The Trick With Laser Cut Box Joints

Рет қаралды 245,909

Күн бұрын

Laser cutting boxes is not complicated, but with a few easy steps you can really improve your box making game immensely! If you like Switch & Lever remember to support PCBWay as well for all your circuit board needs! www.pcbway.com They're now celebrating their 6th anniversary with some great sales and discounts! Make sure to check it out! www.pcbway.com/activity/anniv...
------------------
The box generators in the video are:
www.festi.info/boxes.py/
makeabox.io
en.makercase.com
boxdesigner.connectionlab.org
-------------------
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:01 What are box joints?
01:59 Designing a box with boxjoints
03:15 What is a kerf?
05:05 Refining the box joint
05:59 LASERS!
06:53 PCBWay
07:32 Box assembly
10:28 Varnishing
11:05 Final box!
11:53 Outro
-------------------
Get your merch on: switchandlever.com/merch
Follow and like Switch & Lever on:
Facebook: / switchandlever
Instagram: / switchandlever
Twitter: / switchandlever
Pinterest: / switchandlever
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/profile/view?...
And check out the Switch & Lever online store at:
www.switchandlever.com/store/

Пікірлер: 237

@PracticalEngineeringChannel 4 жыл бұрын

Love the graphics on this one!

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you, glad you like it! They were lots of fun to make 🙂

@brandonn5371 3 жыл бұрын

I love the graphics, humor, and his accent!! Just got yourself a new subscriber!! 😁

@willsievwright9870 7 ай бұрын

Love the graphics well done. IT 30 years and took me back (Windows 3.1)

@donleywoodworking3685 3 жыл бұрын

I just got my Ortur Laser 2 (7w), This is a fantastic video. It is well produced and very entertaining as well as informative. Well done!

@laurinos8774 4 жыл бұрын

Good to see a video from you again. Great as always.

@fredjenkins5069 3 жыл бұрын

Long time woodworker, but I just ordered my first laser cutter and am watching lots of videos to see how to translate from one technology to the next. This was a very good one and demonstrated that only the tools have changed. Thanks

@guybartlett9587 2 ай бұрын

How much did it cost

@SamChaneyProductions 3 жыл бұрын

I already knew most of this stuff but I stayed for the charming animations and great cinematography. Subbed!

@juanpineiro8995 4 жыл бұрын

Good to see you back and well!

@leojames7331 3 жыл бұрын

This was brilliant. Exactly what I was looking for, thank you!

@davebauerart 4 жыл бұрын

Box looks great, I really like how you too the extra time to make it nice. Excellent laser tips as well!

@mikemarvelous Жыл бұрын

Super nice box! Great tip on extending the fingers/ sand flush. Gives a really clean appearance.

@patrickmeyer2802 4 жыл бұрын

It's fascinating watching the workflow of other people using the same tech as you. Like, because of the cutters I use, I don't take the kerf into account as much, because it's so small. It means that I can cut all four sides of a box in one line, sharing the finger joints, which (if done in a way that compliments the overall design aesthetic of the build) can look very pleasing without the sanding step. You just have to make sure that they feel solid. I think that's where a lot of beginners (and a lot of people on the internet too) go wrong, and make the fingers really wide, so the boxes don't ever fit together properly and feel really flimsy. That's the worst kind of laser cutting.

@kenfcrafts 4 жыл бұрын

I'd like to click an extra like button for the 3D Paint features and the sweet, soothing soundtrack!

@jorisvp2 4 жыл бұрын

So, so well made... the video as well as the box. The Paintbrush reference, EGA style editing, etc ... fantastic.

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

Not EGA, not even CGA, it's just good ol fashioned 1-bit color. Thank you! Glad you liked it 🙂

@rickyracer8717 2 жыл бұрын

I think this is one of the most satisfying videos to watch! 😊 If you're a little ocd, (like me) I like everything packed in a nice case in my workshop. Alas, not everything is available is a box, but with my new cnc router and newly added laser, I see some box making in my future... Nice video!

@nefariousyawn 4 жыл бұрын

Amazing video! The editing on this was excellent, and I enjoyed all the visual puns and gags. I never got proficient enough in Paintbrush to find the 3D CAD features, but maybe that's unlocked by the paid professional license. It's nice to see you back! I was checking your channel a few days ago to see if there were any signs of life that I missed notifications on.

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

There is life, but creatively there's not all that much going on. Best place to check in what's happening is instagram. I'm in between workshops right now, so I don't know when the next video will come. Hopefully not too long.

@nathantheiring666 3 жыл бұрын

Loved your instructional and very informative video. Nice job!! I can't wait to try to make one of these!

@GrahamDallas 4 жыл бұрын

Welcome back, you've been missed. Cool box, look forward to hopefully seeing the level again and some of the recent flea market acquisitions.

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, I have restoration videos planned for the future, but I'm in between workshops again so who knows how long it will take to start doing.

@esquinaroma 4 жыл бұрын

I've been waiting for a video like this for 8 years, time to upgrade my boxes

@SushiKing123NorskGaming 4 жыл бұрын

The one and only... Great video as always, sir!

@welshsteve2009 4 жыл бұрын

Great video btw. That finished box was superb 👌

@gilbertboyer9936 Жыл бұрын

Very well presented. Precise and instructive. Well done.

@tomk2468 2 жыл бұрын

Wonderful!! Just what I was looking for! Thank-you for your excellent video. 👍🏻🤗

@adamknudson2308 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent video, thank you. I usually apply the 2 in. yellow frog tape across the burn area especially the engraving portion. It greatly reduces the burn flare and is easy (but tedious) to remove.

@getberget 4 жыл бұрын

Fantastiskt bra video! Mycket underhållande redigering från början till slut. Lärorikt dessutom. 10/10 poäng

@Kapten_R3 4 жыл бұрын

Nä minst 12/10

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

Tackar 🙂

@MikeChapmanGastoncounty 4 ай бұрын

Thank you for posting this! Very clear cut information!

@hiramcinar2975 Жыл бұрын

I just wanna say how much awsome you re...great tutorial, best so far I watch !!!

@sakshikansal5602 2 жыл бұрын

Well explained, to the point video. I am looking forward to make my own box 👏

@JackieZCreation 8 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for the tutorial, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for

@RestoreTechnique Жыл бұрын

Brilliant video, so informative and really funny 😄

@MarklTucson Жыл бұрын

Very helpful and now subscribed because you have a great presentation style. 👍

@JimBryson1 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for a great video! I'd love more videos on laser cutters!

@leeloxleigh1471 4 жыл бұрын

Real cool video, I liked the butt joke. You explained the little things that a lot of people forget. I have now subscribed to your channel.

@jbouza09 2 жыл бұрын

Great video thanks for sharing, had fun watching and learned something to boot.

@sadxparty 4 жыл бұрын

boxes are awesome!

@vplan 9 ай бұрын

onf of the best video for absolutely beginners :) Thank you!!!!

@727jetjumper 2 жыл бұрын

thanks. I'm a Starrett fan as well, I'm going to do the same for some of my older tools that don't have boxes anymore :)

@BruceAUlrich 4 жыл бұрын

Interesting tips...I've made some but I left the charred edges on the fingers. I think I'm going to try making some like you did here where it looks more like it was cut on another machine. The graphics/animations were great!

@tomaszfontana5647 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing video! Very useful tricks that can surely help a lot of people! ;)

@ChristianLappinOFFICIAL Жыл бұрын

Loved the “Don’t go ham on your sanding comment” awesome video and that box with the retro graphics turned out amazing.

@ninjarobotmonk3y 4 жыл бұрын

Great video! I love how easy you made it all look. I especially loved the retro styled graphics. Thanks for sharing your time and effort :)

@grootjnr 4 жыл бұрын

Nice thanks. I like th etip about long fingers, and sanding off the burned edges. Cheers

@FredMcIntyre 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome work Daniel! 😃👍🏻👊🏻

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers! 🙂

@drewachong 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this! I really appreciate the information on accounting for kerf on the laser.. I'm trying to make some puzzles, and keef is definitely causing problems!

@manuelvillalpando6665 Жыл бұрын

Good job! Thanks for sharing the knowledge!

@RedSmith 4 жыл бұрын

Nice video, cool box and tool but more importantly, good to have you back on the tubes.

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

At least for now, I'm hoping I'll be able to make new videos more regularly soon again. 🙂

@RedSmith 4 жыл бұрын

@@SwitchAndLever Can't wait to see more😊

@azerreza4770 2 жыл бұрын

Very instructive. Thanks !

@danthemakerman 4 жыл бұрын

Cool video and great tips!

@mpetersen6 2 жыл бұрын

This will be very useful. I'm currently looking into using laser cut sheets of the following chipboard, laserboard, Basswood or MDF for building HO scale brick structures. I've been playing around with off sets in the CAD model to get reasonably tight fitting joints that don't go together too tight. Of course part of the problem is I'm using a 15 watt diode laser cutter. Chip board and Basswood cut just fine. In the end I'll probably stick with 1mm or .045" chipboard as the bricks scale out at 1.7mm/.046" from the centerline of the mortar joints. This way when joining wall sections in a row or at 90°s the courses of brick line up. Off course on CNC machines depending on direction you can just specify the offset amount via the tool directory with G41 and G42 for left or right hand compensation.

@rebekahpomohaci1822 3 жыл бұрын

Amazing. Thank you!!

@wilmercb 2 жыл бұрын

Just awesome! Thanks

@DebHeadworth 11 ай бұрын

Really nice video!

@Steff320i 10 ай бұрын

Great video, Thank you.

@RobertLugg 10 ай бұрын

Good practical advice!

@samaker4 4 жыл бұрын

Super cool build.You make me want a laser cutter now...

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

Do it! Even a K40 is a good start if you don’t have much money to spend, but have a tinkering mind.

@graven13 9 ай бұрын

Fantastic. You rock!

@JackmanWorks 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the helpful video man!

@SwitchAndLever 2 жыл бұрын

Happy to be of help! Does this mean a laser cutter is in your future? Jackman shoots lasers? Looking forward to it already!

@JackmanWorks 2 жыл бұрын

@@SwitchAndLever just got one!! Only made a couple of test projects on it so far. Haven’t used it on a Jackman build yet!

@SwitchAndLever 2 жыл бұрын

@@JackmanWorks sweet! If you have any questions hit me up! Lasers are awesome, as long as you don't try to cut kevlar, never cut kevlar!

@krisknowlton5935 2 жыл бұрын

Every time I have seen a video about making boxes using finger joints the person always directs you to some box generator on the internet. Where is the fun in that? Especially when it is so easy to design your own in LightBurn. The first box I made turned out perfect. I didn't even have to glue it together. By far, the best box making video I have seen.

@LuisCasstle 5 ай бұрын

Because they're useful tools. Even if it's just to get started and then you can modify it. Time is $, and any minute saved is worth it.

@punkybush Жыл бұрын

Great info!

@garyniemenski6005 2 жыл бұрын

Great job

@Boudico 4 жыл бұрын

Good stuff --- A little preparation with mask goes a long ways to final product cleanliness

@GeneralBoboDK 4 жыл бұрын

I have missed your videos! :) And howling at the moon makes no difference... Don't ask me how I know! :D

@peter_kelly 4 жыл бұрын

Funny, when I lived in Stockholm years ago I made wooden cases for all the Abene and Bahco machinists tools I’d acquired. Still going strong 30 years on.

@juppster5694 3 жыл бұрын

"...howl my name at the moon..." !! :-D Great video, thank you!

@Mogy336 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing thanks for sharing

@Geeksmithing 4 жыл бұрын

I for one appreciate the additional effort you put in to the motion graphics! *slow claps* This year wasn't the same without meeting up at MFBA :(

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

100%! I can't believe it's been over a year already! This year has been mostly kind of a blur. I was really looking forward to Maker's Central at least, but who knows when that will take place. Events like that are so important to all of us creators who only really see each other online otherwise.

@Geeksmithing 4 жыл бұрын

@@SwitchAndLever A blur is a depressing yet accurate way to put it. Feels like it is being defragged/deleted as it progresses in a weird way. 😆🤷‍♂️

@FigmentsMade 4 жыл бұрын

That's a nice box and a lovely box joint! I had no idea you could carve such deep and good grooves with a laser. Cool! Now pardon me while I go howl your name at the moon. Hope it's okay that it's summer, not winter here at the moment.

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

Unacceptable! At least throw some flour in the air to simulate snowfall! 😬

@FigmentsMade 4 жыл бұрын

@@SwitchAndLever I don't want to waste the flour but I could definitely throw some sawdust!!

@garagemonkeysan 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome film. Nice animation, must have taken a long time using Paintbrush. : ) Great instructions, nice box. Mahalo for sharing! : )

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

Why do you think it's been such a long time since the last video? Those pixels ain't gonna animate themselves! 😅

@carlosdelgado3657 4 жыл бұрын

For these things I pay my internet. Thank you so much

@Georges-MILLION 2 жыл бұрын

Bonne idée des sur épaisseurs !!! Merci !

@flytrapjohn 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you.

@pauldevey8628 4 жыл бұрын

Great video. I miss your vids.

@davidwilcox8801 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for this. I started some laser finger joint box goodies a couple days ago. Wait, is google reading my mind? Whatever, great video. Now I need to get my belt sander up and running...

@JohnColgan. 2 жыл бұрын

First time viewer and I just came across your channel, Great video, love the subtle (ok blatant) humour in your dialogue. Nice box too. Does the heat from lasering / lasing make the cut fingers more brittle? Would the soot layer need to be accounted for in cut calculations? Looked a bit tighter than I would attempt at a machine cut joint. Wouldn't want them to break easily !

@DreadDeimos 4 жыл бұрын

I loved all the small graphical puns

@BigDaddyfromtheNati 4 жыл бұрын

FYI, if you up the pressure of your air assist on your laser you'll get minimal or no residue and less burn. Get the air above 20 PSI. Thanks for the great videos.

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

It highly depends on what plywood (or wood) you're using though. This specific plywood is dirty as hell, I have another 3mm plywood that lasers super cleanly, with no soot and the edges are nice and brown, not black and burnt. Would've used that but 3mm is slightly on the thin side for a box.

@BigDaddyfromtheNati 4 жыл бұрын

@@SwitchAndLever True, a lot seems to depend on what glue and how much glue is used in making the plywood too.

@markgearing 4 жыл бұрын

4:35 “You need to offset by the width of your kerf”. As the laser tracks along the cut line, it removes half of the kerf width on either side of the cut. To compensate for this, you should move the cut line away from your part by HALF of your kerf width, not the entire kerf width.

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, I missed a word. In reality it’s a little more complex than that though as exactly half the kerf may still be too loose, or too tight, and you’ll have to adjust it a fraction in one way or another. Hence the need to cut test pieces. But please continue beating the dead horse rather than reading the comments about it already made.

@mattiasfagerlund 4 жыл бұрын

@@SwitchAndLever Hey S&L, don't let internet comments get to you, focus on the positives? Glad to see another of your videos, very magic looking box!

@Mr_Chuckles 6 ай бұрын

Besides the kerf, there is also the defocusing effect which, especially on thicker wood, can make the joint taper from top to bottom. This can be partially remedied by refocusing the beam and moving slightly closer to the wood surface until you find the sweet spot with minimal deflection.

@flipjetiel 4 жыл бұрын

didn’t know you could accurately cut slots like that with the lasercutter, nice! you could have used that to cut a recessed thumb slot into the lid for easy opening : )

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I thought of it, but I wanted the top to look clean. It slides open easily enough anyway 🙂

@jessetutterrow4320 2 жыл бұрын

I just stumbled across this video. Very well done! I have seen people use transfer tape on both sides of the wood to eliminate the soot and need to sand the pieces. Before I purchase a roll and try what are your experiences?

@GaryMcKinnonUFO 4 жыл бұрын

Very helpful, thank you for taking the time (nice animations too, loved the lasers!). What did you do about the warped sheet at 5:53 ?

@GaryMcKinnonUFO 4 жыл бұрын

I should have waited, i see now, you just clamped it down with other pieces ?

@GaryMcKinnonUFO 4 жыл бұрын

I see you have vertical fins instead of the honeycomb board too, cool.

@GaryMcKinnonUFO 4 жыл бұрын

Regarding the burn-dirt at 7:53, i've seen some people use masking tape to avoid surface burn, though of course this doesn't help the edges.

@ausnetting 5 ай бұрын

Great video! Just what I was looking for. Could you throw a little paste wax in the lid groove for smoother operation?

@user-yx3bk9mc5i 4 жыл бұрын

Tnx for video) Do you have some advices about cutting lodgment from foam material? At a thickness of 20+ mm problems begin.

@LuisCasstle 5 ай бұрын

Tip for glue up: add masking tape to the areas where there will be glue squeeze out, this will make cleanup a lot easier and faster. When the glue squeezes out and is starting to get gummy you can remove the tape and it should leave clean edges.

@SwitchAndLever 5 ай бұрын

Yes, there's a reason I didn't do this. The plywood was crap quality, and masking tape pulled out wood fibers out of the surface when removed. I'm honestly not all that worried about glue squeezeout, especially if the joints will get more work done, or if they're in a place where it won't be seen or affect the end result.

@msmlgh 3 жыл бұрын

very good Fantastic 👍

@jackhowardbourne 4 жыл бұрын

Typically you should add half the kerf width as both pieces will be increased by half to make the full width

@salex4742 2 жыл бұрын

nice. thanks

@mosiyukvasil 4 жыл бұрын

Hi, sir, what's about finger joints type used in wooden puzzles (i.e. Ugears). Like a plain finger but with an additional vertical cut in the middle, which allow pressing both sides of finger when assembling that joint?

@RobertMilesAI 4 жыл бұрын

You totally can cut circuit boards on a laser cutter! Well, you apply a layer of something like spray paint as an etching resist, burn off the paint in the inverse of the pattern you want using the laser cutter, then etch away the exposed copper with ferric chloride. Might make an interesting video actually

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

If only...I already made a video about etching brass plaques that can be used, pretty much verbatim, as a template when etching circuit boards 😉

@RobertMilesAI 4 жыл бұрын

@@SwitchAndLever Oh wow. Yeah, exactly that process!

@17hmr243 4 жыл бұрын

If the curf is .2 why u adding .2 to both and not .1 ?

@juliaf5982 4 жыл бұрын

I had the same question. If your laser cuts exactly on the line then it should burn away the same amount on each side so the amount that needs to be adjusted should be half of the total kerf. I guess with material like wood it could be fine because it is somewhat flexible but acrylic on the other hand would possible struggle if you don’t get it exact and even 0.5mm could make a big difference. Especially, if you have many small finger then the excess material could easily amount to a few mm.

@SamChaneyProductions 3 жыл бұрын

Yes it should be half of the kerf or close to that. Wood is quite flexible so you might want to make it tighter on purpose for a snug fit, but more rigid materials would benefit from being offset to something closet to the kerf/2

@uaezdan Жыл бұрын

Great video. Can you tell me what type of varnish was used? (Composition and brand.)

@pamiv51 3 жыл бұрын

What sort of plywood is that? I love the color! Nice video btw

@joeo4697 Жыл бұрын

I am just starting out with a laser cutter. I will definitely look for the online box template. When you draw in Paint, how do you get the drawing over to the cutter? I am using Lightburn.

@jamespaterson8465 2 жыл бұрын

i almost spit out my beer when i saw Windows 3.1, Paint do the box animation!

@BenMitro 4 жыл бұрын

Another great and thought provoking video - thanks. I have neither the patience nor the laser cutter to make such strong joints and the "beauty of the joint" doesn't interest me so much, so the question for me is - how do you figure out the minimum number of interlocks to make so that the strength of the joint matches the strength of the material being used?

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

I am not a material's engineer, though I find using a finger size that matches the thickness of the material is a good starting point. The glue joint will be stronger than the surrounding wood for sure. If you're using other ways of cutting your joint, like with a table saw, you could even use the width of the saw blade as the width of your joint, as it will make things significantly easier. If you use huge fingers the joint won't be much stronger than a butt joint, just easier to assemble, if you use a massive amount of tiny fingers the joint becomes difficult to assemble and glue.

@islandwills2778 4 жыл бұрын

you can reduce or even eliminate soot and tar markings on wood by putting a layer of masking tape overtop of the wood. you can eliminate checks from where the laser cuts through the wood and encounters the blades or honeycomb table underneath by putting the wood on a sacrificial layer of non synthetic cloth. i use muslin since i have tons of it.

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

Don’t like the masking tape method myself, especially on a little rougher surfaces it tends to pull up grain and not seal properly leaving a gummy edge that still needs to be cleaned up anyway. If I’m going to sand the surface anyway (which I am) it’s really not a big deal to remove the soot at the same time. You can also eliminate those bottom marks by elevating your piece a little using shims, but that does require a pretty flat piece to begin with. Since mine was warped I had to weigh it down to keep it flat.

@RoamingAdhocrat 4 жыл бұрын

Very much liking the animations. Very Return Of The Obra Dinn.

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

Well it's 1-bit graphics, commonplace in the 80s and early 90s, which is what Lucas Pope was inspired by when he made Return of the Obra Dinn. 🙂

@RoamingAdhocrat 4 жыл бұрын

@@SwitchAndLever were those graphics animated though…? I thought that was a new thing

@SwitchAndLever 4 жыл бұрын

@@RoamingAdhocrat oh, 1-bit animations have been around since that time too for sure. You had even quite action filled games, racing games like Grand Prix Circuit, which was fully 1-bit and full screen moving gameplay, back in the 80s. Or of course my favorite from the era: Shufflepuck Cafe.

@sublimationman 3 жыл бұрын

One thing I would change is not glueing in the bottom. Wood swells and shrinks and a floating bottom would prevent the box from warping over time.

@SwitchAndLever 3 жыл бұрын

Except it’s plywood and it’s dimensionally stable. What you say would’ve hold true if this was solid wood but plywood doesn’t have the issues you speak of and glueing in is just fine.

@DavidALovingMPF102 2 жыл бұрын

My stepson and I have lasers. Very good video. Did you do the editing and FX too? How did you get that great accent? Where are good 3.4mm, 4mm wood sources in USA? Thanks.

@zigamuswizard9731 2 жыл бұрын

You might check Michael's Craft Shops, they have an extensive array of different crafts

@dannyallyn223 4 жыл бұрын

Had to change my shorts after that animation at the beginning 😂

@alexmartinezparera1388 3 жыл бұрын

hey! perfect video talking about kerf! Just a question, which values you tell to the machine to make the etched grooves with the laser? In terms of design, could you share the design file to get the example? Regards!

@SwitchAndLever 3 жыл бұрын

What values I use would be pointless to share because it will vary with your machine and your material. This is why you have to cut test pieces and adjust accordingly until you find values which work for you.

@alexmartinezparera1388 3 жыл бұрын

@@SwitchAndLever Hey, thanks mate! And in design you just make a black rectangle polygon right?