Cutting slots

[Anonymous]

Hi all

How do you cut slots in thinnish pieces of wood, say 1/2" thick by 1" wide and you wan to cut a 1/2" wide slot in it? Typically for jigs etc.

Hi Tony,
Am I right in thinking you are talking about running a slot down the centre of a board, say for and adjustable jig of some sort? A through mortice, if you like. I do this regularly and never have a problem. A backstop to prevent kickback and a pushsick that presses down as well as forward, are essential.

Steve, how do you actually introduce the cutter into (through) the wood in the first instance?

 

[DaveL]

I use 3 feather boards on the router table, 2 as hold downs and 1 to hold against the fence, then using the knob on the Triton I wind the cutter up though the timber. Then use a push stick to move the timber along.

 

[Anonymous]

I like that dave

I had thought about a similar approach but with 2 feather boards and couldn't decide if it would work. I'll have to try 3 feather boards :wink:

 

[Steve Maskery]

Tony,
I carefully lower the workpiece onto the bit. But I would take only shallow cuts doing this, I wouldn't expect to cut through some 3/4" stock all in one go. For 1/2" I'd probably do it in two cuts.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Scrit]

I carefully lower the workpiece onto the bit. But I would take only shallow cuts doing this, I wouldn't expect to cut through some 3/4" stock all in one go. For 1/2" I'd probably do it in two cuts.

Personally, I'm not keen on dropping on like this at all - you need to have fixed end stops at each end of the piece top limit the movement and for safety. So I'd go the other way and hand-rout from above, possibly using a fence and pair of stop blocks on the overhead pin router or a hand-held router - either way I'd pin the component (another use for the 18g air pinner) to a larger piece of scrap for stability. As it's a jig the holes won't matter in the finished item. If they do, use hot melt glue or PVA/brown paper (like turners do) and part off with a sharp chisel when you've finished machining. Sand off any residue remaining.

Another approach is to make a "singleton" down one edge of a wider piece of timber then rip-off the resulting component - that way you have enough timber to handle without worrying about trying to control a small piece of timber.

Scrit

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Out of curiosity, what is the application of these slots? Is this for a jig of some sort? If it is, how about this for a way to create the slots? Glue up pieces of MDF to create the slots. Rip pieces the desired width of the slots and cut them to length. Glue them in with biscuits if you have 'em.

 

[Chris Knight]

Dave,

Nice lateral thinking there!

Tony, I drop the piece on the cutter and push it through using a feather board and a push stick.

I think that as long as one is not widening the slot and thus creating an edge inside the slot which the cutter may then climb along, the workpiece is unlikely to get away from you - provided of course that it is fed in the correct direction!

 

[Alf]

Glue/screw/pin/tape or whatever to the top of my box or table and run it under the 'Rat.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Scrit]

I drop the piece on the cutter and push it through using a feather board and a push stick.

How do you manage to drop on with a feather board in place?

I think that as long as one is not widening the slot and thus creating an edge inside the slot which the cutter may then climb along, the workpiece is unlikely to get away from you - provided of course that it is fed in the correct direction!

I wasn't concerned about climb cutting occurring, more with limiting the movement so that the slot was accurately cut and avoiding a potential "push through". I'd still attach to a large sacrificial piece of scrap as it's easier and safer to handle larger pieces than very small ones.

I'm thinking in terms of doing 18/19mm in two passes, about the maximum a 1/2in cutter would take.

Scrit

 

[Chris Knight]

Scrit,
Re feather board. I set it to the right distance then position it ahead of the workpiece. Drop the workpiece on the cutter, hold it in position with one hand then slide the feather board back to snug the workpiece with my other hand before I push the workpiece along the fence. Sounds complicated but works fine for me.

I use stops if I am not penetrating the work completely and can't see the cutter.

 

[nickson71]

I to wood use my rat ..... as I've now got it working


before I got it I used a hand held router with guide brush.....clamped the piece to be slotted to a bench and then clapmed a guide for the router

if the slot was close to an edge I would use a fence on the router


a bit rough and ready but if your careful it works fine ......
just got to make sure that you keep to the guide/edge

 

[Steve Maskery]

Tony, the other way I use, for slots that are not more than about 150 or 200mm is to hold them in my vice using my mortice cheeks
and a handheld router with two fences. I can see what I am doing and it's safe too.


Cheers
Steve

 

[George_N]

using my mortice cheeks

Sorry steve the link won't work for me, and I'd really like to see your cheeks

cheers

George

 

[Steve Maskery]

Er, it works for me...

this is the bare link:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/steve.mask ... ce_jig.htm

Cheers
Steve

 

[Chris Knight]

Steve,
Dunno if it is just me but I can't see your page properly in Firefox - no content, just the outer bit. I can see it in IE. You might want to look at the results from the WC3 markup validator..

 

[Steve Maskery]

I can't see your page properly in Firefox -...You might want to look at the results from the WC3 markup validator..

Ah. Yes I did know there was a problem with much of my site in this respect. Trouble is, I'm not a proper programmer, and TBH, I don't really know what I'm doing! The scripts have all been sourced elsewhere and cut&pasted. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, eh?

My site really needs re-writing from scratch, but it's become so large now it's too daunting.

I might just edit the front page to read "Optimized for IE".



Thanks for the heads up.
Cheers
Steve

 

[George_N]

Steve,
I can link to your page now but, like Chris, I can't see the content...also using Firefox.

cheers

George

 

[Anonymous]

Personally, I'm not keen on dropping on like this at all - you need to have fixed end stops at each end of the piece top limit the movement and for safety. So I'd go the other way and hand-rout from above, possibly using a fence and pair of stop blocks on the overhead pin router or a hand-held router - either way I'd pin the component (another use for the 18g air pinner) to a larger piece of scrap for stability. As it's a jig the holes won't matter in the finished item. If they do, use hot melt glue or PVA/brown paper (like turners do) and part off with a sharp chisel when you've finished machining. Sand off any residue remaining.

Scrit

I like the idea of handheld routing but a guiding edge and clamping were my concerns. I think the hot melt or double sided tape would cover these nicely. Nice one Scit.

Overhead pin router?

 

[Anonymous]

Out of curiosity, what is the application of these slots? Is this for a jig of some sort? If it is, how about this for a way to create the slots? Glue up pieces of MDF to create the slots. Rip pieces the desired width of the slots and cut them to length. Glue them in with biscuits if you have 'em.

As Chris said, nice lateral thinking there Dave. Will have to try that one too.

Alf, one of the main reasons I was considering the Rat is for cuts like this. Yes, I am going to buy one. :shock:


This has been a good thread guys (and gal :wink: ), thanks for the good ideas