Now you can add reinforcing dovetail keys to the joints. I built a simple sled for the router table that holds the box on its edge while allowing it to slide over a dovetail bit. Position the router-table fence so the dovetail bit enters a corner of the box 1⁄2" from the top and bottom edges. Pass the box slowly over the bit for best results. Repeat the operation to mill grooves for all eight dovetails.
To cut the splines, take a 12"-long piece of wood planed to the same thickness as the width of your dovetails (1⁄2" in my case) and 2" to 3" wide. This extra width is for safety and will be cut off later. Next, raise your dovetail bit so the bottom of the cutters sit even with the router-table surface. Position the fence so the bit is only partially exposed. Complete one initial pass down each side of your over-width spline boards. They’ll probably be too big to fit, but that’s OK. Keep repositioning the fence, moving backwards, and take additional passes until the dovetail fits nicely into the slot. Remember, your splines shrink twice as much with every move of the fence.
Once you are satisfied with the fit of the spline, separate it from the board by ripping it on the tablesaw. Cut the strip of wood into eight sections, each 11⁄4" long. Put a little glue into the recesses in the box body and insert the splines. Once the glue has dried, trim the splines with a flush-cut handsaw then sand them so they are flush with the box body.
Now you need to make the box open. Check to ensure the blade on your tablesaw is exactly 90º to the tabletop, then raise the blade so it is just a hair lower than the 3⁄4" thickness of the box sides. Set the fence to 11⁄4" and pass all four sides of the box over the blade with the top against the fence. Use a utility knife to finish cutting through the box body to separate the lid. Clean up the surfaces of the cuts with a small hand plane or some 150-grit sandpaper wrapped around a wooden block. If you are using mortised hinges, cut pockets for them by marking the hinge outlines with a sharp knife and remove the waste with a chisel.
I used five coats of wipe-on polyurethane to finish the box. Apply one coat a day and lightly sand with 220-grit paper between coats. Allow the last coat to cure for two days, then rub it out with #0000 steel wool until it is uniformly dull. Apply a coat of good paste wax to bring out the shine. Finally, install your hinges and insert a piece of adhesive-backed felt, cut to fit, into the bottom.
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