# Cutting off top of box



## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

I call myself "Searching" the site for the topic concerning cutting off the top of a box. Do any of you or any recall the topic concerning building/gluing a box together with top and bottom attached and when dry cutting the top off?

I am looking to do that and was wondering if a jig was used or just ran 4 passes through the table saw


----------



## boogalee (Nov 24, 2010)

Marco said:


> I call myself "Searching" the site for the topic concerning cutting off the top of a box. Do any of you or any recall the topic concerning building/gluing a box together with top and bottom attached and when dry cutting the top off?
> 
> I am looking to do that and was wondering if a jig was used or just ran 4 passes through the table saw


Hi Jim

Check out youtube.

Youtube video


----------



## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

I've done it on a table saw, 2 or 4 passes (depending on box depth) using miter gauge with a stop. No problems. I did some pencil boxes a few years ago in one pass against the rip fence. My preference though is to do it on a band saw, but i have 12" of clearance to work with. Much thinner kerf on the BS leaves a nicer continuous grain. 

earl


----------



## me5269 (Jun 2, 2011)

When I use the table saw, I do it in 4 passes. After each pass, put hot melt glue in the kerf to keep it from closing. As Earl, I prefer using a bandsaw.

Edit: Using the rip fence on either saw.


----------



## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

I do this all the time on the table saw. I use the rip fence and cut the ends of the box first, then tack these slots together with hot melt glue in just a couple of places to maintain the saw kerf width while I cut the two long sides. Once all four sides have been cut, I break the lid free of the hot melt glue spots and remove the remaining hot melt glue. Using the table saw over the band saw gives me a better chance of getting the cut square and smooth. When using a band saw it's too easy to end up with a cut that isn't perfectly square and the edges always need cleaning up. For me, the table saw is faster and more accurate, with no clean-up of the cut edge needed. It's safe too, much like cutting a saw kerf around a large solid block of wood.

Charley


----------



## OPG3 (Jan 9, 2011)

*Careful there, Jimbo!*

Jim my friend, this ain't rocket science - but it is important to think about what's going to happen after each pass - or even during any particular pass. I do not make beautiful boxes such as my good friend Malcolm (kywoodchopper), but nevertheless; my work does have to be dimensionally dead-on! I do cuts such as this constantly and here's how I do it:
Attach a tall auxiliary fence to the rip guide.
Make cut number 1.
Measure the kerf.
Cram something into two places along said kerf - but be mindful it needs to be positioned to not get removed in subsequent cuts - so corners cannot be used.
Rotate [box, workpiece, what have you] and make cut number 2.
Repeat "cram something..." step.
Blah, blah, blah.
A couple of fellow members (above) mentioned hot melt glue, but personally I've never done it that way - BUT IT SOUNDS REALLY GOOD.

*Please note that it is very easy to lose a finger* doing this in some situations! Some people that try this keep their eyes on the workpiece and forget personal safety. 

Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia


----------



## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I Like the hot glue idea, never did it that way. 
The way I do it is to set the tablesaw blade just a fraction less than the thickness of the wall of the box and cut it on all 4 sides,then take a utiliy knife and go around the box and cut it loose. then clean up the little feather edge left by using a piece of sand paper on a flat surface to remove. I have had good success even on boxes with 1/8" sides.
I have also used a bandsaw and it has its limits as to how high the BS will cut.


----------



## greenacres2 (Dec 23, 2011)

OPG3 said:


> Jim my friend, this ain't rocket science - but it is important to think about what's going to happen after each pass - or even during any particular pass. I do not make beautiful boxes such as my good friend Malcolm (kywoodchopper)
> 
> Otis Guillebeau from Auburn, Georgia


I can't imagine anyone consistently making boxes as beautiful as Malcolm's--poetry in wood if you ask my opinion.

earl


----------



## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Thanks for the replies. I ended up doing something similar to most of the suggestions and it worked well. I made a cut in some scrap wood to use as a gauge and cut strips to fit inside the cut made by the kerf of the blade. I cut an end and taped a strip in the opening and then did the same to the other end followed by cutting a side then inserting and taping a strip in it. The final cut on the opposite side to free the lid was........... uneventful!!!! So all is good!!!!!! Thanks


----------



## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

I'm glad it went well for you. Whatever way is comfortable for you that holds the saw kerf open while cutting the other sides is all that is necessary. Be it glue, taping pieces of wood into the open kerf, or filling the kerf with gobs of hot melt glue. They will all work. You just want to maintain the width of the saw kerf until the rest of the sides have been cut.

Charley


----------



## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

CharleyL said:


> I'm glad it went well for you. Whatever way is comfortable for you that holds the saw kerf open while cutting the other sides is all that is necessary. Be it glue, taping pieces of wood into the open kerf, or filling the kerf with gobs of hot melt glue. They will all work. You just want to maintain the width of the saw kerf until the rest of the sides have been cut.
> 
> Charley


Safest,fastest, easiest, are things I look for. I would have used my hot glue gun but I would probably still be looking for it, the glue sticks or both. Lets not bring up a clean organized shop unless you know of one.:haha:


----------



## kklowell (Dec 26, 2014)

I saw a video somewhere the other day where the box maker hot glued a strip of wood on each inside corner before he put the box top on. He then cut all four sides with his blade set just tall enough to cut the sides without cutting all the way through those strips. After that he took the top off. Wish I could remember where I saw that video.


----------



## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

That will work, but I think it's easier to just make the cuts in the opposite sides with the table saw and fence, then add hot melt glue dabs, taped in shims, or whatever to hold the top and bottom of the box together and with the proper kerf width while you cut the other two sides free. I've cut the tops off close to 100 boxes this way without a single incident. No damage to either the box or me. I have even cut all four sides without spacers, glue, or shims. I cut opposite sides (sides 1 and 2), then carefully cut side three, and then use my fingers to hold side three at the proper kerf width while I cut side four and even this method has worked fine for me. To me, putting strips inside the box using hot melt glue will work, but it's just too difficult and time consuming. You have to keep track of where they are in the box so you make the cuts in the right place. Doing this it would be very easy to cut the bottom off instead of the top where the strips are.

When I make a box with a lid I never plan on which end will become the top. When I'm about to cut the top off I look the box over carefully and decide which side looks the best and then make the cuts so that this best looking side becomes the top, or I might make my decision when I find an imperfection in one side from a flaw caused by nature or by a flaw caused by my woodworking. In this case the side with the flaw always becomes the bottom. 

Charley


----------



## GregLittleWoodworks (Dec 9, 2014)

I do it a bit different. I make a cut all around the box that is not quite all the way through..about 1/32" less than the thickness of the sides... I then make the final cut with a razor knife. Works great for me..


----------



## KenBee (Jan 1, 2011)

GregLittleWoodworks said:


> I do it a bit different. I make a cut all around the box that is not quite all the way through..about 1/32" less than the thickness of the sides... I then make the final cut with a razor knife. Works great for me..


That is the way I do it as well so that way I don't have to worry about spacers or the cuts pinching. I also do mine on a router table mounted saw considering I have neither a table saw or band saw. I learned about the Router Table setup from this forum a couple years ago and it has worked very well for me.

If I remember correctly it was Bobj3 that gave me the idea and furnished the information.


----------



## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

I'll chime in. I do this on my TS with a partial cut on each of the short sides - leaving about 1/8". Then I raise the blade enough to cut all the way through and do the long sides. A hand saw finishes the job (though a knife would work, too) and there is less to clean up. Seems to me it's a lot faster than hot glue or kerf plugging and there is no question about getting a perfect cut.


----------



## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Cut your box ends first. Cut a shim of wood the thickness of your saw blade and tape it in the cuts. (1/8" for standard saw blades) The shims should not be in the path of the saw blade; the tape should run from top to bottom of the box. Cut your box sides and remove the shims and tape. I use painters tape so there is no residue on the wood.


----------



## jeepered (Nov 8, 2013)

Try a band saw for small boxes. One pass does the trick. Thanks, ED


----------



## jeepered (Nov 8, 2013)

Try a band saw for small boxes. One pass does the trick. Thanks, ED


----------



## Ghidrah (Oct 21, 2008)

Same as Greg, I use a Diablo thin kerf 7 1/2" 60 or 24 tooth for the cuts


----------

