Scroll Saw Joinery For Noobs

Use only a scroll saw to create traditional dovetails.

For many years, functional and aesthetically pleasing methods of joining wood have included the use of dovetails, dovetail keys, box joints, and box joint keys. However, in the past, you had to manually cut them, and use a band saw, table saw, router table, or a specific jig.

This project shows scroll saw-cut wood joints for a jewelry box. The scroll saw is also used to cut the wooden hinges.

The dovetails are largely for ornamentation; the corners’ actual wood joints are 45° beveled wood joints. Before building the jewelry box, you can practice making sample wood joints and hinges on your scroll saw using small pieces of wood.

Utilizing the glue stick, secure them to the wood. To cut out the waste, use a #5 blade following the pattern’s instructions. Split the lines on one side of the joint, leaving the other side’s lines intact as shown on the pattern. Cut precisely on the line to separate it. Just within the line in the waste region, make a cut to exit the line. Additionally, at this stage, make the slots for the hinges where shown on the pattern (if using wooden hinges).

Step 1: Make duplicates of the pattern—two of the side pattern and one of each of the front and back.

Step 2: Dry fit the joint in step two. If it’s too tight, use the scroll saw to remove a little material. Some connections, especially dovetails, need to be hammered and driven together with a block of wood after they have been glued.

In this simple-to-assemble jewelry box, different woods are joined together using dovetails. The box’s charm is increased by the patterned lid features and all-wood hinges.

Step 3: Glue the joint together. To protect your workbench, cover a sheet of newspaper with adhesive and use a toothpick to glue up the joint.

Step 4: After the adhesive has dried, take the patterns off. To get the adhesive and newspaper off the box sides, simply sand them.

Step 5: Create the corner joints in step 5. On the table saw, cut the 45° joints. To maintain correct measurements, cut the miter exactly where indicated on the template.

Step 6: Cut the slot for the box’s bottom in step six. Set the table saw to a 3mm cut “Cut one hole on each side of the box, shift the box 3mm to the side, and make another cut on all four sides to produce a slot thick enough for the 6mm thick plywood bottom. It is a good idea to clamp the wood down when making this deep cut and slot.

Step 7: Cut out the box’s bottom and adhere the bottom pattern to the 1/4″ plywood “plywood using a #5 blade to cut out the shapes.

To ensure a snug fit in the box, test-fit the bottom.

Step 8. Glue the box together. Due to the need to hold the box’s bottom in place while adhering to the sides, two people may be required. The box’s exterior should be facing up as you place the four box pieces side by side. Along the length of the four, run a tape strip.

Apply glue to the box’s bottom edges and miters. Roll the box up after inserting the bottom into the slot on the third side. Make sure the bottom fits into the correct holes before taping the last miter shut. A few more pieces of tape should be wrapped around the box to secure it in place after checking that the joints are square. After the glue has dried for ten minutes, use a screwdriver to clean up any glue that may have squeezed out.

Step 9: Cut the wood for the box lid in Step 9. The walnut blank for the box lid should be covered with double-sided adhesive. For the box lid, attach the poplar blank. Wrap each part with transparent packaging tape. Using the glue stick, secure the box lid pattern to the poplar blank. The #5 blade should be used to begin each cut at the edge of the blanks, and it should be backed out when finished. Avoid cutting any turns! Use the 220-grit sandpaper to remove any burrs, being careful not to round any edges over.

Step 10: The box lid should now stick. Separate the eight pieces while maintaining the same numbering direction as on your pattern copy.

On pieces 2, 4, 5, and 7, swap poplar for walnut. The two lids were dry fit. Use a single piece of newspaper and woodworker’s glue to adhere both lids to a flat work surface. After holding each component for about 30 seconds, remove any excess glue. Give glue eight hours to dry.

Step 11: Sand the lid in step 11. To remove the newspaper and glue from the lid, sand it with 220-grit paper. Square up the table saw’s lid if necessary.

Step 12: Trim the sides of the lid. Create three copies of the lid edge front, back, and side patterns, as well as two copies of the lid edge side designs, and then glue them to the poplar using the glue stick. Use the #5 blade to cut.

Step 13: Apply glue to the lid’s edges. The four sides of the box should be clamped to the lid after applying wood glue to the box’s edges. Let the glue dry after removing the squeezed-out glue. All corners should be slightly rounded off and any excess glue should be sanded off.

Step 14. Adhere the hinges to the lid and box with glue. To begin, trim the hinges’ extra length so that they fit precisely in the slots. The hinges are then glued to the lid. After two hours, glue the box’s lid and hinges together.

Step 15: Apply the finish of your choice to the box in step 15. I utilized an oil finish to highlight the wood’s contrasting colors and grain. For optimal results, adhere to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Step 16: Include the jewelry box compartment’s optional lining. Place a sheet of newspaper on top of an 215 x 280mm poster board. Poster board with a piece of felt or velvet attached on one side, covered with wood glue. Make sure to remove all air bubbles and press the fabric firmly. Stack a second layer of newspaper on top of the fabric to add weight. Let the adhesive set for the entire night. The poster board should then be precisely trimmed to suit the box.

Credit: The Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts Magazine is the source for this project.