Replies

1. 
   _mj_ | Jan 22, 2021 10:31am | #1

   Stopped dado is the way to go. The sockets get a through dado since you won't see their ends, the fingers get the stopped dado because you will.

   If you go with a rabbet the fingers will still need to be "stopped".

1. 
   stoneybrook | Jan 22, 2021 12:54pm | #3

   Thanks for the reply. I can see this would work with larger joints (say 3/8th) where you could select the position for the dado. However, I should have mentioned I was using just a thin kerf blade (1/8th) so there is very little separation between socket and finger. What should one do in this case?

2. 
   john_c2 | Jan 22, 2021 11:11am | #2

   Lee Valley has two sizes of a box bottom router bit. You dry assemble the box, run the inside on the router table, and it makes the bottom slot so you can't see the dado on the outside. Disassemble the box, put in the bottom, glue it up. You just have to round the corners of the bottom to match the diameter of the router bit.

1. 
   stoneybrook | Jan 22, 2021 12:55pm | #4

   Thanks for the reply. I,ll take a look. I assume you use tape or something similar to keep the box together whilst routing the dado.

2. 
   weymouth2 | Jan 22, 2021 01:02pm | #5

   I'm having a hard time following. When I make a groove for a "captured" bottom in a dovetailed box or drawer, I use a 1/8" straight bit (for 1/4" bottom) in my router table and cut the groove all the way through on the tail sides, then set up stop blocks to cut stopped grooves on the pin boards. There's a specialty bit for this? I don't mind my process, just can't get my head around how a specialty bit would work.

   edit: nevermind, I think I got it. It's like what I think of as a slot-cutting bit.

1. 
   john_c2 | Jan 22, 2021 01:24pm | #6

   Here's a link to the bits, which come in a couple of sizes.

   https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/power-tool-accessories/router-bits/47818-box-slotting-bits

   They work well. Once routed and the box is disassembled, you either have to round the corners of the bottom panel, or use a chisel to square the ends of the groove. It's a nice solution to box or drawer bottoms.

1. 
   weymouth2 | Jan 22, 2021 01:38pm | #7

   great, thank you. It seems effective. I've seen an article/plan by C. Becksvoort where he used a trim router with a slot-cutting bit that rode on the bottom edge of the dry-assembled box but I don't have a trim router and am leering of perching my fat router atop thin box sides so I never pursued. This seems like same concept, but you can use a fat router on a table. Hmmmm. Thanks for link!

1. 
   john_c2 | Jan 22, 2021 02:23pm | #8

   Becksvoort uses this same bit to make slots for a bunch of things, including drawer stops. I'm pretty sure I learned of these bits from him.