Router Table Box Joint Jig with 1/4", 3/8" & 1/2" Indexing Keys

You know, when you start a new adventure in woodworking you need to be careful. You can get yourself hurt or worse, although I don't know what worse looks like. I do know I wanted to start doing box joints and I watched just about every thirty seven million YouTube videos and they all wanted me to make a homemade box joint jig. I just didn't have the confidence to make one. Fast forward to me finding the Rockler Router table Box Joint Jig. I ordered one and it came within a couple of days. I waited a couple of days to get the courage up to open the box. The putting it together went perfectly smoothly, until I dropped a screw, that was provided, onto my shop floor and I couldn't find it. I did have an extra screw that I used and went on with the build. I adjusted my router table and was able to cut my first try within about 30 minutes. It wasn't very good because it was my first time, but that is what extra wood is for. I then turned the pieces around and cut again. This time it went much better but the joint wouldn't seat perfectly. I decided I hadn't held the wood flat on the table and went back and re-cut it. I cleaned out the waste and it fit perfectly. I can't recommend this tool any higher. I'd give it 7 stars but we only have 5. For beginners or those who don't want to build their own jig, this is the way to go. All the best, Dan

I am pretty new to woodworking, and was looking for an inexpensive jig for making box/finger joints. I read all the reviews, positive and negative about this before ordering, so I thought I knew what to expect. What arrived today (June 21st, 2019) is a different and new design from what is in the Amazon photos, and seems to have improved the design to address the most common complaints I have seen in the negative reviews. See my attached photos. The bar for guiding your cuts (pardon the wrong terminology) is now attached to the sliding fence instead of the base board, so you no longer have to worry about friction between your work piece and the bar causing sloppy cuts. Update: the proper spiral bits arrived today, so I have added a pic of my first "real" cuts, with 1/2" oak and 3/4" mahogany. The oak came out fine, but I didn't measure the thickness of the bit correctly, so the mahogany cuts were a bit too narrow for the fingers, so it fit loosely. That was user error on my part, and now I know how to properly gauge the distance from the bit to the guide bar. Ultimately, the cuts were clean, and I was able to get them made with good enough quality for my general level of talent. I found that pressing downwards on the work piece with my left hand, while pushing the fence forward with my right hand gave the best cuts and prevented the work piece from slipping.

I've been using the jig for about 2 weeks to make a series of shop cabinets for my tools. The unit does work well with my router table (MCLS Bench Top) and DeWalt 618 router, but the jig is a little tricky to dial in on the right size for the interlocking joints. I even use a set of brass setup bars to establish the distance between the bit and the brass key on the jig but it's still tricky to get it just right. The waste material does seem to build up under the jig sled and you will have to clean it out after each side of your work is cut. That may be part of the problem if waste is not clearing as use index each cut. It is also difficult to see the cuts in progress since the bench top table is a little higher than eye level (not the fault of the Rockler jig). I use a clamp on the first cut to ensure the workpiece is tight against the brass key pin and fence and the jig does provide adequate space for clamping smaller workpieces. It might be nice for the piece to ride on a slide (like a cross cut sled) to avoid catching on the bit opening in the jig (a problem with the waste material buildup), although varying pin and notch sizes might make that more complicated. I will be building a less tall stand for the table top in the future, and see if I can improve the dust collection as well. I do like the jig and will continue to learn how to use it better, but plan to waste a few practice pieces for each project.

The jig looks nice, it works well if you can properly set it, that’s not easy. Be sure to use a good bit and sacrifice wood.

Another quality tool from Rockler! The jig was very easy to put together with detailed instructions. The sliding action is smooth and the built in stops helped me from moving the wood I was cutting to far in either direction. I firmly believe this box joint jig is a great value for the money and has helped me quickly turn out the drawers I am making for my under workbench storage.

It's ok. It's nicely made, and convenient compared to the time it takes to make a flexible jig and tune it. However, it has just enough play to it that it's hard to get a really good fit. The plastic sled parts wiggle just enough in the base that the fingers don't join well. I will continue to play with it, but my first set of drawer boxes leave a lot to be desired. If I get better results I'll try to update this.

This jig works great. There are a few small flaws in it that I'll probably DIY fix to make it even better, but that's not the reason I'm leaving this review. I couldn't seem to find this info anywhere in the instructions, even though it is so obvious when you think about it-- When you're setting up the key, it needs to be exactly the distance away from the bit as the width of the key. Meaning you need setup blocks. I didn't have a set of setup blocks. I was upset. I just spent all of this money on a jig and now I need setup blocks to even use it? I looked at the jig and figured out that each key is tapered, but the taper only runs on the right side of the key. The left side is straight on all of the keys, and the left side is the side that you measure for distance from the router bit. This means the left side is the side that matters. So here's the super secret info that they didn't put in the instructions- This means the if I want to use a 1/4" router bit with the 1/4" key to make 1/4" fingers, I will fasten the 3/8" key into the jig. I will then use the 1/4" key as the "setup block" . After adjusting the jig and securing it, pull the 3/8" key out and replace with the 1/4" key. Now the jig is set up for 1/4" finger joints without setup blocks. Why that little bit of very important info isn't in the instructions is beyond me. I setup the jig like this and made perfect fingers without having to readjust the width of the fingers. I just set it and began production on the project in the attached picture.

I see some people complaining about it being too tight, some state is too loose. Mine has almost 1/16 side to side play when sliding the sled. On a 1/2" joint, this might not be an is, but causing highly irregular joints on 1/4" joints as each finger can be up to 1/8" of of you cut one pushing to hard to the left and one to hard to the right. Packaging was good, with each part in its own bags. MDF feels like LDF. All in all I cannot recommend this.

Il prodotto si presenta fatto con ottimi materiali e ben progettato. Non ho avuto modo di provarlo in quanto non compatibile Infatti vanno fatte alcune considerazioni e controlli prima di acquistarlo: Il JIG si aggancia alla t-track del banco fresa, perché si agganci è necessaria una distanza minima di 12,5 cm tra il centro della fresa e il canale, è comunque possibile allungare la fresata di aggancio L’aggancio si effettua tramite spessori in metallo da inserire nella t-track; questi una volta tirati dalle manopole dovrebbero allargarsi e garantire la stabilità del supporto. Questi spessori hanno forma rettangolare con il lato in alto di 20 mm e spessore 9,3 mm quindi vanno bene per le t-track comuni larghe esternamente 30 mm. Altro problema è che gli spessori che fanno da riferimento per creare i denti dell’incastro sono in misure imperiali: 1/2, 1/4 e 3/8. Questo in se va bene salvo che bisogna avere le frese delle stesse dimensioni e queste in genere vengono vendute con codoli imperiali e quindi poi necessitano di mandrini (pinze) del router che riescono a lavorare con queste misure Insomma niente di impossibile ma prima di acquistare fate un passaggio per verificare tutti questi dettagli, se siete attrezzati potrebbe essere un buon acquisto

Ware ist gut angekommen. Vielen Dank

il est bien fait, solide, par contre c'est pour des mesures en pouce et pas en mm. si vous avez pas les bonnes fraises c'est inutilisable

The unit it's self is great after setup, one's set make more than one box and make cheat blocks to aide in setup next time you use it.

I found this jig to be very user-friendly on my Bosch RA1181 router table. Using a scrap pine board bandsawed/planed to 3/8” thickness, I did a couple of test runs, adjusting the spacing very slightly for the second round. The cuts were very clean even on wood this soft. I then proceeded to make a box to store the jig and sacrificial backers I made for 1/4”, 3/8” and 1/2” joints (using plywood scraps). For the next project, replicating a small cheese grating box in a larger size, I used a 1/4” spiral bit on pine for the drawer, and a 3/8” one on Swiss Pear for the outer case. The jig again worked flawlessly. Later I built another box out of pine to hold our Mercato pasta machine (got carried away carving the top for it), and it works predictably well each time. Very happy with this jig.