Replies

1. 
   furnituremaker | May 30, 2006 02:27pm | #1

   Hi Jeff,

   I am not sure I understand your question. Do you mean when the fingers are 2" long or wide? Are you wrapping finger-jointed solids around a panel?

   Fingers 2" long would take some thought. One method would be to flush trim the fingers to a routing template. You would then have to come back and square out  the round corners left by the router.  

   Fingers that are 2" wide are relatively easy to deal with. I used to do all my fingerjoints on the table saw with a dado. If the individual fingers were very wide I would make multiple passes to get the width I needed.

   For the past couple of years I have been producing finger joints on the multi-router - in which case wide fingers are not an issue but long ones would again, take some thought.

   Let me know if this helps.

   Darrell

    

1. 
   DogwoodDesign | May 30, 2006 06:55pm | #2

   Thanks Darrell,Yes, the fingers are 2" wide on a 16" wide panel, 3/4" thick, but the fingers are 7/8" long, so they end up 1/8" proud. So with the Multi-router, are you using a template, or how are you getting repeatablity, so the joint is precise? I have no trouble making a precise 2" finger, but getting 4 to all work out across the width of the board has been the issue.Hope this is clear, thanks again,
   Jeff

1. 
   furnituremaker | May 31, 2006 03:56pm | #3

   Jeff,Thanks – yes, I believe I understand now.

   With the multi-router I sometimes use a template and sometimes not. I always work off the center.

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    When making fingers for a cabinet base (3 ½” width) for instance I do not use a template. In this instance I only have 3 fingers total – one large finger coming from the side and two on the front piece.  I start by forming the two outside fingers of the front piece.  I register the piece on one side and route just enough to form the one finger. I then turn the piece over and register on the other side and form the other finger then waste the material in between.  To make the mating joint I then set up the multi-router to route a notch to match the single finger on one side. At this point I only have to turn the piece over and notch the other side to form the one large finger.

    

   When I do larger multiple finger pieces such as large drawers, I use a template on the multi-router. Again, each part is registered twice – once off both sides. I route two or three fingers then turn the piece over and route the same two or three fingers in the other side. When making the mating joint I route from one side then the other but this time I waste all the material in the middle to receive the one large finger formed by the first joint. With this method I am able to make fingers on any size drawers and do not have to worry about making the drawer a particular height to match the number of evenly spaced fingers. The large finger in the middle grows as the drawers get larger – adding to the effect of visually weighting the larger drawers on the bottom.

   You might get a hint of what how I do fingers on my website at:http://furnituremaker.com/Mediacabinetprogress.htm

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   I find routing from both sides to be easier and less prone to problems. Since you are making all equally spaced fingers, I would work the joint on Baltic birch templates. This could be done with my method (in principal) using a table saw with a dado head. This would take some patience, but I believe registering from both side would help in accuracy (each inaccuracy adds to the misplacement of the next finger until the end finger on the far end is way off). I would lay out one of the mating joints out on the Baltic birch in pencil. You might set up a stop system with a spacer to achieve the 2” spacing. With my method the center finger may be a little off the 2” size but hopefully not to the point where your eye can pick it up.

   For the mating joint I would use the first template to trace the outline out on the second template.

   For the second template you would not use the method made to produce the first template – just try to make a match. A good match may take a couple of tries.

   The templates could then be set up to route the fingers from the top as you would with a commercial dovetail jig – attaching a board to the template to clamp the part to.

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   I hope this makes sense and is of help.

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   Darrell

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1. 
   DogwoodDesign | Jun 01, 2006 01:44am | #4

   Thanks Darrell,I think referencing off both ends is the ticket, I've been only working from one edge, and as you say, any error is magnified the further I get from the reference end.Thanks again for the help!Jeff

2. 
   MadisonRenovations | Aug 13, 2007 10:42pm | #5

   Hi Darrell,I'm finally getting around to the G&G part of my house, still not done. I had a question about approx. 2" long finger joints, to put on the ends of the mantel shelf support, using 2x4 lumber (VG fir). I was thinking 1"-thick side fingers and 1-1/2" for the center finger.The questions are:How proud should the fingers be? 1/8" seems too small.Should there be a square (flat) section before a radius? (And should there be a radius?)Are the molding fingers pillowed like the furniture ones?thanks,
   ---mike...
   Cambridge, Mass.

1. 
   furnituremaker | Aug 14, 2007 05:13am | #6

   Hi Mike,

   I am a little unclear on one part of your question: “Should there be a square (flat) section before a radius? (And should there be a radius?)”

   I think I understand most of your question though - please let me know if my answer covers everything.

   The way I do the fingers is a process that seems to be in evolution. They way I describe here is not how I did it a year ago - a year from now, I may be doing something different yet. Consider my method a starting point – use all or part of what I do.

    I radius the face edge of the fingers with a 3/16” radius all other edges get a 1/8” radius.  The fingers are proud by about 7/32”. I pillow the face of the fingers just slightly.

   I assume you mean 1 inch wide  (instead of thick) side fingers and 1 1/2" wide center finger - my inclination would be to go a little narrower on the side fingers and a little wider on the center finger.

   I will upload two images - a drawing and photo that may help illustrate how I do the fingers.

   ….Darrell