Narrow groove joint with chisels

[user 24793]

Hi all, this is my first post here after lurking for a while so apologies if I've picked the wrong section of the form to ask questions in!

I recently finished a short introduction to furniture building (very proud of my ash side-table!) but I'm still an absolute novice. To give myself a ton of practise with various joints I'm making some small boxes from ash offcuts. I'll most likely be using something like 3mm plywood for the bottom, sitting in a slim groove (like in the attached image).

When I've done this before I quickly used a table-saw to cut the groove and went on my way, but I'm currently working at home with handtools. What's the best way of cutting such a slim groove using handtools? My thinnest chisel is 5 or 6mm, but buying a tiny new one for this feels like overkill - am I wrong?

The groove runs the length of my ash boards, going with the grain, so I'm not sure any of my saws are long enough to make these cuts in one go. Any advice or pointers would be very welcome!

 

[beech1948]

I would use a Record 044 plane

 

[marcros]

or the record 043- perfect for this job!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I would imagine if a new chisel is overkill I expect a Record 043 or 044 probably is as well. :lol:
Make a scratch stock, maybe? Tedious maybe, but cheap, and not impossible. Probably easier than trying to do it with a chisel.

 

[undergroundhunter]

I agree a plough plane is perfect for this task. I would reach for a 043 for such a narrow groove. You could do it with a chisel but a plough plane is designed for this job so it will be a lot quicker and possibly more accurate.

Matt

 

[Woody2Shoes]

Hi - +1 for a plough plane e.g. Record 043 or something.

You could maybe try and make a jig for your chisel - half way between a router plane and a plough plane e.g. this sort of idea, but with an added fence of some kind:

http://hyperkitten.com/pics/tools/fs/ar ... /wbp5.html

Cheers, W2S

 

[marcros]

if you were to buy a complete (i.e. no bits missing) 043, use it for your boxes, and then sell it on here when you are finished, you would lose next to nothing on it.

 

[user 24793]

Thanks so far for the pointers!

I'm not against buying something new for the job but thought I'd check that I wasn't missing a really obvious and easy technique first! The 043 looks great, and perfect for simple little boxes. It's something I'd love to own, so may not need much pursuading to track one down!

 

[MattRoberts]

I assume you've dismissed running a circular saw across them? By hand tools, you mean no power tools?

 

[user 24793]

I assume you've dismissed running a circular saw across them? By hand tools, you mean no power tools?

I haven't totally dismissed it - I don't own a circular saw at home but have access to local workshop where (for a few quid) I can run them over a table saw. I'd like to do as much as I can by hand as it seems like a good way to practise, but I'm certainly not opposed to using power where needed.

 

[MattRoberts]

Ok. If you're going to get lots of use from a 43, sounds like that's the way to go then!

 

[Racers]

+87 for the Record 43, I have several and they are a very useful plane, and much quieter than a power tool.

Pete

 

[rxh]

Yes, the 043 is a very suitable tool for the job. A pleasure to use.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Or a decent 1/4" router. Probably more use, overall.



He runs for the hills, hands over head ...

 

[Jacob]

Look up "drawer slips". You still have to make a slot but it's in a piece planted on and makes a much better drawer (or box bottom etc)

 

[lurker]

A very narrow chisel can be easily made by re grinding a jigsaw blade

 

[bugbear]

+87 for the Record 43, I have several and they are a very useful plane, and much quieter than a power tool.

Pete

Showoff!

BugBear

 

[Racers]

+87 for the Record 43, I have several and they are a very useful plane, and much quieter than a power tool.

Pete

Showoff!

BugBear

Including my Russian bride Svetlana.




:wink:

Pete

 

[ED65]

If you'd get a lot of use from it by all means buy a plough plane, they are considered one of the core hand tools for any well-sorted workshop. And in the UK there are plenty of good old ones out there that don't cost the earth.

In the meantime however if you need to make shallow grooves you could quickly knock together a scratch stock to do the job, where virtually any spare piece of steel can be used for the cutter such as a piece of hacksaw blade or broken kitchen knife. Even pieces of old saw blade, where the steel it tempered quite soft, can hold up quite well apparently because the edge is 90° or close to it.

Make an additional fence longer than usual (10cm+) for better registration and you'll have an even more capable tool.

 

[knockknock]

... My thinnest chisel is 5 or 6mm, ...

In the US, a typical groove size would be: 1/4 inch wide by 1/4 inch deep by 1/4 inch offset

5-6mm is right around 1/4 inch.

Also typically the bottom of a box when put in a groove, would be solid stock just slightly thicker than the groove. You bevel the bottom of the bottom along the edges until it fits in the groove (partial panel raising). By me, the big box store sells poplar 3/8 inch by 6 inch by 36 inch (actually a tick over 1/4 x 5.5 x 36) which works well, and I can glue two pieces together if I need wider.

So back to your groove. Derek Cohen shows how to make a stopped groove for a box bottom here:

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/ ... edBox.html

As an alternative way of clearing some waste, the English guy shows how to chop out waste for a rabbet (a groove is just a 2 sided rabbet) around the 8 minute mark here:

https://youtu.be/PCX6RZGmiRE

And in case you don't have a router plane, here is Paul Sellers poor mans router:

https://youtu.be/B_2a_FwjAgk

You might want to practice a groove once, before trying it on a box.