When I make small boxes, I often use miter joinery on the corners. The clean, seamless look is perfect for a small project. I’ve found that using a chamfer bit in the router table gives me great results. The bit automatically cuts at the correct angle, and the joint face is smooth as glass.
The chamfer bit only creates the mitered face. So you still need to accurately cut your parts to length and width first.
Set the chamfer bit so the cutting edge of the bit can cut the full thickness of the workpiece. To prevent tearout, I attach an auxiliary fence to the miter gauge. Then trim the fence with the bit. This creates a reference mark to help you line up the workpiece. A strip of sandpaper on the fence keeps the workpiece from slipping during a cut.
To cut the miter, align the top edge of the workpiece with the angled reference cut on the end of the fence. Then clamp a stop block to the opposite end. This ensures all the parts are the same length.
As you move the workpiece across the bit, you may notice the workpiece wants to ride up and away from the bit. Keep this in check by firmly holding the workpiece against the fence and down on the table. Before pulling the miter gauge back, remove the workpiece from the fence.
All you need to do now is rout a miter on each end of all the parts. What you end up with are smooth, accurate miters that will create seamless joints.
