Dado joint on a router table

[John In Ireland]

So I have two pieces of 30" long 4x1. I want to cut a half depth dado groove across the middle so as to make a cross. I normally mark them out and use a mitre saw set to depth then do multiple cuts to get the 4" width right. This is such a tedious task and the bottom of the dado is lined with saw cuts. I was wondering if it could be done easier somehow on my router table ( not freehand ). Perhaps with some sort of jig to make it easier and the bottom of the groove should also be a lot flatter.
John.

 

[PerryGunn]

It's fairly easy if you make yourself a sled - doesn't have to be as large as the one in the video

 

[Sandyn]

I want a hat like that

 

[PerryGunn]

I want a hat like that

 

[Molynoox]

I want a hat like that

You don't have one? How do you do woodwork without one? I thought it was the only way.

 

[Stevekane]

Hi, if your making a cross of any size you might find you would need quite a large router table or a sled to accommodate the material,,why not just clamp a scrap of timber as a guide and do the cutting against that for the 4 outer cuts? Oh and having a hat like that def helps!
Steve

 

[Spectric]

With a hat like that I bet he also wears sandals and is puzzled by electricity!

 

[John In Ireland]

It's fairly easy if you make yourself a sled - doesn't have to be as large as the one in the video

Thank you for that Perry. Love the workshop!

 

[John In Ireland]

Hi, if your making a cross of any size you might find you would need quite a large router table or a sled to accommodate the material,,why not just clamp a scrap of timber as a guide and do the cutting against that for the 4 outer cuts? Oh and having a hat like that def helps!
Steve

Thanks Steve. I need to do it on a router table (not handheld). So is a sled the only answer?

 

[Doug71]

Maybe use use a combination of mitre saw and router table?

You could put a few cuts in with the mitre saw which would allow you to remove the bulk of it with a chisel then just use the router table to clean up the bottom of the joint.

 

[Recky33]

If you can fit a guide bush to your router table insert you can do the same thing as that sled but you wont have to cut the runners plus you can approach it from any angle

 

[dizjasta]

These cuts are possible using handheld router and simple jig.

 

[MikeK]

Thanks Steve. I need to do it on a router table (not handheld). So is a sled the only answer?

If your router table has a T-track that runs parallel to the fence, you can use a miter gauge or make a similar jig that runs in the T-track.

 

[Jacob]

Hi, if your making a cross of any size you might find you would need quite a large router table or a sled to accommodate the material,,why not just clamp a scrap of timber as a guide and do the cutting against that for the 4 outer cuts? Oh and having a hat like that def helps!
Steve

Well yes. Doing it on a router table is choosing a difficult way to do a simple job.
Small hand held (electric) routers are very useful.

 

[CMax]

For cleaning up the bottoms, it's a fairly trivial task. You just need one of these:

 

[Orraloon]

Plenty ways to do it. Handsaw and chisel, Table saw and chisel, Mitersaw and chisel. Those 3 can be refined by finishing up with a router plane but its not essential. Can be done on a router table and at a push with a router hand held. I listed them in the order I prefer but different folks will have different ways of looking at it. There is also a dado stack on the tablesaw but don't tell anyone I said that.
Regards
John

 

[Sideways]

These cuts are possible using handheld router and simple jig.

Totally.
A job for a 1/4" handheld.
Clamp the workpiece down. Rout across the middle of where you want your notch first and then work from the middle back to each side of the 4" slot. Trivial. No jig required. Knife cutting the edges of the slot will help you be accurate.

If you don't trust your skills hand holding the router, then rout a straight slot in some 9 or 11mm MDF to fit your largest router guide bush and clamp, cut, reposition until the jobs done. It's the same process as with your mitre saw but 3/4" wide straight cutter and you'll be done faster. The MDF will stop you tilting the router once you're hanging off an edge.

If it's the edges you're worried about, measure the offset from your cutter to the edge of the router base and clamp a scrap of MDF across your stock the right distance away so that you can't rout past your mark. Repeat for the other edge.

 

[Stevekane]

Thanks Steve. I need to do it on a router table (not handheld). So is a sled the only answer?

No its for sure not the only way but Im just thinking about how I would do it with my limited amount of kit,,and the bit that causes me to scratch my head is “how big is the cross” if its only small you could fiddle about with somthing running in a mitre slot or up the edge of the fence, but if its big then cutting two across the material rebates is going to present you with problems holding the wood square and steady as you machine it, and thats where the sled would be handy,,,
Steve.

 

[Peter Sefton]

@John In Ireland I would use a mitre gauge in the router tables mitre track, screw on a sacrificial piece of timber to stop breakout, aid clamping and improve accuracy as you know where the cutter is.

https://woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/incra-miter-gauge-v27/
Cheers

Peter

 

[TRITON]

For cleaning up the bottoms, it's a fairly trivial task. You just need one of these:



View attachment 140510

But you'd probably be better using one of these..