Making Box Joints

[DJB]

When cutting the fingers to make a box joint, should I try to cut them exactly to length or cut them long and then trim (chisel? plane?) after assembly?

Thanks,
Dave

[scorrpio]

The usual way is to cut them a little long and then either trim with a block plane or sand flush. Them fingers have a magical tendency to shrink if you try to cut them just right.

[Tom Hintz]

Veteran woodworkers routinely cut box joint fingers slightly long because most of us have tried cutting them to the actual size needed and then had to try sanding the entire side of the box down to get them flush.
I am an expert on this (made the too-short mistake twice, I'm qualified) and can promise you it is way easier to sand the ends of the fingers down to the side than it is sanding the side down to the fingers!