Dado Trenching Ploughing Competition

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Noel

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Rgds

Noel, who is off to think about an answer or two.
 
Well I'll post it in here then, just to make you all happy....

Well how about...

A) Just use a dado head and have done with it
B) Use a moulder head, and with some clever profiles, you get either a dado, or something pretty close
C) Use multiple sawblades, shimmed with some pukka spacers from your local engineering shop
D) Disconnect the electronic brake, and have it on a switch so you can have a slow run down on the saw when using dado head
E) Buy a milling machine, and get precision X-Y trenches
F) Run it through a spindle moulder
G) Run it through a router table
H) Use a router with a fence
I) Use a router with straight edge
J) Use a router with home-made jig
K) Use a tooth plane
L) Use a shoulder plane
M) Use a rebate plane
N) Use a bullnose plane
O) Buy a woodrat (very effective this - I've done trenches across a bookshelf side )
P) Buy a Leigh dovetail jig - the bloke doing the demo said is was possible anyway
Q) Use an angle grinder/arbotech - bit rough but works well on garden furniture
R) Use a mafell chain morticer type thingy - but only a shallow cut
S) Use a mafell/festool hand-held circular saw
T) Use a chisel
U) Use a drill and clean up afterwards with a chisel/plane
V) Use a notched draw-knife
W) Use a morticer
X) Fake it, using a couple of dowels and an accurate 90 degree joint
Y) Put short blades in an electric planer
Z) Cover with a metal plate with just a small slot and leave for several months where green woodpeckers are known to be active Ok ok, running out of alternatives now......
A1) Use a template and a bearing router cutter.
 
a) Your imagination


Rgds

Noel, who thinks he's on to a winner......
 
I reckon that to qualify, each solution should at least be capable of making a dado (cross grain of course) even if it looks rough. Some of these ieas may not pass that test..
 
Right, lets have a go then:

1. Dado blade on a tablesaw
2. Dado blade on a radial arm saw
3. Standard blade on a table saw, multiple passes
4. (bet you can see where this one's going) Multiple passes with a standard blade on a RAS
5. Multiple passes with a sliding mitre saw
6. Outside cuts with a tablesaw, clean waste with other means, viz:
  • a) Chisel
    b) Router plane
    c) Router with tail
    d) Rebate plane/shoulder plane/heck even a dado plane!
7. Outside cuts with a SMS then a-d as above
8. Bandsaw. Yes, a bandsaw. If it was on something narrow enough to fit beneath the guides it can be done, 'cos I've done it and very tatty the result was too. Same as above; multiple cuts or all those a-ds again. :wink:
9. Biscuit jointer. MPs (someone's gonna ask - Multiple Passes) or a-ds again, natch.
10. Router hand held, by eye, no guides. Well he said it could be rough...
11. Router against a straight edge, using a fence or in a jig, all either bearing guided cutters, guide bush or guided using router base as desired/suitable. (That's about 10 of Adam's options right there :D )
12. Router in a table, either using a mitre guage, right angle block, prayer etc etc
13. Le Woodrat! Three cheers for... Um, why's it gone all quiet?
14. Circular saw, again either MPs or a-d again.
15. Oooops, back track a bit. I forgot a wobble saw in a T/S or RAS.
Fed up with powered ways to do it, now for the good stuff:
16. Hand saw, tenon saw or other back saw, stair saw and a-d removal as desired. Chisel for most of the waste and then router plane for preference.
17. Drill at the end first for a stopped housing, then saw etc etc.
18. Chisel alone. Just a very long, shallow mortise really, after all. You could split that up into the different types of chisel making a few more options. :wink:
19. Wooden dado plane
20. Metal dado plane
21. Combination plane (just for you I won't list all the options as seperate entries :p )
21. a) Plough plane, if you don't mind scoring the fibers first.
22. Rebate plane, if you have one that just happens to be the right width.
23. Shoulder plane, ditto.
24. Bullnose plane (this is just getting silly now and I didn't even split them up into metal and infills...)
25. Lay out very tiny traffic cones and let loose the dogs of, er, sorry, the trained termites. This may take a while, taking into account training time, termites taking time off for holidays, grandmothers' funerals etc

Okay, okay, enough already. :D Ooo, no, wait a minute:

26. #66 beader or scratchstock for very small ones.

I'll be sure to let you know if any more occur to me. :wink:

Cheers, Alf

P.S. Inclusion in this list doesn't mean I condone the method, especially as regards safety, natch. :?
 
So it boils down to, use a dado blade, a rebate plane, a shoulder plane or buy a 'rat. That sums up about all the overlap in our postings eh?

Adam
 
We are at about the halfway stage and Alf has a clear lead here. Nearly all of her suggestions would work, even if they made you weep. She has also been very generous (stupid??) in having abcd etc under a couple of headings where Adam would not only have given each one a heading of its own but probably subdivided them further.

So it's Alf in the lead by about four lengths with six furlongs to go who's that by the rail? - Anyone?

Alf, just as an aside, a scratchstock actually does quite a decent job, (running against a straightedge)
 
waterhead37":3l538wnv said:
Alf, just as an aside, a scratchstock actually does quite a decent job, (running against a straightedge)
Cross grain? Mmm, I dunno... Hang on though, must be down to how you sharpen it... :wink:

Cheers, Alf

Pretty sure it'll go to a stewards' inquiry after that comment :roll:
 
Alf,
Here is a cross grain beading in hard maple - don't forget the old trick of damping cross grain before slicing! True, there's a bit if judder but I was in a hurry!

cross_grain.jpg
 
Hi All
well I did'nt think I'd be able to add anything after Adam and Alf's Superlists (tm). But how about this one..
a: Take it to your local CNC machine shop and have them do it for you. :lol: ask for the nice sharp tooling and cross grain should be no problem at all.
Alright, it's not much of an option but it was all I could think of that hadn't been mentioned.
At a loose end,
Philly :D
 
He shoots, he scores! Another masterful gloat hits the forum and the crowd go wild! :lol: I dunno though, Chris, funny lookin' dado... :wink:

Philly, blast, you beat me to it. I realised I'd missed out a CNC router at about 6.30 this morning. :roll: (when you're eating shredded wheat you'll think of anything that takes your mind off the fact you're eating shredded wheat. :roll: )

Cheers, Alf
 
How about one of those belt sanders which are really thin and narrow? would be quite time consuming, but just about possible? The ones I'm thinking of look like a pointed finger if that makes sense

Also, could use one of these Fein "multi-master" kits.

Similar to a biscuit jointer I know - but perhaps an edge trimmer - our chippies use them for taking the bottom of doors without removing them from their hinges would work well.

Adam
 
Not wishing to get too silly about this... but how about any power tool and any hand tool.
You'll have to use your imagination a bit, but worth a shot for the prize :wink:
I don't mind giving details for any specific tool that you are struggling to see how it could work.....

______________
Cheers!
Aragorn (wishing I hadn't written that last bit :oops: )
 
I don't mind giving details for any specific tool that you are struggling to see how it could work.....

______________
Cheers!
Aragorn (wishing I hadn't written that last bit )

Now there's a challenge!

I'll start off with - plumber's pipe bender?

Intrigued,

Jake
 
Jake":d7u4xcig said:
I don't mind giving details for any specific tool that you are struggling to see how it could work.....

______________
Cheers!
Aragorn (wishing I hadn't written that last bit )

Now there's a challenge!

I'll start off with - plumber's pipe bender?

Intrigued,

Jake

Or a pair of garden shears? Or a spanner? :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
 
Can't wait to hear how it's done with:

a socket set
a random orbit sander
a yankee screwdriver (utilising the spiral ratchet, natch)
a finishing sander
a sliding bevel
a polisher (don't tell me - very slowly...)
a pair of pinch rods
a bench grinder
a cooper's sun plane
a cuddly toy. Ooops, wrong list. :oops:

I await the answers with relish and anticipation. :wink:

Cheers, Alf

P.S. I'd like to add rasps and files to my list, please. :D

P. P. S. And a planemaker's float too.
 
Actually, scrub the bench grinder, I can see that's theoretically possible. Maybe the yankee's a bit too easy as well. :? Still, plenty of others to exercise the creative juices... :wink: :lol:

Cheers, Alf
 
No restriction on the size of the trench, so the sanders will work. Bolting three pieces of wood togther with a spanner or socket set could result in a trench...
 
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