I am getting ready to start a new project. It will be a shelf for mounting the head of a Kenwood TM-D700A 2m/70cm radio in the car so that I do not have to drill any holes in my nice new car. I am considering using either a box cut or dove tail joints as they are stronger then butted joints. I will be staining the piece. Alas this will be my first attempt. I have shopped around for some jigs but they very greatly in price and would like to get some of your opinions. Please note that this is strictly amateur hour but would like decent results as it will be seen by passengers.
Thats an easy one. Either are strong enough, and both look good.
You can make a box joint jig for free, and any fool can cut them perfectly. Dovetail joints take an expensive jig (sure, you CAN substitute skill and diligence and make them by hand...) that are fussy to set up and take a while to learn.
If this is to be a one up; then a box joint wins easily.
Go for the box joint. They can be made to look attractive and are very strong. Cutting respectable dovetails requires a good-sized investment of money or skills development, which would not be warranted for a one-off project (unless during that project the woodworking bug bites you!)
I don't know about that. It depends on how careful a worker you are and how willing you are to be careful.
I had to build a 12" high "wall to go around the bottom of my daughter's bed frame to keep her rabbit out of there as well as to keep her from hiding stuff under there. My Dad was complaining about how hard he'd heard DTs were to make so I used it as an opportunity to teach him to make dovies. I picked up a bunch of 1X12 jummywood (practice on your cheap wood) and had him help me make DTs for all 4 corners. I sketched out the tails and had him cut them then traced the pins (yeah I know) and had him cut those. Since he knows how to do it far better than I, he wouldn't take much direction. That left some clean up to do, which was a great opportunity to explain what I meant by "sharp". Sneaking up on the fit didn't take much time and the joints fit nice and tight.
Now he "knows" that he can do it, hell he's done it once, I didn't do any of the "real" work, just ask him. More to the point, he probably CAN do it now, it'll just take longer than he thought. You can too. Try it one time in pine, it's cheap and nasty. Once you can do it in pine, hardwood will seem MUCH easier to work with and give you much better results. Take your time and make every line and cut with consideration, don't try to rush to the next step.
Just a thought, but if this is going to be sitting on the dash, make sure you select a wood that is going to improve with exposure to lots of UV light. I know cherry and mahogany darken and look nicer, while others will bleach out or change to a much less attractive color, like purpleheart and some others (I don't have a comprehensive list, just wanted to point it out for your consideration)
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