Need your help with a box

Kevin Sadaj

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Michigan
Need your help with a box. I am making a mitered box with a floating panel in the middle. The panel is 6X12. The dado is 1/4” So, if I am cutting the box using miter cuts which will surround my panel, how do I figure that out? Using 3/4” thickness wood.

What will be the cut lengths?
 
Need your help with a box. I am making a mitered box with a floating panel in the middle. The panel is 6X12. The dado is 1/4” So, if I am cutting the box using miter cuts which will surround my panel, how do I figure that out? Using 3/4” thickness wood.

What will be the cut lengths?

When I do something like you describe, or even with a picture frame, I run the dado along my stock before cutting miters. My first cut is a miter on the end of a board. Then, I hold that against the panel, lining up the dado with the corner of the panel, and mark the location for the miter on the other end. Continue for the other pieces of the frame or box sides.
 
Thank you for your replies! I think what is going to happen is I subtract a 1/2" from each measurement. 1/4" dado X 2 = 1/2" So if the floating panel is 6X12, my inside measurement is going to be 5 1/2" X 11 1/2"

I will let you know how that goes.
 
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If the floating panel is really going to float, the inside measurement needs to be slightly larger than 5 1/2 by 11 1/2. If you use space balls to keep the floating panel from rattling, the ideal compression on a 1/4 inch space ball (which is actually 0.26 inches in diameter so it doesn't fall out of the slot) is just under 50% - or assume that the compressed ball is about .15 inches.

Most floating panel grooves are 3/8 to 1/2 inch deep, and 1/4 inch wide.
 
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