Freud Box Joint Blade

[JJ]

Anyone try the Freud Boxjoint blade yet? They claim a "squarer" and cleaner pass of the blade.

[David]

I use one of the side blades of my Freud SD-508 when I want I clean cut when I need square slot edges. I use the router table for box joints (Incra templates & fence).

What's the width of the boxjoint blade?

Dave

[David]

good grief! too much editing and not enough proofreading!

Correct version: I use one of the side blades when I need square slot edges (like in knife blocks).

Dave

[Lew Hodgett]

I use their dado for my box joints.

I'm happy.

Lew

[Paul Franklin]

Haven't used it, but I like how the teeth overhang the plate more on one side than the other and with the blades in one order you get 1/4 inch, and by shuffling them so the other blade is next to the arbor nut you get 3/8 inch. No fussing with spacers, etc.

I don't do a lot of box joints, but if I did, I'd certainly give it a try...

Paul

[George]

Why bother? Best box-joint jig going is so simple, you'd be embarrassed.

Sixth-graders could use it safely and successfully. None of them were even allowed to use the tablesaw, for safety reasons.

Unless, of course, you're just looking for a new tool.

[David]

your comments have nothing to do with the OP's question about a specific blade.

Dave

[Charley]

I've had Freud's new box joint blade for almost 2 months now and have cut box joints in poplar, oak, pine, and even baltic birch plywood with it. I've been highly impressed with the quality of the cut...perfectly square and clean with no chipout (it helps to use a new backer board each time you change the cut depth or width to a shallower setting). This blade cuts cleaner and squarer box joints than anything else that I've ever used, and I've made a lot of box joints in my life. I've made them with both dado blades (even Freud's dado blades) and router bits and never consistently achieved cuts anywhere near as clean as this.

However, it is necessary to make a good box joint jig to use with it to get really good results. The blade comes with instructions for making a box joint fixture, but I wasn't very impressed with their design. The jig needs to have micro adjustment capability built into it so that you can dial in the exact position of the cut to get both the cuts and spaces between the cuts to be exactly the same width, and this needs to be done each time that you set up the fixture. You also need to understand that to get repeatable spacing in your box joints requires the elimination of all side play in your fixture, the saw table slide, and also in the placement of your boards when you make each cut. I always work from left to right and always place my boards against the left side of the fixture pin before making each cut. This eliminates the possibility of any indexing variation that might be caused by the width of the fixture pin. In fact the pin width is not important, only the position of it's left side. By referencing the board against the left side of the fixture pin each time I make a cut, and by carefully adjusting the fixture so that my cuts and the resulting spaces between the cuts are equal, I can get perfect box joints every time.

I have no connection with Freud. I'm just a very satisfied customer.

[Greg G]

Excellent summation. I've wondered about this blade as well, after having seen it talked about here.

I make a lot of box joints... Don't ask me why... I don't know...

Greg G.

[George]

Sure it does. It says the blade is an unnecessary expense whose purpose can be better accomplished with a tool he probably already possesses.

It's sort of like side rabbet planes. The job it does isn't worth the price, because there are superior means of accomplishing the same purpose. Which is why I suggested that to you.