Say you were making a drawer insert (think fork/knife/spoon separator, but bigger) for a larger drawer. The dimensions make it bigger than can be cut in one piece, even using pass through. Would you just make it as two separate inserts? Or what “joining” methods would you use say to get the “base” to stay together? I am assuming some type of jigsaw-like tab and slot deal that you could also add glue to, but I have no idea how many tabs/slots you should use for maximum strength. I am thinking of a drawer that is roughly 8x36x36.
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Jigsaw joinery works but I have no idea how many for max strength. You might want to consider breaking out regular dumb power tools for this though. You can do a lot with a circler saw, a trim router, a pencil, and a tape measure.
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True. I was never much of a handyman, and could never hope for the precision I get with the GF, though. I guess I have just gotten lazy in the last 5 years. 
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It goes against conventional wisdom but owning smart tools has actually made me get better with dumb tools. I can’t “eyeball” anything so I measure three times before cutting.
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make it two layers thick, make the joins between ends and different points along the length.
Glue the two layers back to back so each join is covered by the other piece
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Finger joints on the long sides.
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This.
If you do inset finger joints on one plane, and then the outie ones on the other, once you nestle them together it should be rock solid.
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Yep. I’m building a couple of modified Adirondack chairs (not sloped as steeply as a traditional design so it’s easier to get in & out while retaining the design aesthetic of traditional Adirondacks). I created CNC files for all the parts including ones like the seat slats. Those are simple 1 1/2"x20" rectangle cut outs. I ended up skipping them on the CNC and used the table saw instead. 10 minutes instead of 45 the CNC was going to take.
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This exactly but when I did out two chairs and table for the pool I CNC’d the arms as they were of a complex shape and everything else was saw’n and drilled.
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Yeah…that was kind of how I was envisioning it. That middle section is very much like I was talking about. Thanks.
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Use a dado joint, assuming there for the vertical runners, use glue and brads if needed.
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but but but LASER!! 
Honestly though, sometimes more traditional wood working can be the right answer.
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I’m with you - especially as I just gave up most of my material posessions.
, but I always love the challenge of trying to use just the laser, because that’s the one tool we all have here.
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Here is a free site that I like to use to make boxes. Here is an example of a tray that is very adjustable. You may have to edit it on your computer after you download it to cut it into two or more pieces.
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The handy website boxes.py has a Joint Panel option that will create the “jigsaw” tabs to join your panel. It’s a great site for designing all sorts of boxes, and outputs in svg or dxf format. I used it to join together several large projects.
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