Nice look:

My first attempt:

The example uses cedar, softer and less splintery than the Douglas fir you used.

If I needed to make a production run, I would gang-cut them or use sacrificial backer-boards to eliminate all tearout; gear up the old radial arm saw with the 1" wide dado cutter, and make some wood chips.

The example squared up the wood before they cut the joints.

Those joints are actually pretty good for the two tools you used.

The artist used planed lumber(the species Sombreuil mentioned) and probably had a production setup or actually fitted each joint by hand with a chisel.

I'd use a circular saw for the inside cross cuts(line the boards side by side and use a straight edge guide). Then, I'd make several(10 or 12) cuts and use a chisel to flatten the bottoms of the cuts.

The radial arm saw/dado blade idea works as well, but most DIYers don't have that kind of equipment.

Thanks all. FYI that this is redwood, not DF, not sure if that makes a difference -- I think it's also more splintery than cedar.

Yeah I figure in the examples they have a pretty good system in place, and not something I'm looking to replicate. Rather just trying to optimize as I can.

@HandyMac & @Sombreuil -- radial arm saw. Interesting idea -- I probably can get access to one. Is the difference between that and a table saw that with the radial arm saw the saw has an accurate guide, whereas with a table saw you are the guide? Regardless though how do you get through the entire 2 inches, won't the leading end of the circle on the saw blade limit you?

Apologies -- I'm not familiar yet with dados -- will do some research there.

OMG, that's redwood? the last redwood I worked with had growth rings too close together to count.

Casey

@Sombreuil so you're saying this isn't the highest quality RW eh?

Thanks @HandyMac, maybe this isn't as much of a DIY board as it is a board for pros? Happy to head elsewhere. I'm learning as I go.

I don't know all the terms and no, I'm not familiar with all the details. But I'm smart enough to know my limitations and read up a lot before using any tool. And, well, there's no way to learn except to learn, is there?

Oh my heavens! This is a GOOD place for DIYers!!!!!! The pros are here to help DIYers so they can get reliable info and learn. Good for you to ask and jump in(reading up before you leap!)!!!!!!!

A nice tight joint starts with flat square stock. That necessitates a jointer, planer, and tablesaw, some level of skill with the appropriate hand planes, or hand fitting of every joint.

The joints of this planter box in question is just a variation on the classical finger joint. After squaring the stock, I'd glue up the sides into panels, trim them to finished dimension, and then cut finger joints on a table saw using a jig and a dado blade.

Construction grade lumber from the home center or lumberyard tends to have a pretty high moisture content and you'll find that joints will open when the wood dries. If you don't want to go through the trouble and expense of finding kiln dried lumber, then buy your wood several months in advance and let it dry some before using it.

For your purpose I'd cut the joints with a jig saw and be done with it. Your example looks pretty good-- the next one will look better. After 6-12 months of exposure to dirt, water, and sun you won't be able to tell the difference between yours and the "pro" version; both will have swollen, shrunk, split, and warped as they acclimate to the environment. This is not an application to worry about exquisite joinery-- you're just trying to keep the dirt inside!

I agree with rwiegand,perfect joints will be imperfect within 6 months. Op,I would use a Jiffy Square to guide a hand held power saw for both cuts. FYI a jiffy square aka quickie square is a triangular aluminum framer's square that will fit in a nail apron,sold at all hardware and big box stores. I've owned one for 30 years and never marked a rafter with it once but use it regularly to guide a power saw in making 90 deg and 45 deg cuts. A helper to steady boards or a clamp would be a great help while cutting. Alternatly,you could clamp several boards togeather,mark the line,adjust blade depth and cut accross them all at once.

Not to quibble but I've built any number of planters and years later the joints where was tight as the day they were built. Admittedly, I used mostly mortise and tenon joints rather than finger joints so maybe that makes a difference.