I recently made some solid-wood cabinet doors that have vertical flutes across their entire faces, and came up with a good method for fluting on the router table. To make the wide doors, I fluted a series of boards and then edge-glued them. But the following technique will work just as well for single boards with any fluting pattern. Start by cutting small spacers that are equal to the center-to-center distance between the flutes. Then cut a straight board to act as a secondary fence. Place this fence right behind the main one, and position them to cut the center flute in the array. To position the main fence for the next two flutes—one on each side of the center one—leave the secondary fence where it is, and insert spacers between it and the main fence. Then run the board in both directions to cut the two new flutes. Keep adding spacers for each new pair of flutes. You can leave your workpiece a little wide to accommodate any misalignment, trimming it later to center the fluted area.

—Alex Abel, Lincolnshire, Ill.

 

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