Replies

1. 
   Elcoholic | Feb 03, 2003 11:33pm | #1

   Assuming you don't have a dado blade.  Then make sure that the 2nd cut releases the offcut to the outside of the blade, not between the fence and the blade.  Of course this can be complicated because it is often desireable to profile the moulding before cutting the rabbet and then you won't have a square bearing surface.  This is where using a dado blade buried in a sacrifical fence comes in very handy.  Another approach is to cut the rabbet with a rabbeting bit in a router and then square up the corners by hand.

   John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

2. 
   forestgirl | Feb 03, 2003 11:34pm | #2

   [edit:  John and I were typing simultaneously]

   The order the cuts are made is very important, because you don't want the waste piece to be trapped beneath the stock piece.  This means you should first run the stock through on its face, then run it through on edge.  The last cut being on edge enables the waste piece to fall out and away from the saw blade.

   If you do it in the reverse order, then you're running the piece through flat for the last cut and the waste piece get trapped beneath the ledge that you just made for your rabbet.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

   
   

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   Edited 2/3/2003 3:36:04 PM ET by forestgirl

1. 
   AlanTurner | Feb 03, 2003 11:56pm | #3

   I guess I am in the minority here, but I make the cut with the face side up (1st cut), then the face away from the fence (2d cut), which leads to the potential for kickback.  On the second cut, I stand to the side.  If it kicks, it is very modest indeed. 

   The reason that I do is is that if there is any warpage at all, such as on sheet goods from time to time, then your cut is correct at points, and too shallow at others, a situation which can be corrected easily with a rabbit plane.  Done the other way, with the waste to the outside, a warp can produce an overcut, which is much harder to fix.  That said, mostly when I do this the rebate is so small that the offcut is 1/4 x 1/2 or smaller.  It will shoot (limp?) back straight, but I am well to the side.  No where near the line of flight.  One has never actually taken flight on me.

   Edited 2/3/2003 4:08:13 PM ET by s4s

3. 
   DestinDave | Feb 04, 2003 08:17pm | #4

   Hmmm . . . . I do this frequently just to avoid the set up time of other means. I avoid the cut out piece simply by getting out the way and letting it fly !!! Alternative: don't cut the piece completely thru on second cut but leave about 1/32 and then slice off the remainder with chisel, etc. Depends of c ourse on how pretty you need the result to be.