive pocket-hole jig is enough to build a lot of reasonably sturdy stuff.

Dennis,

Thanks for posting this. Not looking to start a debate on pocket hole joinery again here, but I really appreciate your thoughts. I have never tried pocket holes myself so I am glad you cleared up some points on them for me. It sounds like they are about the same as dowel joinery with regard to speed. I mean unless you have a professional Kreg pocket hole machine (https://www.kregtool.com/shop/pocket-ho ... -machines/), you are still taking out a drill and using a bit in a jig. However, as you point out there is no alignment for pocket hole joinery. Domino, dowel, biscuit, rabbet, M&T, etc. all create either a single axis or dual axis alignment between two pieces that are being joined, but pocket holes don't have this. The only way that I can see pocket hole joinery having an advantage is if you are doing a lot of repetitive work where you already have fixtures/jigs in place to hold the workpieces in place for alignment during glue up, i.e. like in a production woodworking shop. For me at home, pocket holes would likely take me longer because of fussing over the alignment and clamping to get the joint secure. So any time possibly saved in creating the pocket holes, if any, would be lost in alignment and assembly. I still think pocket hole joinery is interesting, but I don't think I will try it after reading this. I would rather work on getting better at the methods I already know, than to add this one to my repertoire. Again not trying to knock it as a woodworking technique; all of them have their own pros and cons. Thanks for helping me to make a decision on pocket holes.

[Hobbyman2]

We used a 6 ft level when we redone our floors and to level the top of cabinets they have a longer reach , our kitchen is a U shape so we could use the level to make the whole cabinet design work, we had a granite counter installed and it has to be pretty much spot on , a laser would have been just as good but rather pricey , we could have used a string but the level was more convenient and didnt have to worry about string sag . IMO pocket holes , biscuits , dowels , they are like router bits they all seem to have their own place ? Gluing up panels I use biscuits / dowels etc, gluing dowels as pins through the corners of drawers / boxes / etc so the ends can be seen adds a little flare . they all seem to have a special purpose .JMO

[cham-ed]

And a 6 ft level is great for installing door jambs, an 8ft won't fit.

[everettdavis]

Stumpy Nubs must be reading this thread because he just posted a video on his version of making drawers with this method...he likes to call it the half-half-half method just to be different.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQXHzvJNsoA[/youtube]

Well at least he didn’t call it 12.7 mm x 12.7 mm x 12.7 mm!!

Of course he is saying 1/2 meaning 50% of the stock width not 1/2”, but I digress.

I really appreciate everyone’s input on this including the side discussions that we get into. Sometimes there are nuggets of gold inside those, and almost all of them backed by years of personal experiences.

I have done a 1/2 finger joint, then used the Shopsmith in drill press mode to bore down the finger locks to insert 1/8” wooden dowels at each end to lock them. Just because I could.

I had time to burn while I was waiting on a delivery the first time I did it. The second time I was just showing off with the Shopsmith morticing jig.

Got some “how did you do that questions along with the why did you do that. By looking you couldn’t tell they didn’t go all the way through.

Blessings everyone.

[Hobbyman2]

Floating tenons ,mitered spline joints , dovetails , box joints, dowels all offer strength and decorative twist to a ordinary plain corner . seems like almost any one can nail two boards together and call it good, and thats ok if it is the look one is after or the need for added flair isn't important . some times showing off just soothes the soul, lol