# Rabbet for box lid



## phillipsted (Sep 26, 2014)

I am making a lid for a small dovetailed box I just completed. The box is about 7"x10"x4". My next step is to run a rabbet along the bottom edge of the lid so that it fits onto the top of the box.

I'll be doing this on a Jessem table mounted with a Triton TRA001. Being a relatively new router user, I am unsure whether to cut the rabbet with the lid flat on the table top or the lid vertical against the fence. It seems like either way would work. I don't yet have a rabbeting bit, so I was planning on doing this with one of my spiral or straight bits.

Thoughts?

(...and thank you for giving me lots of good ideas, tips, and techniques over the past couple of months as I caught up on all the older posts here... Great Forum!)

TedP


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## PhilBa (Sep 25, 2014)

I'm far from an expert but I find laying the work piece flat on the table to be a lot more stable. Easier to clamp a featherboard to the fence to keep it down. Even with a tall fence, holding the piece against the fence seems much harder to me.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Is the rabbet going to be on the inside or outside of the lid?


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

I always feel more in control and safer with the work flat on the table rather than vertically against the fence.


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## phillipsted (Sep 26, 2014)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> Is the rabbet going to be on the inside or outside of the lid?


The rabbet will be on the outside lip of the underside of the lid. It will be 3/4" wide and 1/4" deep.

I tend to agree with everyone's suggestion that the piece is more stable resting flat on the table. The only reason I mention running it vertically along the fence is that I have a wider selection of bits in my collection to choose from - almost any straight/spiral bit with a cutting length longer that 3/4" will do (although I would probably select a 1/2" straight bit). If I lay the lid flat on the table, I'll have to cut the rabbet with four passes to get the width I'm looking for (two cuts for depth, two for width).

I'll run a test piece vertically tomorrow to see how the setup works.

Thanks for your feedback!

TedP


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

If it's on the outside then a straight bit with router table and fence will work. That would be the cheapest and simplest method.


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

If the rabbet will be on the inside, a router table and a rabbeting bit with a bearing would do this easily, but you will need to finish the corners with a chisel. To cut the rabbet you just lay the box down over the bit and let the bearing on the bit guide you as you slide the box around the bit while it cuts the rabbet. 

I frequently build boxes and use this same technique with a small diameter slotting bit to cut a slot for the box bottom. I clamp the sides of the box together without glue, usually using a band clamp, for this step. Small diameter bearing guided slotting bits are available from Lee Valley for doing this. I then cut the box bottom to the proper size to fit in the slots and round the corners slightly to allow for the corner radius left by the slot cutter in the corners. With the small diameter slotting bits, this radius is very small so it is hidden when the box is assembled. 

Charley


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