Make a Continuous Grain Box
George VondriskaDescription
Woodworking expert George Vondriska demonstrates how to make a continuous grain box. A WoodWorkers Guild of America (WWGOA) original video.
Dual Bevel Glide Miter Saw provided by Bosch. For more information, visit www.boschtools.com
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This product that I'm working on is called a continuous green box. And what that means is that if we start here at the back corner and go all the way around, the grain flows all the way around the box until we get to the corner where we started, 'cause that corner was the extreme ends of the board that we started with. So this is a really neat way to make a box that's very very attractive. And it's all about making accurate cuts here on the miter saw so we can basically fold all of these pieces together with that miter joint. So a couple of things, first thing we need to do is make sure the saw has been well-tuned, and this one is set up and ready to go. Making perfect 90 degree cuts in this direction, but I need to bevel the cuts. So I'm gonna lay the head down to 45 degrees right there. Now it's gonna be a lot easier to cut the parts if we add a little shop made jig to the miter saw. So I'm gonna add this table and you're gonna see the importance of this in just a sec. I'm just gonna clamp that right onto the fence there. So it stays in place. The next step involves the board that you're gonna work on using the, that you're gonna make the box out of. And what I wanna do is make sure I get all these parts back together correctly. So on what's gonna be the outside of the box just make kind of a random line. And when we fold all these parts together later that line is gonna help you get everything in the right spot. First thing I need to do is just cut through the jig and that's gonna show me exactly where the saw blade lives. Now the benefit to this is that because the saw I made this cut. I know exactly where the 45 degree angle is gonna be on my pieces. Now on that first cut, a lot of dust flew because I had this fence in place back here that prevented the dust from being able to get to the dust extractor back here. It's gonna be better on the next few cuts. The next thing we need to do is take our board. Lay that good face down here on the jig. And I'm gonna let the end of this project just a little bit past my 45 degree angle cut and get a miter cut on the end of this board. Now on subsequent cuts. What I'm gonna do is rotate this end for end. And I'm gonna mark on here right on my jig what I want the lengths of my box parts to be. So I'm gonna slide to the pencil line. And cut my first part. Now here's the key to making these miters work. We're done with this piece. What I need to do is rotate this one. So I've still got good face down. This is where the jig is really gonna pay off. Here on my side, what I'm doing is I'm lining the 45 degree cut on the piece with a 45 degree cut on my jig. So short point to short point, I've got those two aligned and that's where I'm ready to make the next cut. Now this gets rotated. Remember, you're gonna rotate between all your cuts. You're never gonna flip the board. I'm gonna position the board for the length of my other side. Cut this end off. Now we repeat the process by rotating short point to short point again, do another miter. Look at how nicely the box came out. I've got band clamps on it and it's just temporarily put together. I don't have any glue in here yet, but what I did was I followed my squiggly lines around. So they meet across this corner that tells me those two corners go together. They meet here, those two corners go together and what's so cool is the way that the grain flow is just like my squiggly line does from this side to this side. It's all about having good, accurate miters and good accurate cross cuts so that when you close these joints everything closes up and folds together. And the grain flows continuously around the box. So this is a great project. Get your miter saw set up as well as this one and give it a try.
Nicely done! I should do that as an exercise in setting up my saw at top precision!! You did use the word 'fold' at the start, and I thought you were going to get into the technique of cutting the miters not quite through and then actually folding the sides around the corners ... I have heard of this but never seen it ... has anybody else? Stay well and stay safe! John
This approach yields a box with a three corner match, not really "continuous grain", as the fourth corner consists of the two extreme ends of the original board. To make a true "continuous grain" box with a four corner match you must first re-saw the board and then open in end to end before laying out the four sides.
Very detailed in the cutting of the board, but would have been nice to see from the other side of the saw for that short end to short end cut. I'm new to woodworking and don't fully understand the short end to short end cut. Thank you, you have a subscriber for life.
What is the best type of blade for the miter for this project?
Thanks for the video! At the end of the video it seems like the sides of the box are not continuous, because the 2 parts of the knot (I hope I translated this right) are not on adjacent sides?. Maybe I misunderstood something? Thanks and regards from the Netherlands, Michiel
Great video, Thanks! Perhaps you could comment on the following: My boxes are 5 1/2 in tall or less - so I can use my simple 10" chop saw. But I had a lot of trouble getting a square cut - the outside of the 45 cut (nearest me) was always very slightly shorter than the inside next to the fence. But cutting at 90 always was square. No way could I adjust it out. Eventually, I thought that the workpiece was either being pulled forward a bit during the cut, or alternatively the saw head itself was slightly being pulled down-left at the end of the cut. I put a piece of sandpaper on the bed of the sled, and when its long enough, I clamo it to the bed of the sled. I also, when making the cut, try not to 'bear down' during the slice - but instead actually try to have a slight upward pressure during the cut. The 'shortening' is reduced - but not totally gone. What do you think is happening? Any suggestions? What floors me is that the cut is perfectly square at 90. The shortening only happens during the miter 45 cut. Thanks for your help. Chris