The INCRA I-Box Jig from Wood Workers Workshop is the most advanced tool ever produced for creating a stunning variety of box and finger joints. Here, Geoff Ryan explores it in further detail.
As much as I like the look of dovetail joints, there are times when a box joint is a good choice. It’s a strong joint due to the glue surface area and, executed well, can enhance the look of a project. I’ve made several box joint jigs over the years and there are a lot of YouTube videos, as well as various online content, explaining how to make them. Unfortunately, I had limited success with mine and eventually gave up. I do have an INCRA Original Jig, which I regularly use for dovetail joints, and this allows fine adjustment of through dovetails to achieve a close-fitting joint. While this jig also caters for box joints in a wide range of sizes, there’s no way to micro-adjust the joint, which means it’s not always a perfect fit. There’s also a maximum width limit of 200mm.
Great customer service
The INCRA I-Box Jig has been around for a while and there’s a wide range of online reviews, and INCRA also have some excellent video guides on their website. As I was about to start a project involving the construction of six large drawer boxes in birch ply, I took the plunge in October 2020 and ordered the IBOX from Wood Workers Workshop. Over the last few years, I’ve bought a number of forms from them and have been pleased with the service they provide. The only time I’ve had a problem was when a package arrived damaged – although this was dealt with politely and swiftly and a replacement received within two days. Great customer service like this means you’re happy to shop again!
Health & Safety
The supplied blade guard works reasonably well, but you need to maintain good practice and keep fingers and tools away from the spinning router bit. Adding side pieces to the guard would reduce the risk. There’s no included extraction and it’s down to the user to determine the appropriate solution. I’ll be looking at replacing or modifying the rear blade guard to include dust extraction instead of sticking a hose up the end of the body extrusion.
Conclusion
Overall, based on my experience of using the jig in a router table, I’m very happy with the I-Box Jig and will be using it in many future projects. I think it’s fair to say that this jig is ideally used on a table saw with a dado head. Use on a router table requires a little more care, but excellent results can be achieved. It’s not a quick jig to use as the stock has to be unclamped, repositioned, and re-clamped for each cut, but, with practice, speed of operation improves and this can be seen in the included videos where a skilled operator gives a very slick demonstration. It’s possible to cut two pieces of stock at a time, which will speed up the process. The owner’s manual makes no mention of the problems encountered when cutting plywood on a router table, and this would be a useful addition, although I didn’t find it difficult to overcome this problem.
Specification
- Use the I-Box Jig on your table saw or router table to cut great looking box joints with a stacking-type dado blade, dedicated box joint blade set, or straight router bits
- Reversible design works on either side of the cutter
- Exclusive dual-pitch lead screw mechanism for fast micro-adjusting and a broad 1/8” - 3/4” in range of pin widths cut into 1/4” - 1” thick timber
- Free one-hour instructional DVD covers basic setups through to advanced decorative joinery
- Works alongside the INCRA HingeCrafter to produce solid wood hinges
- Front and rear blade guards; front guard also stabilises boards vertically and is adjustable for 1/4” -1” timber thicknesses, box joints or even thicker for other applications
- The wide fence allows for the clamping of timber securely into position while cutting much better than hand-held boards, especially when joining small or large timber – hand-screw clamp not included
- Reversible and reusable MDF subfence dramatically reduces or eliminates tear-out
- Exclusive INCRA GlideLOCK mitre bar fits standard 3/4” × 3/8” mitre slots with a 0.740 - 0.762” width adjustment range. Mitre bar position is adjustable up to 7 1/2” away from saw blades – edge of blade to centre of mitre slot – or up to 7 3/4” from routers – centre of collet to centre of mitre slot
The Verdict
- Pros: Excellent instructions, DVD and support from manufacturer; simple to set up and use; safe to use – if guidance is followed and good workshop practice adhered to; good quality, well-made and robust; ability to fine-tune ensures accurate results are achieved – not a feature of many other jigs; wide range of finger joint sizes (1 8⁄-3 4⁄in); cuts on solid wood are very good
- Cons: Cost – it isn’t cheap but if you regularly make box joints, the quality and results are worth the expense; you must have a 3 4⁄in (19mm) mitre slot on your router table; no provision for dust extraction; cuts on plywood are poor unless you incorporate an outer sacrificial fence; speed of use – not a fast system but this improves with use and familiarity
- Rating: 4.5 out of 5