Hi,
Any suggestions for cutting a dado on the edge of a board. This would be a dado on the plywood sides of a bookcase to fit the back into (like in”A Back for Every Cabinet” in FW 192). Maybe this isn’t technically called a dado since there is only one edge to the groove, but hopefully you get the idea. Should I use a dado blade on a table saw and a sacraficial rip fence to try to get zero clearance between the fence and blade? Use a router with careful fence placement (might be easier since I have a router fence with a split )?
Thanks.
Chris
Replies
It is a rabbet, or a rebate if your English
You can cut them with a dado blade and sacrificial fence on the table saw, ( my most frequent method if the dado blade is in the saw already, I keep a sacrificial fence to cut them 3/8-inch deep on the right hand side of the fence).
You can use a rabbeting plane if you are doing real wood, it makes a mess of plywood and dulls very fast.
You can do it with some jointers.
A router can cut them with: an edge guide and straign bit; a dedicated rabbeting bit; or, bit and bearing set. These mehtods also work on a routher table or shaper.
Dad used to do them on the table saw with just a ripping blade, and the fence. He'd set the blade height, and then set the fence to the offset from the front, make a pass. He'd then nudge the fence over about 3/32 of an inch and make another pass. reapeat until your done.
More than one way to catch a rabbit!
Technically I would say you need to cut a rabbit (I know that's not the right spelling meant as a joke) Or as some would say a rebate:) You can cut it with a dado set and a sacrificial fence as you mention. However for me I would rater do it with router and either a nice rabbeting set with a bearing to ride my edge or a spiral upcut bit set to the right dept and a good edge guide. You don't say how deep this rabbet needs to be roughly 3/4 or 1/2. Either way I'd do multiple passes. I have a great forrest dado set but hardly use it anymore. The router is just so much faster to set up and use. Good luck!
multiple choices
As was mentioned, there are several ways to do this. For larger panels, my choice would be a hand-held router with a rabbeting bit and the appropriate bearing. An offset base is also nice, making it easier to keep the router stable. It is also a good idea to score the face of the board with a marking knife to avoid tearout.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled