Wow! Harder than I imagined

[Tim Douglass]

I actually have had pretty fair results "tuning" my box joints with a fine cut metal file.

Tim Douglass

[Lew Hodgett]

I use 10" flat bastard files (more coarse than mill bastard) for knocking corners off things.

It is a trick I picked up from an old timer who did a lot of refacing work.

He would break the sharp edge of a laminate with a file.

HTH

Lew

[Chuck Hoffman]

So now I have a dilemma:

The new jig is so accurate in terms of dimensions and spacing that the joints are VERY tight and difficult to assemble. The tolerances are so close that there is little, if any, room for glue and they tend to splinter or chip out if I tap too hard on them.

I either have to work all the pins over with an abrasive every time I make a drawer (time consuming), or make the sockets just a hair wider than the pins while assuring that the pins are centered in the openings.

Which is the best approach? Wouldn't the second approach put me back in the realm of accumulated error?

[George]

Make the pins a bit narrower? That's what I do. Tapping one corner of the jig to close the gap doesn't bother me a bit, because I have flexibility of setting throughout.

[Roger Shoaf]

Use a piece of paper for a shim on your dado stack and leave everything else alone. That will widen each cut by about .003.

If that is still too snug, use 2 pieces of paper.