yeah probably no more than 1/4" i'd imagine... i have a 3mm chisel if i need to
go smaller. will have to play around with joint sizes once i work out what size
( how high) the box will be.

whilst this may turn out to be more of a chore than fun per se, am looking
forward to having a go to see what can be done. its not rocket science :-)

Cheers,
Mal

Sent using Mail on iPad 2

> On 23 Oct 2014, at 2:54, John Holladay  wrote:
> 
> Malcolm,
> 
> I've cut box joints by hand.  I found it to be very tedious, but it can be
done.  If the fingers are very small, it can really be tedious and the fingers
can be fragile so some amount of care is involved.  It really is the same
process as hand cut dovetails.  You mark it out, saw the sides, then chisel out
the waste.  Some people will saw out the majority of the waste with a coping saw
and then simply trim away with the chisel.  That is my personal preference
rather than chopping, but good work can be done either way.  I assume the
fingers will probably be 1/4" or less which means you'll need a small chisel.
This also means that keeping the chisel square will be a touch more difficult,
but it can be done.
> 
> Doc
> 
> 
>> On Wed, Oct 22, 2014 at 6:30 AM, Malcolm Thomas  wrote:
>> Sorry chaps, should have mentioned up front, am aware the joints on such a
box were machined.  But don’t have a treadle powered table saw.   Also aware
that DT’s are way to go for general work, more aesthetically pleasing and better
joint around.
>> 
>> But, i do want to replicate the yankee 100 box as much as I can and will have
a go at it with  hand tools.   If that proves impossible or fails for some other
reason then I could resort to my small model making table saw, but I don’t see
much of a challenge in that  :-0)
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Cheers
>> Mal
>> Oz
>> (Perth to be more precise)
>> 
>> On 22 Oct 2014, at 7:07 pm, Michael Blair  wrote:
>> 
>> >> anyway, any tips/gotchas i need to be aware of when cutting these
>> >> things by hand ?? the finger joints that is...
>> >
>> > Erm, the finger joints in such boxes were machined joints from the start,
>> > a way to get something of the strength of dovetails without all the hand
>> > work.
>> >
>> > A true Neanderthal might do them with saw and chisel, but there is a
>> > Galootish solution.  Charles Holtzappfel shows a treadle operated
>> > table saw in either volume 1 or volume 2 of his five volume work, Turning
>> > and Mechanical Manipulation.  There's one that is wooden construction,
>> > and another that is metal (illustrated).  They're pretty much the
>> > table saw we all know (but called a "sawing machine" in the text). They
>> > have a fence, and they have a slot for a miter gauge.  The miter gauge
>> > looks like any miter gauge found on a table saw you can buy today at
>> > any dealership in tailed apprentices.
>> >
>> > Mike in Sacto
>> >
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> 
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> John Holladay
> DocHolladay0820@g...
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