You may have trouble plugging in the router table in the woods.

I have been a professional carpenter for so long that I invented the method myself. Thank you for this comment!

The reason I don't use this method is because I don't have a planer or table saw, and getting these spacers to a very precise and consistent dimension (needs to be a multiple of the bit width) takes a lot of work with a hand plane or sanding. I basically do the same procedure, but I move the fence of my router table using calipers to measure the new distance. This method with the spacers is far more accurate though as my joints always need some extra chisel work to get a good fit. If you can get some lumber and router bits that match exactly, then you can skip the planer and still use this method for perfect results. Or you can invest the time in making good spacers out of some hardwood, mark them with the router bit they match, and just re-use them for all joinery going forwards to increase your ROI - I just haven't gotten around to doing that.

@@moti.g yeah... a tablesaw is probably a necessity... but I picked up a small hobby one up in Lidls for €120 I think it was and it does a reasonable job for the price... at least until I can afford a "real" tablesaw... His tablesaw looks homemade too, like the router table (I made one, easy peasy) so its really not THAT expensive. There are even youtube vids of people making tablesaws from ordinary circular saws... I subbed & liked when I saw his box-joint vid, never heard of his channel before, short & to-the-point videos that leave you with a little brainwork to do yourself, I like it that way instead of being spoon-fed every little detail and nuance of a project/method... 😎👍☘🍺

@@peterfitzpatrick7032 it's not the budget that's the issue... its that my workshop is a 2.6 by 3 meter bedroom in an apartment building that also functions as my office and storage for everything (wood, tools, hardware, cameras, random bits and bobs) a table saw of any size would just about leave enough space for 1 cockroach to move around, if its skinny.

@@moti.g that sounds awful... I have an 800 sq. Ft. workshop and STILL could use more space ! 🙄😂😂 I do woodworking / engineering (metal machining & fabrication/welding etc.) and I have a small spray booth set up. I live in a rural area (west coast of Ireland) & my bungalow is on 3 acres of land, the nearest neighbour is 300yards away.. 😎👍☘🍺

The bit is measured form between the top and the table surface. In our case we measured from the middle. And yes the smaller spacer is exactly half the size of the larger spacer.

The measurement is not taken from the widest part of the bit, or the thinnest. But from in between. Then it is doubled to get the final width of the spacer.

I may be a 'bit thick' but I can't quite work out where all the dimensions came from for creating the joint, maybe someone can do a drawing showing where the sizes come from? Also, from what I can gather, if you attempt to take a dimension half way up the dovetail (But from in between) that exact measurement is very awkward to obtain unless you're 'spot on'. A diagram showing the dimensions and how they're obtained for different spaced dovetails would be very welcome.

I was wondering about the answer to this question too but I think that I have figured it out.... It isn't the dimensions from the bit.. it's the dimensions of the smaller part of the cut out part on the test piece... That's why he's saying that it's not the largest or smallest part of the bit... It's the smallest part that's been cut out from the work piece... Then it's doubled so that there is 11mm missing... Then a tail that is 22mm... Then 11mm missing.... Then when you add the smaller spacer that is 11mm to do the other cuts on the 2nd work piece the joints line up perfectly.... That's what I think is going on... Plus if you see the sketch that they did with the measurements on there is a line going across the bit "where the work piece would sit" and the lines going through the bit showing 11mm line up with the work piece line... I think this is how they have done it... I will try it out tomorrow and see if I'm right

I thought the same... Is there a pencil-mark on the table perhaps ? Maybe he's just got a good eye for it, remember too... if he goes a bit deeper it wont show anyways because of the joint "overlap" ... great little vid tho... 😎👍☘🍺

Maybe just so far that the bit has completely gone in to the workpiece?

We didn't exclude the cutters, we simply measured from the center of the bit.

I think that was just experience