Replies

1. 
   Adrian_Wilson | Aug 12, 1999 12:04am | #1

   *
   The process is called v-grooving, and is used in factories (think speaker cabinets, etc) and sometimes for solid surface materials.It is done on very big, industrial machines, often vertical panel saws. On a smaller scale, you can do the same thing with plastic laminate with specially jigged routers. I haven't tried it, but if i was going to try with small shop tools, i wouldn't use plywood. Basically, you are going to use a vee-shaped router bit to cut a vee shaped trench from the backside, leaving a bit of the veneer. Plywood is so inconsistent in thickness (especially American plywood), my gut feeling is you just wouldn't have a good shot at it. Veneered particle board is much flatter and more consistent in it's thickness. Good luck to you if you go ahead; post back with the results.

1. 
   Bill_Duckworth | Aug 12, 1999 06:34pm | #2

   *I believe the article you are looking for is "Strong, no clamp-up corner joints" by Steve Latta in FWW #129, pp. 60-65. The technique he uses is not exactly as you describe, but the results are the same.

1. 
   steve_first | Aug 12, 1999 07:58pm | #3

   *thanks to bill and adrian. I will let you know how it turns out. steve

1. 
   Major_H._Patterson | Aug 20, 2000 11:30am | #4

   *Steve; This posting is a year old.How did it turn out? Pat

1. 
   steve_first | Sep 25, 2000 06:18pm | #5

   *I tried to bend around the corners, but with no luck.The veneer just broke through. But the article was informative and gave some other techniques. My second child just got married, so another chest is due as soon as I can finish it.steve

2. 
   Paul_Tower | Oct 29, 2000 06:11pm | #6

   *I had a thought about getting the grain of the plywood to match up perfectly around the corners (as long as the chest is supposed to be plumb top to bottom.) You could take a few minutes and lay out your sides on an 8' rip of plywood, start the crosscuts with a (clamped) straight edge and razorknife (through the first veneer), crosscut from backside just up to this veneer (depthwise) on the tablesaw at 90 degree tilt, and then crosscut in your 45 degrees. The unmatching corner can be hidden in the back. I have to work with all oak at work if I make a "stepped out?" mantle or something, the grain on flatsawn oak doesn't match perfectly around a 90 degree corner unless I cut it on the scroll saw first (the width of the miter saw blade throws it off.) Still havn't figured out what to do with oak crown, other than trying to find straight fine grained sections and wasting a lot of wood (which isn't really an option.) Of course that all sounds really anal but if I were making something for family I'd probably go to the trouble! Paul (always ready to make a "project" harder than it needs to be!)